How do you marinate jackfruit?

Jackfruit is a tropical fruit with pulp with a meaty texture reminiscent of chicken. It has a neutral taste, but similar to tofu, is easy to marinate and season. Jackfruit is becoming increasingly popular as a meat substitute and especially as pulled jackfruit, the vegan version of pulled pork.

Jackfruit: a wonderful fruit from Sri Lanka

Jackfruit works a treat for those looking for an alternative that comes close to meat It is fully plant-based, extremely high in fibre, but low in calories and fat. As a meat substitute, jackfruit is ideal for a healthy diet.

There are two varieties of jackfruit. Full-ripened or yellow jackfruit is sweet and fruity and is eaten as a snack or in desserts. If you want to use jackfruit as a meat substitute, you should buy young or green jackfruit.

The marinade makes the jackfruit!

Young jackfruit from a can or a glass jar is light in colour and neutral in flavour, similar to a mild artichoke flavour. The great advantage of jackfruit is that it absorbs the taste of marinades or spices like a sponge. Add to this its meaty structure and you will understand why jackfruit can be used to make delicious vegetarian or vegan dishes. Whether your jackfruit dish really approaches the original meat dish depends largely on the marinade.

We give you three ways of marinating below, but first you have to prepare the jackfruit.

1. Jackfruit in cans or glass jars is kept in brine or salt water with a touch of lime juice. Pour the contents of the tin into a colander. Then rinse the jackfruit thoroughly with cold water so that all the salt water is removed. As a result, the jackfruit will taste less sour later on.

2. Before marinating the jackfruit, gently press loose pieces to get the excess water out of the jackfruit. If you wish to make pulled jackfruit, you can now pull the jackfruit apart into strips with your hands.

3. Put the jackfruit in a bowl or dish with a lid which you can put in the fridge after adding the marinade.

Step by step jackfruit marinating - (c) Jacky F.

How should you marinate young jackfruit?

A very important detail when marinating jackfruit is how long you let it marinate. Ideally, you should let the marinade soak in overnight. If you don't have that much time, you should factor in at least 15 minutes to a couple of hours. The longer you let it marinate, the tastier your jackfruit becomes!

1. BBQ-marinade (pulled jackfruit!)

What you need: 

- 1 can of Jackfruit
- 100ml BBQ sauce
- optionally, half an onion and 2 cloves of garlic

It's very easy. Mix the jackfruit with 100ml BBQ sauce. If you have more time, first fry the jackfruit in a pan with the onion and garlic. Add the BBQ sauce at the end. Place in the fridge overnight.

After marinating, you can fry the jackfruit again in a pan or heat it in an oven at 200 °C for 30 minutes.

If you pull this BBQ jackfruit apart with two forks into strips, you'll have pulled jackfruit! This is the vegan version of trendy pulled pork, the hip American classic where pork is slowly smoked in the oven/smoker until it is tender and can be easily pulled apart. Pulled jackfruit is delicious between a roll, in wraps or tacos.

2. Oriental style

What you need: 

-  1 can of Jackfruit
- 3 tbsp Tahini (or other nut spreads)
- 2 tbsp Coco Aminos (or soy sauce)
- 1 tbsp sweetener (e.g. Agave syrup, maple syrup)
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- Salt and pepper

Put the jackfruit and all the ingredients in a bowl or box with a lid and shake well. Keep overnight in the fridge.

Fry the marinated jackfruit in a pan with a little oil over medium heat and heat it until slightly crispy on the outside.

Jackfruit with an oriental marinade tastes delicious in fresh salads or poké bowls, in wraps or with hummus.

3. The Mediterranean way

What you need:

- 1 can of young Jackfruit
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1-2 grated garlic cloves
- 1 handful of fresh or 2 tablespoons of dried Mediterranean or Provençal herbs
- optionally: 2 tbsp. tomato puree and 2 tbsp. sieved tomatoes

Mix the jackfruit with the ingredients. If you want to taste the real Mediterranean flavour, add tomato puree or sieved tomatoes.

After marinating, fry the jackfruit in a little oil until crispy, or put it in a preheated oven at 200°C or about 30 minutes.

This marinated jackfruit is delicious in all kinds of Mediterranean dishes, such as southern stir-fry dishes, on a pizza or for grilling.