Barbecue pulled jackfruit inside a buttery, peppery crust: Your world is about to change in the most delightful way. Savory hand pies are where it’s at! I love to serve them with my White Barbecue Sauce.
Serves: 4
½ cup (120 ml) plus 2 tbsp (30 ml) Mustard Barbecue Sauce or store-bought vegan barbecue sauce, divided
½ cup (120 ml) vegetable broth
1 (20-oz [600-g]) can young green jackfruit in water, drained
Pinch plus 1 tsp salt, divided
Pinch plus 2 tsp (4 g) black pepper, divided
2½ cups (300 g) all-purpose flour
¾ cup (180 g) cold vegan butter
½ cup (120 ml) ice-cold water
Olive oil, as needed
In a large nonstick skillet, whisk together ½ cup (120 ml) of the Mustard Barbecue Sauce and the broth. Add the jackfruit.
Bring the jackfruit to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook for about 5 minutes, or until it starts to get tender and you can start to smash the jackfruit with a fork. Smash it as much as possible.
Continue to simmer the jackfruit, reducing the heat if needed to prevent burning, for about 10 minutes, or until the jackfruit is tender enough to smash and shred completely and the sauce has been absorbed.
Season the jackfruit with the pinch of salt and pinch of black pepper. Remove the jackfruit from the heat.
Stir the remaining 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of Mustard Barbecue Sauce into the jackfruit to coat all of it. Set it aside to cool.
Sift the flour into a large bowl, then stir in the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt and 2 teaspoons (4 g) of black pepper.
Break the butter up into small pieces and drop them into the flour. Using your hands or a fork, press the butter into the flour until it is evenly distributed and the flour resembles sand.
Pour the water into the flour a little at a time, stirring until it gets too hard to stir. Knead with your hands for about 1 minute until the dough forms a ball.
Put the dough in the fridge to chill for about 5 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C). Spray a medium baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
Transfer the dough to a floured work surface. Roll the dough out until it is about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick (see Hot Tip). Cut the dough into 3-inch (7.5-cm) circles.
Put 1 to 2 tablespoons (9 to 18 g) of the jackfruit in the center of one circle of dough, then top the jackfruit with another circle. Press a fork around the edges of the dough to seal the hand pie.
Repeat the preceding process with all the dough and jackfruit. Poke a few holes in the tops of the hand pies and brush the tops lightly with the oil. Place the hand pies on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake the hand pies for 15 to 18 minutes, or until they are golden brown and crisp.
Serve the hand pies with the White Barbecue Sauce or extra Mustard Barbecue Sauce.
Hot Tip: If you find it difficult to visually measure the thickness of the dough, try stacking two US quarters on top of each other—two stacked quarters are roughly ⅛ inch (3 mm) in height.