As a long-term fan of Biff’s jackfruit wings and burgers, I have been longing to try out my own jackfruit burger recipe. Not wanting to completely replicate their burgers, because that would take all the fun out of the times when I do treat myself to a yummy Biff’s takeaway, I have put my own spin on them by blitzing the jackfruit into more of a mince meat style patty.
What is jackfruit?
Jackfruit is a rather large fruit that grows off the sides of trees. It is large and round, with a bumpy outer shell. Inside you find loads of pods of fruit with seeds inside.
The jack tree is mostly found in tropical climates around Asia. It is in Asia where I first tried jackfruit, but here the fruit is left to ripen so that it is yellow, sticky and sweet. It is enjoyed as a sweet treat.
In recent years, however, there has been an ever-growing demand for young jackfruit. That is jackfruit which has been harvested before it has properly ripened. This jackfruit is less sweet and is much more tender, making it the perfect meat alternative.
Cooking with jackfruit
Even though it may sound rather exotic, cooking with jackfruit is incredibly easy and the results are amazing. Just follow these easy tips to cooking with jackfruit:
Pick the right jackfruit
When cooking with jackfruit, you’ll want to pick the young jackfruit variety. But fear not, it is highly unlikely you’ll find the ripened variety outside of Asia.
You’ll mostly find young jackfruit inside tins and jars. I recommend picking the jackfruit that is in salted water, rather than in brine. Make sure to also pick an organic brand as the quality will be much better.
Most supermarkets now also stock tinned jackfruit, just try and avoid the pre-flavoured versions for this particular recipe.
Prepare the jackfruit
Make sure to drain the jackfruit and rinse it before cooking, especially if the kind you have is in brine.
Some people like to remove the seeds before cooking, but this is really just down to personal preference. I keep them in there as they provide another texture to the fruit.
Once rinsed, just leave it to drain or pat dry with a linen towel. Then you are ready to cook with your jackfruit!
Making jackfruit burgers
There are many ways you can cook with jackfruit and when it comes to burgers the options are endless!
Jackfruit does a great job of imitating pulled pork, so you can simply cook off the jackfruit as is and serve it inside a bun to make pulled ‘pork’ rolls. But it also can help to imitate fish, chicken, and even mince meat.
If the jackfruit is roughly chopped or blended, I find it helps to bind it but also keeps tender flaky bits which give it a fish or chicken-like appeal. Blended even further, it binds into a mince meat substance.
When it then comes to flavouring, because young jackfruit is quite bland (much like tofu) you can add whatever flavours you desire! The world is truly your oyster mushroom.
All of the above options work well, but for this vegan jackfruit burger patty recipe we’ll be focusing on the latter.
Vegan jackfruit burger serving suggestions
When it comes to eating your vegan jackfruit burger, you’ll want to pick the right ingredients to serve it with. I recommend eating it in a vegan brioche bun, which are now readily available in most supermarkets, otherwise, try out a ciabatta roll.
Dollop each side with a vegan mayo, I love this spicy mayo from Vurger Co.
Add in some salad, a few slices of tomato, and maybe even a few gherkins, and serve up alongside some homemade potato wedges.
Vegan jackfruit burger patty recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tins Jackfruit - I like to use Biona Organic Jackfruit
- 1 litre Vegetable stock
- 4 cloves Garlic - crushed and peeled
- 1 tsp Ground coriander
- 1 tsp Ground cumin
- 1 tsp Onion powder
- 1 tsp Smoked paprika
- 2 tsp Chipotle paste
- 1 tbsp Tamari soy sauce
- 100 g Flour - I use buckwheat but any will work
- Salt - to taste
- Black pepper - to taste
- Breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Drain the jackfruit and put into a saucepan with 1 litre of stock. Put on a high heat on the stove and bring to the boil.
- Let it simmer for about 20 minutes and then add in the peeled garlic cloves. Continue to simmer for another 5 minutes until the jackfruit is nice and tender.
- Drain the jackfruit and let it cool slightly.
- Add the cooled jackfruit into a food processer with the rest of the ingredients excluding the flour and breadcrumbs. Blitz to bring everything together slightly and then start adding the flour gradually with short blitzes. If you are after a more pulled ‘pork’ patty effect then keep it quite rough, but for a mince ‘meat’ style patty blitz until pretty smooth.
- Move the mix into a bowl and put in the fridge to cool down for 30 minutes. You can use this time to do some washing up… or you can skip this step altogether, just note that your patties may be harder to form when warm.
- Once cooled (and washed up) take the mix out of the fridge and form it into 4 large patties, or 8 small patties.
- Coat the patties in breadcrumbs and set aside whilst you heat up some oil in a large frying pan.
- Fry off the patties at a medium to high heat for at least 4 – 5 minutes on each side.
- Serve the patties in a burger bun with all your favourite burger toppings
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