September becomes a strange month after you finish music school. This is my second September since graduating Juilliard and (finally) concluding my quest to collect as many music degrees as possible, but it still feels weird.
When everyone else is frantically throwing together a seating audition and you’re just at home drinking tea and practicing at your leisure? Great, but weird. When everyone else is at school until 12 AM rehearsing and you’re in bed by 9:30? AWESOME, but still weird. When you no longer have someone else deciding where you need to be at every second of every day? That’s especially dope, but also… Kinda weird.
September as a freelance musician is also odd, because it bridges the gap between the end of summer (not that busy) and the fall (WHAT DAY IS IT WHERE’S MY CAFFEINE DRIP SOMEONE BOOK ME A MASSAGE AHHHHH). Regular teaching starts up again, gigs happen more regularly, and all the chill vibes I was giving off in August get ready to fly south for the winter without me.
But since we have a little time left before the busiest part of the fall season, I thought it would be fun to try a little experiment this month.
You see, lots of people I know have been going vegetarian lately. Whether its for the environment, for their health, for a short period of time, or indefinitely, it seems that this is a choice that people are really digging. So I thought, why not give it a try for a month?
For the most part, it’s been really easy. The hardest part has been going out to eat (veggie options at restaurants are often pretty meh). On the flip side though, I’ve been forced to eat in more and to be more creative in the kitchen, which has been SO MUCH FUN. As an added bonus, I feel lighter and my wallet feels heavier (meat is pricey, y’all). All good things so far.
That being said, the cravings still come. This recipe was born out of an *intense* craving for pulled pork. Tender, fall-apart-in-your-mouth shredded pork doused in sweet BBQ sauce… There’s nothing like it. I almost broke my keyboard drooling on it just now. At first I was just going to power through my final week, but then I thought… Why deprive myself when there’s jackfruit?
Jackfruit has been having a moment lately, and everyone says the texture is JUST like pulled pork. I’m always hesitant when it comes to meat “substitutes,” and was skeptical that it could fully quell my craving. But I’ll try anything once, and in this case, I’m SO glad I did.
When jackfruit is crisped up in a pan and tossed in your favorite barbecue sauce, it really is incredibly similar to eating shredded or pulled meat. I also added some caramelized red onions into the “pork” mixture to bulk up the dish. Then, I stuffed it all into perfectly baked, crispy skinned sweet potatoes and topped it off with some cornichons (pickles).
Basically, if you want to experience a full barbecue meal tied up in a healthy, vegan, easy to make package, this recipe is for you. The potatoes do take a long time to bake, so I used that time to caramelize the onions low and slow. If you’d rather not babysit onions today (I get it), simply sautée them until soft, about 5-10 mins. Another option: feel free to add a little vegan or regular shredded cheese on top after stuffing the potatoes. Return the potatoes to the oven and broil until the cheese is melted, about 3-5 minutes.
Jackfruit takes the place of pulled pork in these BBQ loaded sweet potatoes. They’re vegan, but you won’t even know it!
Ingredients
Scale
3 large sweet potatoes (~10 oz. each)
2 1/2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 20-oz. can green jackfruit*
1/4 cup barbecue sauce of your choice
1 tsp. soy sauce
cornichons or sliced pickles, to garnish
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425.
Combine salt and garlic powder.
Clean sweet potatoes and dry thoroughly. Do not peel!
Rub each potato with a little bit of oil (~1 tsp. each) and garlic salt mixture. Pierce each 4-5 times with a fork.
When the oven is preheated, place the potatoes directly onto your middle oven rack.** To prevent mess, place a piece of tin foil or a cookie tray on the bottom rack of the oven to catch drippings.
Bake the potatoes for about 45-50 minutes, or until tender.
While the potatoes are baking, heat 1/2 tbs. oil over medium-low heat. Add the onions. Toss every 4-5 minutes until onions are deep purple and lightly caramelized, about 30 minutes. (Optional to save time: sautée onions over medium-high heat until soft, 5-10 minutes.)
While the onions are cooking, prepare the jackfruit. Discard the tough, pointy “core” from each piece and shred the soft fruit until it’s the consistency of pulled meat. Pat dry thoroughly and set aside.
When the onions are done to your liking, remove them from the pan and set aside.
Add the remaining 1 tbs. oil and jackfruit to the same pan. Raise the heat to high, only stirring 2-3 times allowing the jackfruit to get browned and crispy, about 5 minutes.
Remove the pan from heat. Add the soy sauce and barbecue sauce and toss to combine. Add the onions back in and toss again.
To serve, split each sweet potato down the middle leaving the bottom intact. Lightly mash the inside of each potato before stuffing it with the jackfruit mixture. Top with cornichons and serve.
Notes
* I buy canned jackfruit at Trader Joe’s. If you don’t have one nearby, check the international foods aisle at your local grocery store.
** If the cleanliness of your oven rack is questionable, feel free to use a wire cooling tray placed on top of your oven rack. It doesn’t matter what you use as long as there is air circulating all around the potatoes.
For a cheesy version, top the stuffed potatoes with some regular or vegan shredded cheese and broil for 3-5 minutes before adding the pickles.
