Vegan Jackfruit Pernil
Published Dec. 7, 2023
- Total Time
- 7¾ hours
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1½ hours, plus at least 6 hours’ marinating
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and freshly ground pepper
- 3(20-ounce) cans jackfruit in brine (see Tip), drained
- ½cup/120 grams store-bought fresh or homemade sofrito
- ¼cup grapeseed oil
- 8garlic cloves, minced
- 1tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1tablespoon fresh or dried oregano
- 1½teaspoons adobo seasoning
- 1(4-gram) packet/1½ teaspoons store-bought or homemade sazón (any flavor)
- 1teaspoon ground cumin
- 1teaspoon onion powder
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Preparation
- Step 1
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over medium heat and lightly salt the water. Rinse the brine off your jackfruit before placing the jackfruit in the pot of boiling water. Boil the jackfruit until it softens and no longer smells like brine, about 30 minutes, then drain and let it cool.
- Step 2
Use your hands or a potato masher to squeeze all the liquid out of the jackfruit. The pieces will inevitably begin to shred. Remove the seeds: You’ll spot and feel firm, visible seeds that are slightly more yellow than the rest of the jackfruit pieces. Pop the seeds out using your fingertips and discard them, gently breaking the jackfruit into smaller pieces as you go.
- Step 3
Transfer your jackfruit to a large bowl and add your sofrito, grapeseed oil, garlic, lime juice, oregano, adobo, sazón, cumin and onion powder, plus 1 tablespoon salt and 1 tablespoon pepper. Mix thoroughly, then cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours.
- Step 4
When you’re ready to cook, heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the jackfruit in a single layer, spreading it out so it crisps properly.
- Step 5
Roast the jackfruit for 30 minutes, stirring it every 10 minutes. Keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn’t overcook; you want it bronzed, and a little crispy but not burnt. Serve immediately. (The mixture keeps, covered and refrigerated, for up to 3 days, though its texture is best when consumed straight out of the oven.)
- Canned jackfruit in brine can commonly be found in Asian grocery stores and online.
Private Notes
Comments
Look no further than Trader Joe’s for brined jackfruit in 20-ounce cans.
Okay, let’s be honest: this is not going to fool your abuela and why would you want to fool her anyway??? Tell her you have a delicious vegetarian dish that reminds you of her pernil (but of course not as good as hers!) and let her enjoy it in its own right! Because it’s delicious. And every member of my family inhaled it. And no, it isn’t pork. But it’s great. Notes: i used the red goya sofrito because that’s what my grocery store had. It’s fine, homemade would be better. Made my own adobo.
Any tips for adapting if you have access to fresh jackfruit? Would it still need brining or would you want to boil it with some added salt to compensate?
Where’s the garlic at though?
Delicious dish, but I skip the added salt as the adobo and sazon are salt based. Absolutely worth the effort to use this to top nachos, or sprinkle on top of beans and rice.
Am I really the only one who found this to taste bland?
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