Earlier this month, vegan food blogger The Stingy Vegan uploaded a recipe and a video on Facebook for a Banana Peel Vegan Pulled Pork Sandwich.
It seemed innocuous enough — just another tasty-looking vegan recipe — but the internet swiftly reacted.
First of all, how does it work? We reached out to Melissa from The Stingy Vegan and discovered that the process only takes a couple of steps. First, take the banana out of the peel and scrape the sides of the peel to get all of the soft stuff off.
Next, use a fork (or knife) to turn the peels into shreds.
From there, you'll toss the peels in a blend of spices or sauce of your choice.
And the end result looks like this (!):
Now before you start asking why this recipe would use fruit in the first place, please note that jackfruit is a hugely popular meat replacement for BBQ and "pulled pork" style sandwiches.
And it's not just The Stingy Vegan who's been experimenting with banana peels. People are making banana peel carnitas...
...banana peel burgers...
...and banana peel bacon.
And it turns out, lots of people around the world have been using banana peels to cook for years, for many reasons including eating on a budget and living a low or no waste lifestyle.
While Melissa's inspiration for the recipe came from a Facebook group and YouTube, she said that she quickly discovered that this is already a dish popular with Venezuelans:
I first heard some talk about it in a vegan Facebook group. A few people had tried a banana peel pulled pork recipe by a YouTube user called Chef Jana. There was also some mention of the fact it's not a new idea. It turns out that vegetarians in Venezuela have been using plantain peels to make a similar pulled meat dish called carne mechada for years (and they've been keeping it a secret from us this whole time!) So I decided to try it out.
Response to the recipe have been mixed. Some people aren't really feeling it:
Swear to God, you try to feed this to me and we're gonna fight. https://t.co/pUTGIVwgI9
@notfolu I started the video a little late and so I watched the whole thing wondering what it was made out of. Nothing could have prepared me.
@notfolu How can I fight a recipe?
@notfolu Did this mf just make bbq using banana peels!?
Others think it's a cool idea:
a lot of ppl hating on that vegan banana peel/pulled pork idea but i think it’s kinda cool and may even try it myself. i bet the texture adds a meatiness to it you wouldn’t expect and i predict subtle hints of sweetness
vegans are really out here making pulled pork out of banana peel sounds gross but damn we creative 🎨
I would definitely not eat a banana peel faux pulled pork sandwich, but I’m trying to get better with just letting people rock with whatever weird vegan imitations work for them. The way the world is going, we’re probably all gonna have to get creative with the meat substitutes
@MurderBryan At first I thought it was definitely a joke. After four viewings I am ready to eat it.
And some people have actually made the recipe and reported back that it tastes good!
I just tried out that recipe using (ripe) banana peel as a meat replacement. I always side eye the cooks when they say these vegan replacements are so delicious I did it IT'S DEEEEEEEELICIOUS I CANNOT believe it
Despite the mixed reception, Melissa's recipe fits right into the ethos of her blog (aptly called The Stingy Vegan, remember!). When asked what makes this recipe different than the others she's created, Melissa replied:
Well, this is the first of my recipes that uses actual trash, lol! On my
blog I try to offer economical vegan recipes with cheap supermarket staples and there's nothing cheaper than making a meal out of something you'd normally throw away. Understandably, people are flipping out. A lot of people can't get over the ick factor and I get it, I was skeptical too.
While she was skeptical at first, in the end, she says, most people who have tried it have liked it:
"Of the adventurous ones who have tried it, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Many people have told me they prefer it to jackfruit pulled pork as it's much quicker to make and, obviously, cheaper too! Time to start saving those banana peels!"
Vegans, what will they think of next?
