Vegan Jackfruit BBQ and Kale Coleslaw

My brother-in-law, Kevin, is a master when it comes to BBQ. He likes to spend his weekends hovering over his outdoor smoker, churning out juicy, tender meats. For Christmas, instead of cookies, he hands out briskets. Seriously. He smokes about a dozen briskets and gives them out to friends. Kevin's day job is as a comedy writer and it's not unusual to find him pulling up to a Hollywood studio lot with a brisket wrapped in foil to deliver with a cheerful "Happy Holidays" message.

So here's the wild thing....Kevin is mostly vegan. He eats meat as a treat on occasion. He is a vegan who eats BBQ. So one day he decided to create a vegan "brisket" made of jackfruit. He took a picture and tweeted it out to his 12,000+ followers. It went viral. The next thing he knew, he was getting threats from diehard BBQ aficionados, even Senator Ted Cruz was hate-tweeting him. The Washington Post called him for a story they were running on it, and Southern Living picked it up as well.

In the true spirit of Kevin, he was able to have a good laugh at it. Our whole family laughed and said "that's Kevin."

I admire Kevin's take on eating mostly plant based with the occasional meat. He's found it to have incredible benefits to his health and its certainly more environmentally friendly. I try to eat plant based as much as I can and treat meat as a "treat" as well. I'm not quite as good about it as Kevin, but I try!

For this episode of "What's Katie Eating?" I am recreating Kevin's jackfruit BBQ. I had some help from the Food Network culinary team in crafting this recipe, as it is something totally new for me to cook. Team work! Hope you enjoy the show and please let me know your thoughts. Highly recommend you follow Kevin as well for some good laughs and new recipes @kbiegel.

Jackfruit BBQ and Kale Coleslaw

Recipe by Katie Lee Biegel

Prep time: 30 min

Cook time: 1 hr, 30 min

Total time: 2 hrs

Yield: 6 - 8 servings

Ingredients

Jackfruit Brisket :

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 2 cups vital wheat gluten
• 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons granulated garlic
• 2 teaspoons ground yellow mustard
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper
• 2 teaspoons rubbed sage
• Two 7-ounce packages unseasoned shredded jackfruit, such as Edward & Sons
• 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped (pulse mushroom stems and caps in a food processor to get them finely chopped)
• 1 cup mushroom stock
• 1 teaspoon liquid aminos

Barbeque Sauce :

• 2 cups ketchup
• 12 ounces dark stout beer
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup mushroom stock
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Kale Slaw :

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 5 cups shredded kale
• 3 cups shredded cabbage
• 3 cups shredded carrots
• 1 cup sunflower seeds

Cooking Directions

1. For the jackfruit brisket: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place the vital wheat gluten in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in the paprika, salt, chili powder, granulated garlic, ground mustard, onion powder, black pepper and sage. Add in the jackfruit and mushrooms. Stir until incorporated. Use your hands to break up any large clumps and make sure the mixture is thoroughly mixed; it will resemble a dark streusel with pea-size pieces.
3. Whisk together the stock and aminos in a small bowl. Pour this liquid into the jackfruit mixture. Use your hands to aggressively knead the mixture until it feels/looks like seasoned ground meat.
4. Place the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Use your hands to press it into the shape of a brisket, about 1-inch thick. Cover the baking sheet with aluminum foil and bake until firm to the touch, about 1 1/2 hours.
5. For the BBQ sauce (Cook’s Note : Store-bought BBQ sauce can also be used.): Meanwhile, combine the ketchup, beer, brown sugar, mushroom stock, vinegar, tomato paste, smoked paprika, onion powder, chili powder and salt in a sauce pot. Place over medium-high heat and whisk until simmering. Reduce the heat to low and cook until thick, 15 to 20 minutes more. Set aside.
6. Remove the aluminum foil and spread the BBQ sauce over the top, reserving some for serving. Turn the oven to broil on high. Place the "brisket" back into the oven and broil until the sauce bubbles and caramelizes, 2 to 3 minutes more.
7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Slice into thin pieces and serve warm with more BBQ sauce.
8. For the kale slaw: Combine the mayonnaise, yogurt, Dijon, vinegar, honey, celery seeds, salt and pepper in a bowl for the dressing. Add the dressing to a large bowl with the kale, cabbage and carrots and combine until everything is evenly coated. Top with the sunflower seeds.