Carolina BBQ Sliders
Barbeque especially pulled pork used to be my favorite before going vegan. I lived in North Carolina for four years and found that I loved the vinegar taste to traditional Carolina BBQ sauce. After I became vegan, I knew BBQ was something I wanted to try and veganize. I quickly found out that jackfruit, banana blossoms, and certain mushrooms were the perfect way to make plant based BBQ meat alternatives. You can make ribs and other vegan BBQ meat using wheat gluten and soy products, but I like using the vegetables I mentioned because they are easier to access and make. I don’t have the patience to make wheat gluten recipes on a regular like I do with the veggie recipes. I also prefer the texture to the veggies to most wheat gluten meat alternatives when given the choice.
Jackfruit is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to make pulled pork/chicken alternatives and I love using it for that. Trader Joe’s carries canned jackfruit which helps the process, because breaking down a whole jackfruit is a huge pain. It’s messy, time consuming, and tedious. Not only this, but you also want jackfruit that has been brined in a can or in water, so it has lost its sweet flavor. You will want to wash the pieces well from the can if they have been brined. Cut jackfruit in water will work just as well. The canned version helps because I like to cook it two ways by cooking it in the BBQ sauce in a pot first, then baking it in the oven on a cookie sheet to get it crispy. The jackfruit still needs to be shredded and picked apart to resemble pulled pork, but it’s easy to do. The can comes with large apple slice sized pieces of jackfruit. Each slice has to be broken apart leaving “pork” pieces. There is a tough core that you want to take out and throw away. This is another reason you want to spend the time to break down the “meat”. It’s worth the time to prep everything and to cook it for a while in the sauce to really get the quality BBQ flavor you are going for.
Trader Joe’s sells a great Carolina BBQ sauce that I think is a good representation of the real thing I loved living in Charlotte. This also cuts down your cook time by not making the sauce from scratch. Feel free to make your own if you have a good recipe and I would love to get it from you.
I am still trying to find the perfect vegan slaw recipe I can share with you. I am picky about slaw because it’s not really my thing. I only eat it when it pairs well with something like these sliders. This can be treated as a side, but I like topping the sliders with the slaw. This way each bite gets the buttered roll, BBQ pork, and fresh, crisp slaw in one. I picked apart a couple of different slaw recipes and put this one together. It still needs some work, but this is good. I like my slaw to have a dressing that is married well, but the cabbage still has some bite to it. I don’t like soft cabbage slaw and I think that might be one of the reasons I never order it. Large batches of slaw are bound to get soggy.
You can make the slaw dressing in advance and add it to the slaw when its time to make it. Resting the slaw an hour or two before it is served should give the dressing enough time to marry but keep the cabbage crisp. For the leftovers, I would keep the slaw dressing separate and make it an hour or so before dinner. You can always treat it like a normal slaw and blend it all at once. If you do that, its only good in the fridge for a couple of days.
I paired this with Bush’s Baked Beans because they have vegan baked beans, and it was an easy side. These would go great with any standard picnic side like potato salad, watermelon, pasta salad, or fries.
Have you cooked with any of these meat alternatives before? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below what vegan BBQ recipes you have made in the past and how did they turn out?
Thanks for reading,
Jessica
Carolina BBQ Sliders
Ingredients
- 2 20 ounce cans cut jackfruit (I like TJ’s brand. Use ones in water or brine, and rinse brined version if using)
- 1 18 ounce bottle Trader Joe’s Carolina BBQ sauce
- 1 cup shredded green cabbage
- 1 cup shredded purple cabbage
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1/2 cup non-dairy mayo or yogurt (I used Follow Your Heart Soy Free Mayo. Add more as needed to make sure all the veggies are evenly covered)
- 1 TBSP Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 TBSP Dijon Mustard (other mustard can be subbed if needed)
- 1 TBSP maple syrup (or sweetener of choice)
- 1 ½ TSP lemon Juice
- ½ TSP sea salt
- ½ TSP fresh ground black pepper
- ¼ TSP Celery Seeds
- Sprinkle of garlic powder and TJ’s Cuban Citrus seasoning (optional)
- 12 mini hoagie slider buns or 4-6 full sized vegan buns (make sure whatever you use don’t have milk, eggs, or honey hidden in them)
- Vegan butter or olive oil to butter the buns for toasting
- 1 28 ounce can of Bush’s Vegetarian Baked Beans (these are confirmed vegan by their company)
Instructions
- Start by draining and rinsing the jackfruit in a strainer. Take one jackfruit chunk at a time, and gently pull apart the meat into a bowl. There is a tough core that you want to take out and throw away. Treat this like you would when you pulled apart chicken or pork to give it that “shredded” feel to it.
- When done, you should be left with a large bowl of shredded jackfruit meat. Slowly add the BBQ sauce to the meat until you get it all evenly coated. You want to have some leftover so you can baste the meat as it cooks.
- Start making the slaw by shredding the cabbage and carrots and put them in a large bowl.
- Whisk remaining dressing ingredients in a small bowl until smooth and pour it into the large bowl with the slaw veggies in it. Adjust seasonings to taste. Mix well and rest 1 hour covered in the fridge before serving.
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the coated jackfruit to the pan. Toss the meat in the pan occasionally for 2-3 minutes. Stir and reduce heat to low- medium and cook for about 20 minutes (up to 35 minutes on low for a deeper flavor). As the meat cooks, continue to break down the meat with a couple of forks, as it gets tender. Add additional sauce as it cooks. It tends to dry out as it cooks. You don’t want it dry, but you also don’t want it to be watered down or soupy.
- Transfer the jackfruit to the baking sheet and spread in an even layer.
- Bake for 25 minutes, until the jackfruit is slightly browned and crispy, stirring occasionally.
- The baked beans can be easily heated up on low until ready to be served.
- Take the buns and butter/oil the inside of each one and lay face up on a plate. Heat a skillet up to medium and wait until warm. Take the buns and lay them butter side down on the skillet and cook until golden brown, without moving them. This should take a couple of minutes for each one. This is optional but it adds to the flavor of the BBQ sauce.
- Plate up with a base of buttered bun, BBQ meat and a dollop of slaw on top. Serve with a side of baked beans and enjoy.
Notes:
Slaw and BBQ meat is good in the fridge covered for 2-4 days. They are both better served fresh. Serves five.
