Happy 4th of July to all my American friends! I just celebrated July 1st on Friday so I took the day off from posting to just enjoy the time with my family.

In my previous jackfruit post (Teriyaki Jackfruit), I mentioned that this pulled jackfruit recipe was coming up. I feel like this type of dish is perfect for the 4th of July or really any nice summer day. It’s a terrific option when you want the feel of barbecue but without the actual meat, or having to fire up the grill. I was pretty surprised by how much I enjoyed this recipe.

The recipe begins by sauteeing some onion and then adding the shredded jackfruit and garlic, and cooking that until everything is golden brown and softened. Then there is a large amount of liquid that is added – it’s a mixture of cola, broth, soy sauce, smoked paprika and liquid smoke. There is also supposed to be pomegranate molasses but I couldn’t find any so I omitted it. So it was a nice mix of sweet and smokey and a touch of salty.

The pan simmers away on the stove until most of the liquid is evaporated and soaked into the jackfruit. Then it goes into the oven to cook down some more and get a little caramelized. It came out smelling amazing and it gets topped with fresh pomegranate and parsley for some extra colour.

I actually served this with the eggplant rice from my previous post (Baked Eggplant Rice) but you could serve with plain rice too. But if you wanted the bbq flare, you could get mini slider buns and make sandwiches with a little coleslaw on top. Those would be incredible.

This was a very tasty dish with good smokey flavour. Could I tell it wasn’t real meat – yes – but it was still a good meal. Definitely try this out if you want to try a meatless “pulled pork”.