BBQ “Chicken” Jackfruit Pizza

In case you aren’t familiar with the amazingness of the jackfruit, let me introduce you to your new favorite meat substitute. Jackfruit is a giant spiny looking monster fruit that is native to Southeast Asia. It is eaten both during its young stage when it hasn’t developed a sweet taste yet as well as once it’s ripe and has a sticky sweet flavor. It is delicious both young and fully ripe, but for this recipe we don’t want it to be too sweet, so we’re going to use the young version.

When purchasing jackfruit, you can either buy a whole spiky fruit and break it down, or you can save yourself a bunch of prep time and get in already cut up and canned. Just keep in mind that if you opt for the canned option, make sure it’s labeled as young jackfruit and also that it is in a brine or water, not syrup. Now prepare your mouths for some amazingness.

Makes 1 pizza.

Ingredients:

• 1 20 oz can of jackfruit
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup bbq sauce (use your favorite!)
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• pizza crust
• 2 tbsp corn meal
• two fistfuls of shredded mozzarella
• cilantro for garnish

Kitchen Tools: baking sheet, pizza stone, large sauté pan, smashing implement

Prep Work:

Preheat your oven to 400*F. Remove jackfruit from the brine and discard the liquid. Chop jackfruit into smaller slices by slicing out from the core. Basically you’ll be maker thinner triangles.

Cooking:

Heat your sauté pan on medium heat and toss in jackfruit. Add liquid smoke and vegetable stock. Cook, stirring every so often for about 10 minutes until all liquid has evaporated. Mash the jackfruit with a potato masher (or the bottom of a wine bottle if you’re in a pinch). You’re essentially crushing it into a stringy mess that resembles pulled pork. Toss in 1/4 cup of bbq sauce and stir to combine.

Spread your jackfruit out on the baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 15 minutes until the top begins to look dry and maybe even a little crispy. Remove and set aside.

Crank your oven to 500*F and place the pizza stone inside to heat up.

Sprinkle a flat cutting board with corn meal and roll your pizza out on top, making sure that it doesn’t stick to the cutting board. Slather with 1/4 cup bbq sauce all the way to about 1/2″ from the edges. Sprinkle liberally with cheese. Spoon your cooked jackfruit onto the pizza in as much abundance as you like. Top with more cheese.

Once oven has finished preheating, carefully remove your hot pizza stone and place the completed pizza on top. (The big flat cutting board will make your life a breeze here). Place pizza in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crust is puffy & golden and the cheese has melted. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy!