Annually, the average American eats 13.4 pounds of bananas—our favorite fresh fruit. But since peels can comprise 35 percent of the fruit, a large portion of what we buy goes in the trash. Eating the peels could reduce a significant amount of food waste. And by the way, discarded food is the single largest category of material that ends up in municipal landfills, producing methane—a potent greenhouse gas—as it breaks down. Believe it. The idea may not have caught on in the US yet, but people in Venezuela, India, and Southeast Asia have been cooking and eating banana peels for years. And not only are they edible, they’re good for you, too: banana peels contain potassium, fiber, antioxidants, vitamins B6 and B12, magnesium, and even protein. So why haven’t we been preparing banana peels, caramelizing them in sugar, adding them to smoothies, or frying them up in barbecue sauce? It seems Americans can’t seem to get over the ick factor—there are just some things we as a culture have deemed unfit for consumption. But if you’re open-minded enough to give banana peels a shot, we think these barbecue banana peel sandwiches are the perfect introduction.
First, choose the perfect bananas
Like with many dishes, ingredient selection is important. While you can toss very ripe or soft peels into banana bread or a smoothie, you’ll need to buy fruit that’s just underripe if you want a similar texture to pulled pork. The bananas should have tinges of green around their tops and bottoms, or at least be completely yellow and still firm. Soft, brown banana peels will get mushy and unpalatable when cooked. Now, don’t do a 180 and waste the actual fruit: eat it as a pre-meal snack, make a fruit salad, whip up some banana pudding, or freeze some slices to use later. When you find bananas at the perfect level of ripeness, try to confirm they’re pesticide-free. If you can’t, clean or wash the unpeeled bananas very well, like you would with any fruit that has an edible peel.
Stats
Time: 20 minutes (prep), 10 to 15 minutes (cooking)Material cost: $10 to $15Difficulty: Moderate
Ingredients
6 banana peels, scraped clean and shredded4 hamburger buns3/4 cup of water1 tablespoon of olive oil1/2 teaspoon of cumin1 teaspoon of chili powder1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper1 teaspoon of garlic powder1 teaspoon of liquid smoke2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar1/2 tablespoon of brown mustard2 tablespoons of soy sauce1/2 cup of barbecue sauce, plus more to taste
Tools
Sharp knifeSpoonForkCutting boardMedium (or large) pan with a lidSpatula (or flipper)
- Shred the banana peels with a fork. Try to end up with thin strips similar to the size of pulled pork. Then, cut the strips into 2- to 3-inch-long pieces. It’ll take some elbow grease.
- Make the sauce. In a bowl large enough to contain all the shreds, combine the water, olive oil, cumin, chili powder, pepper, garlic powder, liquid smoke, apple cider vinegar, mustard and soy sauce. Stir to mix.
- Finish cooking. When the shreds are no longer crunchy, but not mushy, remove the lid and add the half-cup of barbeque sauce. Sauté the shreds and sauce for another 1 to 2 minutes, tasting and adding additional salt and sauce if desired.
- Cook the peels. Heat a pan with a lid over medium heat and add the contents of the bowl to the pan. Stir, then cover the pan with the lid. Let everything steam for about 10 minutes. The cooking time will depend on the ripeness of the banana peels you’re using, so start taste-testing around 8 minutes in. If the pan starts to look dry, add more water a few tablespoons at a time.
- Build your sandwiches. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the saucy shreds to hamburger buns. Top with pickles, coleslaw, lettuce, shredded carrots, or whatever your heart desires, and enjoy immediately. That’s what we call a cheap, plant-based meal that reduces food waste, saves money, and tastes great doing it. Just don’t expect there to be leftovers.
