Face-off: ‘Naner vs Jackfruit

While some of you were cheering for a team in the big rivalry this weekend (UK vs. USA), we had bigger, better, weirder rivalries to attend to. Like which tropical fruit makes a better pig replacement in stewed pulled pork?
Ever since tasting the BBQ “Pork” Sandwich at Hollywood’s Pure Luck (a sandwich we’d like to take with us into the afterlife) we’ve held Jackfruit to be the preeminent faux pork. It’s stringy, tender and slightly sweet like the more barbaric original. But one day Alex expressed this love and admiration for the J-fruit to one of Pure Luck’s neighbors, Tai Kim, owner of Scoops. Since Kim is known for arty gelato flavors like kimchee and truffle, we weren’t surprised when he said something along the lines of: “Jackfruit’s okay but I don’t know why they don’t use banana flower.”

This weekend, we finally had the opportunity to make these tropical plants face-off in a sweaty barbecue-scented cage match. We needed to try out a barbecue sauce recipe we’re working on for the aforementioned Dirty South Wedding we’re prepping for. We set to perfecting the sauce and then preparing the “pork.” The sauce itself was gorgeous, red chili-flecked, slightly gooey, sweet from peaches. Rather than have to pick between “Carolina Style” sauces (thin, red and vinegar based) and “Kansas City” style (gooey, sweet and sloppy) we found a happy medium by making a simple vinegar sauce and using that as the base of a thicker crowd pleaser. Try it yourself!
For the Jackfruit, we took Pure Luck’s recommendation and got the canned in brine variety from a Filipino market. Rinsed and pulled apart by hand, this stuff is great and easy to work with. Though next time, we plan to soak the tanginess of the brine out completely.

As you’ll see in this video however, the banana flower was, how shall we say, more challenging to work with. Peeling layer after lawyer of young banana pods the size and shape of reptilian phalluses was not appetizing. Nor was the task of taking each and every one out of its bitter, starchy pod to soak in citrus-salt water. Or cooking it in three stages: boiled to remove bitterness, sauteed in oil, then stewed with the sauce.
The final result was surprising: The jackfruit was good, its texture pitch perfect, and appearance very close to the ribbons of pig flesh, but left something to be desired in terms of having its own tang. The banana on the hand was a standout: though slightly on the mushy side from the cooking process and being finely chopped, the mouth feel and taste were glorious — not just fruit, but nutty, which we understand people dig in pig chops. So what’s a coupla cooks to do? With the ‘naners time prohibitive, we’ll have to call it a tie for now.

Vinegar Base
1/4 cup hot water
1 Tbs. brown sugar
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs. paprika
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp black pepper
1. Add brown sugar to hot water and stir to dissolve. Combine with cider vinegar in a small pot over high heat.
2. Add spices and whisk thoroughly until mixture reaches a boil. Remove from heat and cool.
BBQ Sauce
1 white onion
1 Tbs. butter (optional, sub oil for vegan)
1 Tbs. olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp. cumin seed
1 tsp caraway seed
2 cups Peach Ketchup
3/4 cup vinegar base (above)
1/2 tsp. Dijon
2 Chipotle peppers
2 Tbs. molasses
1 Tbs. maple syrup
1 tsp. liquid smoke (optional)
1 tsp. salt
3. Measure out all your wet ingredients and whisk together in a measuring cup, including the vinegar base. Set aside.
4. Mince the onion. Bring a large sauce pot on medium heat, add the butter and oil. Add onion, cooking until onions are translucent but not caramelized, about 3 min.
5. Chop the chipotle peppers, then add to the onions with the garlic, cumin and caraway. Cook for 3 minutes.
6. Pour in wet ingredients and give a heft stir. Let cook on low for 20 minutes, stirring every five. The goo should be sputtering. Remove and use cold or hot.

Soundtrack: Os Mutantes’ “Meu Refrigerador Nao Funciona”
Beverage: Buckeye Brewing’s ’76 IPA