Straight up I will say that I am not a fan of mock meats, faux meats, or whatever you call these wanna-be meats made mostly with some form of soy protein and wheat gluten...which for some might as well be allergy nuggets.
I know a bit harsh, but let's be honest, and I say this with all do respect because I have tried many, many versions, in hopes of finding one I like as part of me wants to keep believing.
However, many mock meats end up having this rubbery or gummy experience that is just ick for me, and lots are packed with sugar my guess as a way to improve the taste. Plus, I tend to avoid soy, and have yet to find a mock meat that is soy-free. If you know of one, please do share!
All is not totally lost though, as I have had some good ones and luckily here in Phoenix at Green's restaurant, their "Secret BBQ Chicken Sandwich" is one of those tasty mock chicken sandwiches and see it even looks like real chicken. Green's sandwich was named by PETA as the #1 best Faux-Chicken Sandwich in the US. Here's the full Top 10 list.
At the grocery store, I saw these BBQ Pulled Shreds made by Gardein, and what caught my eye was the photo of the sandwich which looked like your average pulled pork sandwich along with the bright pink label screaming, "NEW BOLD BBQ Sauce!" (the sauce label is new) The shreds were also on sale for really cheap, so I thought I'd try it out.
Because I wanted to get all fancy pants for my review here, I tried to duplicate the photo on the packaging. Instead of lettuce, I used arugula because I had a bag of it in the fridge. I used a multi-grain organic bun I got at the Whole Foods deli, and I added a sweet hot mustard and some Brianna's Poppyseed dressing. I know, lots of sauce going on here, but the flavor combo was good my friends!
First up, the thing I enjoyed the most about the pulled shreds was the BBQ sauce which is indeed bold and on the sweet side which is how I like my BBQ sauces. The shreds have a bit more sauce on them than on the package photo which for me was great.
Did the shreds taste meat-like? I'll say mostly because if you gave this to someone and didn't tell them, they would sense something was off. I did like the fact that one serving of the shreds has 19g of protein. Excellent!
The mock BBQ Chicken Sandwich at Green's is so close that it would be tough to tell...which in my book is the ultimate sign in imitation, if a meat eater can't tell the difference.
I would eat the Gardein BBQ Pulled Shreds again...if someone made it. It's tasty but I wouldn't go running to the store to specifically go get it. If I was planning a BBQ and wanted to offer a vegan option, I would buy the Gardein shreds for my guests.
For some reason, I do want to try the Gardein Santa Fe Good Stuff because the photo looks like a really delicious piece of stuffed chicken breast. Yes, I am easily lured in by mouth-watering photos.
I will give Gardein this, the food photos on their packaging are excellent and make the mock meats look like real meats. That is impressive from a marketing standpoint to get people to try the product.
Have you tried any of the Gardein products? What did you think?
