Corned Jackfruit for St. Patrick’s Day

Try my vegan spin on the New England St. Patrick’s Day classic with some Corned Jackfruit!  

Vegan Corned Jackfruit for St. Patrick’s Day

Growing up in New England (born in Boston!), corned beef was a traditional dish served every year for St. Patrick’s Day.  This dish was made popular during wartime rationing, sometimes called a “boiled dinner.”  Traditionally beef is “corned” by soaking it in a brine with pepper corns, allspice, and juniper (can be found in the bulk dried spice bins at the grocery store), along with other spices, for up to TEN days.  My jackfruit version just brines overnight—so much faster, and without the beef! I serve it with roasted veggies, including my new favorite—roasted cabbage.  So yummy!

Last Friday my mom and I took the boys on a little day trip.  We rode the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island—just a 30 minute ride, but probably the highlight of our trip for Jonathan—”a boat, a boat, a boat!”  Once there we drove to the Bloedel Reserve—a 150 acre estate that has been opened to the public to walk the gardens.  It was beautiful.  Apparently Mr. Bloedel was color blind, so instead of colorful flowers he had plants in varying shades of green.  Washington State is known as the Evergreen State, and the name is quite fitting—because of our seemingly continuous rainfall everything stays green year round, and these gardens were no exception.

^^^ So many beautiful shades of green—my favorite color!

All of this green got me thinking of Saint Patrick’s day—just a few weeks away!   Last year I had experimented with corned jackfruit—my vegan spin on the traditional holiday dish.  We all loved it and I promised to make it again soon so that I didn’t forget my recipe….and of course promptly forgot.  But I got back into the kitchen this year, determined to not only perfect the recipe, but to share it with you all too!

Jackfruit

For those of you not familiar with jackfruit, it is a tropical fruit grown in southeast Asia.  Young jackfruit is canned in a brine, or water, and has a very neutral, mild taste.  It is perfect to use in dishes instead of chicken or other shredded meats.  I also use it in my Taco Soup, and in my Posole.  Delicious!  This Corned Jackfruit would make an amazing Reuben sandwich!  It’s one of Irving’s favorites, so I need to whip some up and surprise him with it!

^^^ How beautiful is that cabbage?

Give this a try for your St. Patrick’s Day feast—you’re going to love it!  Be sure to take a picture, post it on Instagram, and tag me!  {#frieddandelions // @frieddandelions}

Print Recipe

Corned Jackfruit

Try my vegan spin on the New England St. Patrick's Day classic with some Corned Jackfruit!  

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time45 mins

Course: Entree

Cuisine: Irish American

Author: Sarah De la Cruz

Ingredients

For the Brine:

• 2 cups water
• 1 Tablespoon kosher salt try 2 teaspoons of regular fine grain salt
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar or sub maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 8 whole cloves
• 8 whole allspice berries found dried in the bulk spice section
• 12 whole juniper berries found dried in the bulk spice section
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar

For the Jackfruit:

• 2 20 ounce cans YOUNG jackfruit in brine, NOT ripe jackfruit in syrup, found in Asian markets or online
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika for color and smokey flavor

For the Roasted Vegetables:

• 1 head green cabbage
• 6 large carrots
• 2-3 pounds Yukon Gold or Red Potatoes
• olive oil salt and pepper

Instructions

For the Brine:

• Place all of the brine ingredients into a small pan on the stove. Bring to a boil and turn off the heat. While the brine sets, begin to work on the jackfruit.

For the Jackfruit:

• Open and drain the cans of jackfruit. Using your fingers, shred the triangular shaped jackfruit into meaty shreds, discarding the harder point of each wedge as well as any pods.
• Place the shreds into a container with a lid, and pour the brine overtop.  Allow to brine in the refrigerator overnight.
• The next day drain the jackfruit.  Heat a skillet (I like my cast iron) and drizzle a little olive oil on it.  Add the jackfruit shreds.  Sprinkle with paprika and toss to incorporate. Heat through, allowing the shreds to brown and crisp very slightly.  Remove from pan and serve.  I like to serve my corned jackfruit with roasted vegetables, see below.

For the Roasted Vegetables:

• Preheat oven to 400°.
• Slice the cabbage from top to stem into large discs, about 1/2" thick.  Carefully lay them onto a parchment lined baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.
• Slice carrots on the diagonal, about 1/4" thick.  Dice potatoes into 1/2 cubes.  Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, and spread out on a parchment lined baking sheet.
• Roast both pans of veggies for about 30 minutes, carefully flipping the cabbage discs half way through, and tossing the potatoes and carrots.
• Serve with corned jackfruit.

Notes

* Cook time does not include the overnight brining step. Be sure to plan ahead!

^^^ Remove the pod like pieces shown on the left, you will have the shredded pieces remaining, shown on the right.

^^^ Paired with my new favorite kombucha—Sound Kombucha—try the Earl Grey flavor!!!

Want more GREEN dishes?

Peppermint Patty Brownie Cupcakes
Classic Pesto
Big Chickie Kale Salad
Jasmine Green Tea Latte
Matcha Made In Heaven Smoothie
Irish Cream (maybe not green, but certainly Irish!)