Before the pea-protein craze ignited by the likes of Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat – jack fruit based vegan food was all the rage. The Internet became littered with recipes for pulled pork made plant-based using this textural treat. Skip forward to today, and due to those aforementioned brands, it’s a tad more unusual now to find jackfruit newcomers. That coupled with my love for a good sausage meant that this product from Jack & Annie’s – a brand hailing from Colorado – caught my eye.
Cooking: Pan fry or grill according to the package. I used the air fryer in the pictures below to get them over the ultra safe mark of 165F. They’re solid little guys so would hold up well if you did decide to grill up em at the Summer BBQ.
Taste and texture: Very good, very good indeed. I expected the jack fruit base to deliver a less than stellar experience but was very wrong. The exterior casing crisps nicely. Inside there is a very enjoyable meaty chew here, a good slightly coarse texture, not mushy smoothness. The flavor is one of faux-smoke, but it’s not excessive.
Overall: I’m a huge fan of these. I’d never heard of the Jack & Annie’s brand before and am now keen to discover other products from them. The only downside is the relatively small amount of protein per sausage (6g). Other than that the nutritional stats (see below) are fabulous, they cook up perfectly, have an excellent taste and texture.
Jack & Annie’s Smoky Jack Sausage nutrition and cooking
Are Jack & Annie's Smoky Jack Sausage any good?
Absolutely! These are contenders for best plant-based sausage in my book, for sure top tier. The jackfruit base is an interesting chnage of pace from the pea-protein craze of late too.
Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you! I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC – Utah’s biggest and oldest online food magazine; I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune. I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV shows.
I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have covered the Utah dining scene for the better part of fifteen years. I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand. I started Shop Smart to catalogue my adventures in the grocery store and kitchen. Follow along on Instagram too!
Wow, cultured celery powder = nitrites. These natural nitrites are very unregulated. I’ll stick with their breakfast sausage that doesn’t have this ingredient. At least there’s no animal products and I’m sure a minuscule carbon footprint compared to meat based sausage. I enjoyed your review!
Thanks Matt 🙂 I’ve really been enjoying this product line so far.