Vegan Crock-Pot Recipes: BBQ Jackfruit Sandwiches

I recently became a member of a Facebook group called “What F.A.T. Vegans Eat.” I feel the need to point out the recklessness of titling a group “F.A.T.” as it made me join under the false pretense that I would be surrounded by other vegans that are as obsessed with soul-satisfying comfort food not seen under the raw or typically health-centric vegan pages. I will admit--I am a comfort food addict. Becoming a vegan did make me healthier, but it in no way curbed my love for the occasional decadence--my typical weekday night at home (when my erratic lifestyle affords me one) can be pictured as me with a Betty White size glass of wine and a bottomless mixing bowl of raw vegan cookie dough, sitting on my couch delighting in an unending Top Chef marathon. But I digress. In actuality, the “F.A.T.” vegan group is a group for “Fantastically Amazing Terrific” vegans and their food photography, but just joining lit the torch of my obsession with comfort food ablaze. I started seeing easy, homemade pulled BBQ jackfruit recipes several months ago. I had already come across the pre-packaged versions at my local market but had always found them…let’s just say….lacking. The sauce was always too smoky and the “pulled” jackfruit was barely cooked and cut in triangular slices that ate more like raw, hard melon--blegh! If I hadn’t seen the recent homemade trend and set out to make a recipe on my own I probably wouldn’t have returned to jackfruit at all. But before you make that potential mistake, too, let me confirm, jackfruit is really delicious! You just need to handle it yourself. It’s hard, even here in California, to find jackfruit raw. Where some would find this an issue, I see it as a blessing. Canned jackfruit, in water, not only holds maintains a lot of its original nutrition, but it's already been taken out of the casing and can be rinsed, drained, and used immediately! Easy peasy! Combine the effortlessness of jackfruit, a crock-pot cooking method, and the sumptuous sweet and spicy comfort cuisine of America--BBQ--and you have one of my now all-time favorite meals! But let's not forget what makes BBQ--BBQ--the sauce! The sauce alone can be made and enjoyed as a dip or a topping to homemade Seitan, roasted cauliflower, or any other treat you want to give a little southern lovin’! Whether you use this recipe as a sauce or sandwich, it truly puts to rest the idea that BBQ is just for carnivores!