Jackfruit has been heralded as the king of vegan meat substitutes for a while now.

But, more recently, I’ve noticed that the humble tin named “Jack” has gone mainstream. Yes, no longer is this delight solely found hiding in the corner of your local Asian food shop, but now it’s found its way on to the shelves of the supermarket giants too.

But what exactly is it?

Well, Jackfruit is a relative of the fig and it grows in the tropical bits of Southeast Asia, Brazil and Africa. It also holds the honour as the national fruit of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and the state fruit (whatever that means) of the Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

The flesh of the fruit is a starchy source of dietary fibre. Its pulp is composed of 74% water, 23% carbohydrates, 2% protein, and 1% fat. So now you know! According to Wiki (so it must be true), a 100-g portion of raw jackfruit gives you 400 kJ (95 kcal) and it’s a rich source of vitamin B6. It also contains moderate levels (10-19% DV) of vitamin C and potassium.

Unlike animal sources of protein, jackfruit contains no saturated fat or cholesterol, it’s light in sodium, and is also low in calories – so, in short, it’s better for you than meat!

Despite looking like a giant testicle and being a “fruit”, it is an amazing meat substitute – and a natural one at that, mainly because, while relatively tasteless, it is awesome at absorbing other flavours – so marinade and spice it up until your heart’s content.

Recently, our mate Jack the Fruit has become available at more and more takeaways and restaurants as the vegan option – and this is great news for those of us bored with veggie burgers and chips.

You can even buy pre-prepared jackfruit as a processed vegan food at Sainsbury’s now if you prefer the lazy, over-packaged option. But, hey, I guess it’s offering up more options to the vegans out there who struggle with the recipe for beans on toast.

However, sweet and savoury don’t mix – ask those who hate pineapple on a pizza – so make sure you get the young green jackfruit in brine, not the one in syrup – although, I’m told jackfruit does work well as a dessert – I guess most fruits do (except tomatoes – tomatoes and custard is just wrong). I shouldn’t be too harsh on supermarkets though, jackfruit, to me, deserves its tasty reputation, whereas that other vegan darling – the avocado is a tad overrated (the thing is 40% skin and 30% stone for crying out loud).

Gareth, from Peterborough-based Resist! Vegan Kitchen told me: “We use Jackfruit in our menu as most of our alternatives and items are gluten-based so this allows us a gluten-free option that does the job perfectly.”

This is a valid point in a world (including my world, it has to be said) that’s gone seitan crazy, the humble jackfruit flies to the rescue of the gluten intolerant.

So, what do you do with it?

Well, I drain it, wash it, boil it for 45 minutes, boil it again in fresh water for another 30 minutes and leave it to marinate in a mixture of spices and barbecue sauce and then fry it with onions and mushrooms in a little more barbecue sauce for a few minutes and then eat it in a roll.

However, there are a number of recipes out there, but I like Resist!’s BBQ Jackfruit, and now Gareth has exclusively revealed the secret to how to cook jackfruit to perfection to the readers of veganonadesertisland.

Resist! Slow cooked BBQ Jackfruit

Ingredients

• 2 cans of green or young Jackfruit (rinsed and roughly chopped)
• 2 tsp olive oil (and extra for the frying)
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1 tbsp Brown sugar
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 yellow onion
• 3 garlic cloves (crushed and pulled apart only)
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock (gluten-free if required)
• 1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 60ml apple cider vinegar
• A couple drops of liquid smoke
• 170ml of your choice beer/lager (gluten-free if required)
• 240ml of your favourite bought BBQ sauce (we use homemade)

Method

Toss the Jackfruit, salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, brown sugar and olive oil in a bowl and leave for 5 minutes.

Heat the extra oil in a large pan, wok or whatever large metal thing you want to cook in.

Add the Jackfruit mix, garlic and onion. Cook the jackfruit on one side for 5 minutes until it’s lightly brown and then repeat on the other side.

Pour in the liquids (Vegetable stock, Worcestershire sauce, cider vinegar, liquid smoke and beer).

Cover and simmer on a medium heat for 90 minutes, or until all the liquid has been absorbed.

Using a fork or wooden spoon, break up the Jackfruit to appear ‘pulled’, or roughly mashed as we say in the ghetto.

Preheat your oven to 190 degrees.

Spread the jackfruit mixture across a lightly oiled (or non-stick) oven tray and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove and cover the jackfruit with half the BBQ sauce, mix in and spread out again and cook for a further 20mins until the edges start to become blackened.

Give it another mix and cook for a further 10 minutes.

While waiting, think to yourself how the letter ‘A’ doesn’t appear in any number until one hundred and one.

Remove from the oven (the jackfruit, not the letter “A”).

Pour the cooked jackfruit into a bowl and cover with the remaining BBQ sauce (add more if required).

Add slaw or whatever topping you require.

Now throw some of the cooked mix into a fresh sub or baguette and toss it into your gaping jaws!