Slow Cooker Smoky Pulled ‘Pork’ (vegan)

This recipe is so meaty it was impossible not to call it pulled ‘pork’! In tacos with BBQ sauce and pineapple salsa, it’s seriously impressive, fooling even the most dedicated carnivore. Test it out yourself! The meaty secret lies in two special ingredients: jackfruit and liquid smoke. After a few hours cooking, the jackfruit shreds to the stringy texture of pulled meat, while the liquid smoke makes it taste like it’s been cooked low and slow over hot coals for days. The hardest part about this recipe is finding those two ingredients – the actual method couldn’t be any simpler if you tried. If you’re planning your Mexican banquet in advance, the easiest place to get those ingredients is online.

Smoky Pulled ‘Pork’ (Vegan)

Alyce Alexander

It’s very rare I try to imitate meat in a recipe, but this one just turned out so meaty it was impossible not to call it pulled ‘pork’!

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs

Course Dinner, Main Course

Servings 4

Equipment

• Slow Cooker

Ingredients

 

• 600 g jackfruit in water or brine drained*
• ¼ cup 70g tomato paste
• ¼ cup 90g golden syrup
• 2 tablespoons gluten-free Worcestershire sauce
• 1½ tablespoons gluten-free Mexican spice mix
• 3 teaspoons fine salt
• 4 garlic cloves diced
• 1¼ teaspoons liquid smoke**

Instructions

 

• Place jackfruit, tomato paste, golden syrup, Worcestershire sauce, Mexican spice mix, salt and garlic in slow cooker. Stir to combine. Cover and cook for 2 hours on high or 4 hours on low.

2 OR 4 HOURS LATER

• Add liquid smoke, stir to combine. Use two forks to shred jackfruit as you would meat.
• Your pulled ‘pork’ is ready! It looks pretty meaty, don’t you think? Serve in tacos, burritos, toasted cheese sandwiches, spring rolls or sliders.
• You’ll find jackfruit in cans or cryovac packages from health food stores or online. As it becomes more and more popular, I’ve also recently seen it popping up in supermarkets. Make sure it’s in water or brine, not syrup.

Notes

You’ll find jackfruit in cans or cryovac packages from health food stores or online. As it becomes more and more popular, I’ve also recently seen it popping up in supermarkets. Make sure it’s in water or brine, not syrup.

Liquid smoke is essential for this recipe – find it in specialist food stores or online. A 250ml bottle will last you a lifetime because a little goes a long way! My favourite is hickory-flavoured liquid smoke.

This is a great recipe when entertaining a lot of people – set up a DIY taco station with this pulled ‘pork’ as the base and plenty of fresh and flavoursome toppings. You can make up to four times this recipe in a large slow cooker – scale up the ingredients accordingly and follow exactly the same method and cooking time.

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