Barbacoa Pulled Meat - 11 oz

Chunk's plant-based pulled meat starts from cultured soy protein and wheat gluten, built to shred and sear the way slow-cooked beef does, then finished with a barbacoa sauce made from chipotle peppers, dehydrated vegetables, and smoked paprika. The 8 oz package is fully cooked and ready in about five minutes.

The base combines defatted soy flour and soy protein isolate with wheat gluten for chew, cooked in coconut oil, and colored with beet juice concentrate instead of synthetic dye. Because plant protein alone doesn't carry the iron and B12 that beef naturally does, Chunk adds both back in - iron bisglycinate and cyanocobalamin - landing at 25 grams of protein per serving.

Sear it in a hot, lightly oiled pan for a few minutes to build a crust before folding in the sauce, or simmer it straight from frozen in a covered pot until heated through. It also microwaves in just a few minutes for a fast taco or burrito filling.

It's Kosher certified and vegan - no meat, dairy, or eggs in the ingredient list - and it keeps in the freezer until you're ready to cook it, making it an easy frozen meat substitute to have on hand. Because it's built from soy protein and wheat gluten rather than meat, it fits vegan and vegetarian diets but isn't suitable for keto, paleo, or carnivore eating plans.

Ingredients: Chunk Plant-Based Pulled Meat (Water, Cultured Soy Protein (Defatted Soy Flour, Soy Protein Isolate, Wheat Gluten), Coconut Oil, Natural Flavors, Beet Juice Concentrate (For Color), Salt, Iron Bisglycinate [Iron], Cyanocobalamin [Vitamin B12]); Barbacoa Sauce (Water, Diced Tomato, Chipotle Pepper Sauce (Chipotle Pepper, Tomato Puree, Onion, Vinegar, Canola Oil, Sugar, Salt, Paprika, Garlic), Dried Bell Pepper, Olive Oil, Lemon Juice, Salt, Molasses, Dehydrated Vegetables (Potato, Carrot, Mushrooms, Celery), Parsley, White Pepper, Dill, Coriander, Smoked Paprika, Cumin, Oregano, Black Pepper, Bay Leaf, and Clove).

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Common Questions

How does the nutrition here compare to a conventional pulled beef product?
A 2-ounce serving of this product delivers 25 grams of protein, which sits in the same range as a similar portion of slow-cooked beef chuck (typically 22-26 grams per 3 ounces). The fat source is different, though: beef carries a mix of saturated and monounsaturated fat plus naturally occurring heme iron and B12, while this product gets its fat from coconut oil and has iron and B12 added back in because soy protein doesn't contain them on its own. Because the base is soy protein isolate and wheat gluten rather than muscle tissue, the fiber and carbohydrate content will read higher on the label than a straight cut of beef, even though the ingredient list has no added sugar in the meat base itself. If you're tracking macros closely, check the nutrition panel directly, since exact fat and carb grams depend on batch formulation and aren't identical to any single cut of beef.

Why does this product need added iron and B12 if it's protein-rich?
Soy protein and wheat gluten don't naturally contain vitamin B12, and the iron they do contain is non-heme, which the body absorbs less efficiently than the heme iron found in meat. To close that gap, the formula adds iron bisglycinate, a chelated form of iron that's better absorbed than plain iron salts, and cyanocobalamin, a stable synthetic form of B12 that's the standard fortification choice in plant-based foods. This is the same strategy used in fortified cereals and plant milks: the protein source itself doesn't carry these nutrients, so they're added directly to the finished product. It's worth noting this on the label if you're relying on the product as a primary source of either nutrient, since fortified and naturally occurring forms behave somewhat differently in absorption studies.

Does this fit a keto, paleo, or carnivore diet?
Not cleanly. The base is defatted soy flour, soy protein isolate, and wheat gluten, all of which are excluded from paleo and carnivore frameworks, which are built around animal-based or whole-food ingredients. For keto, the concern is different: wheat gluten and the vegetable-based barbacoa sauce (which includes tomato, dehydrated potato, and carrot) contribute more carbohydrate than a plain seared cut of beef would, so it's not a natural fit for strict low-carb tracking either. If your diet protocol requires animal protein or excludes soy and gluten specifically, this product won't meet those rules regardless of its protein count. It's better suited to a flexible high-protein or vegan/vegetarian approach where 25 grams of protein per serving is the primary target.

What dishes work best with this, and does the cooking method change?
It's built around barbacoa-style applications: tacos, burritos, burrito bowls, nachos, or a barbacoa sandwich are the direct swaps, since the sauce is already seasoned with chipotle, smoked paprika, and cumin in that direction. For a firmer, more bark-like texture, sear it in a hot, lightly oiled pan for a few minutes before folding in the sauce, which mimics the crust you'd get from pulled beef finished on a flat-top. If you're simmering it straight from frozen, keep the pot covered and stir occasionally so the sauce doesn't scorch on the bottom before the center heats through. Because it's pre-cooked, you're reheating and building texture rather than cooking raw protein, so total time on the stove is shorter than a beef barbacoa recipe that starts from a raw cut.

What does the kosher certification actually confirm, and how do I verify it?
Kosher certification means the product and its ingredients were reviewed by a certifying agency against kosher dietary law, covering things like ingredient sourcing, equipment shared with non-kosher products, and processing procedures. It does not speak to nutrition, allergen content, or how the product was manufactured beyond that specific religious standard. To verify it, look for the certifying agency's symbol on the package itself, since certification is agency-specific and the claim should be traceable to a named kosher authority rather than just a printed word. If the packaging doesn't show a symbol, that's worth confirming directly with the manufacturer before relying on the claim.

Can I see exactly what's in the protein base and sauce, or is any of it a proprietary blend?
The full ingredient list is disclosed on the package rather than hidden behind a generic term like 'natural flavors' covering everything. The protein base is water, cultured soy protein made from defatted soy flour, soy protein isolate, and wheat gluten, plus coconut oil, natural flavors, beet juice concentrate for color, salt, iron bisglycinate, and cyanocobalamin. The barbacoa sauce ingredients are also listed individually, down to specific dehydrated vegetables (potato, carrot, mushroom, celery) and spices like smoked paprika, cumin, and clove. There's no claim here about a specific farm, region, or soy sourcing practice, so if that level of origin detail matters to you, it isn't something this product states one way or another.

Why is beet juice concentrate used for color instead of a synthetic dye?
Beet juice concentrate is a vegetable-derived pigment, and it's used here specifically to give the pulled protein a reddish-brown tone similar to slow-cooked beef without relying on an artificial color additive like Red 40 or caramel color. It works because betalains, the pigment compounds in beets, are stable enough to hold color through cooking and freezing, which matters for a product that goes through a sear or simmer step at home. This is a formulation choice rather than a nutritional one; it doesn't add meaningful nutrients in the amount used, and its only stated function on the label is color.