One of my lesser New Year’s resolutions was to eat more cooked greens. For whatever reason (somewhere between an aversion to extra dishes and a hatred of soggy greens), I’ve never really cooked my greens. Until now. So far, I’ve blanched and sauteed, and without a soggy green in sight, I’m loving the results.
Besides, if you never cook your greens, you’ll never get potlikker. Potlikker is the water leftover from cooking the greens, and doubles as a restorative and flavorful broth that gives chicken soup a run for its money. Here, potlikker is made with the stems of the greens, and then the sauteed greens are added later.
This stew was inspired by the Bon Appetit southern food issue. It was my first foray into potlikker, though definitely not my last. A smoky ham hock, tender greens (thanks to a very warm winter), and a touch of sriracha made for an awesome mid-winter meal.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil plus 2 more
- 1 large ham hock
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 10 cloves garlic smashed, peeled, and rough chopped
- 4 bay leaves
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar plus 2 tablespoons
- 2 tablespoons sriracha
- 6 cups cold water
- 2 bunches dark leafy greens kale and beet greens used here
- 2 cups dry egg noodles
- sea salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 shallot minced
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground white pepper
- salt to taste
- sriracha to taste
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In a large stock pot or dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the ham hock and sear on all sides, cooking for about 10 minutes.
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Meanwhile, wash your greens, and remove the stems (but don’t throw them away!).
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Add onions, garlic, and bay, and cook 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup vinegar and scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pot, and then add reserved stems. Pour in 6 cups cold water and bring mixture to a boil. Turn heat to low; simmer broth for 1 - 2 hours (the longer the better). Broth can be made ahead up to this point. Sealed tight, it will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days.
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Remove ham hock from broth and pick off all the meat. Set aside. Strain potlikker and set aside.
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Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add egg noodles and cook until al dente.
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In soup pot or dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute the shallot for 4 minutes. Add reserved ham hock meat, greens, red pepper flakes, and ground pepper. Sauté 4 minutes. Stir in potlikker, cooked noodles, and 2 tablespoons vinegar, and bring to a simmer. Adjust salt and acid levels as needed.
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Ladle into bowls, garnish with sriracha and ground pepper, and serve immediately.
I so want to try this recipe!! Looks delicious and I’m kind of smitten with the word potlikker.
Mmmmmmm this looks so homey and delicious! I just had kale in my dinner, and wish I prepared it something like this!
What is sriracha? pls
Hi Jackie, it’s a prepared Thai chile and garlic sauce.
Fabulous!
I was very intrigued by this soup when I saw in Bon Appetit and yours looks truly stunning. I think I need to try my hand at potlikker!
2 Tablespoons of sriracha, hot pepper flakes, white pepper and more sriracha on the tops in only 6 Cups of water ????? I’d lighten up on this a bit and taste before adding all the varieties of pepper.
Hi Janet, Though I’d say this dish is mildly spiced (with a wonderful depth owing to the various types of heat) it sounds like you’re just not into spicy foods. I develop the recipes on my blog to suit my own tastes and what I like in the moment, and hope that my audience will like them too. As with any recipe, if my take doesn’t appeal to you, go ahead and adjust it to suit your preferences–just kindly refrain from suggesting that I haven’t tasted my own recipe!
This looks delicious! Would it be possible to substitute the ham for another meat? Or even that chicken carcass that’s been taking up room in my freezer? If so, are any other recipe changes needed?
Thanks!
Hi Joe, Sure, It’s a flexible recipe. It gets a lot of flavor from the ham, so it may be less flavorful, but I bet it will still be good. Since it would change the recipe a great deal, I can’t really say how else I’d adjust it.
Thanks for the reply! I ended up using pork neck which gave it a more similar flavor to ham hock than chicken. Followed everything else the same, very tasty! Quick Instagram of my dish: http://bit.ly/TBtSS4
After saving your recipe a while ago, I finally made this tonight. Such FANTASTIC flavor – a big hit in my house! Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi Jennie, That’s so wonderful to hear! It’s one of my favorites, and I’m thrilled that you liked it!
This was great! I did use only 2 T. vinegar for the whole recipe and didn’t feel like it even needed the Sriracha, although usually I love it! I used 1/2 tsp. black pepper and 1/4 tsp. of kosher salt when sauteeing the greens and ham. For the broth I added 2 tsp. of salt near the end of simmering, because instead of a ham hock I only had some ham rinds and leftover smoked pork cubes and some chicken bones to simmer with the kale stems. Didn’t use any vinegar in the broth but threw in some black peppercorns. I am writing these amounts because I will definitely be making it again! Thanks for the recipe!!
Renee, So glad you liked it. And it sounds as if you’ve embraced the best thing about potlikker–you can make it with whatever good stuff you have around. Love the idea of the chicken bones!
I picked up a big bag of collards today at the farmer’s market and decided to cruise the net for potlikker recipes. While I love pork, it doesn’t love me (darn allergies) so I’m subbing in smoked turkey wings and legs. I can tell you from experience the smoked turkey gives it a wonderful flavor!