A big pot of Southern-Style Mustard Greens is a staple side dish for Sunday dinners, holidays like Thanksgiving, or even a budget-friendly weeknight meal. After a thorough cleaning, it's completely hands-off so you can relax until the food's ready!
Okay, if you've never had soul food-style greens, you're missing out! There's collards, turnip greens, and what we're using today: mustards. These babies are washed and boiled in a savory, flavorful broth until tender. Usually always served alongside cornbread and a roasted meat option, they are genuinely so tasty.
The Coined Breakdown
- Total Cost per serving: $0.79
- Total Cost (about 6 servings): $4.72
- Those Other Guys: $6.99 per serving
Ingredients
- Mustard Greens - Grab a couple fresh bundles of mustards from the produce aisle. In comparison to collard greens (which may be more well-known), mustard greens are more tender and have a slightly peppery flavor. These don't take nearly as long to cook down as collards do!
- Smoked Turkey Wing - My household does not eat pork, so we use smoked turkey wings. It is boiled until it's fall-off-the-bone tender, then shredded and added back into the greens pot. Any type of smoked meat provides a great flavor to your greens.
- Chicken Stock - The base of our broth, or pot liquor (see below.)
- Spice Mix - A combination of salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, chicken bouillon, and - yes - a little bit of sugar gives a truly balanced taste to the greens.
- Vinegar & Hot Sauce - A little acidity from the vinegar is subtle, but necessary. And the hot sauce gives a subtle kick! If you don't like spicy at all, I recommend leaving the hot sauce in and tampering down on the amount of crushed red pepper.
Some History on Greens + the South
Black Culture: Greens are a huge part of Black History! During slavery in the American South, greens were one of the few vegetables that some plantation owners would allow enslaved people to grow for themselves. They can be scaled into large amounts for big gatherings, and the broth was used for extra nutrients.
New Year's Day Traditions: Eating a pot of greens is a popular tradition in the South to symbolize wealth and prosperity. Mustard or collard greens are often served alongside black eyed peas on that day. In other parts of the Black diaspora like Guyana, a dish called Guyanese Cook Up Rice can have all of the "lucky" elements in one pot!
What is Pot Liquor? I reference pot liquor (can also be spelled pot likker) often when talking about greens. This is the seasoned broth created and used to boil the leaves until tender. It's one of the most important parts of southern-style greens, because it contains all of the nutrients! Sop it up with a nice slice of Brown Butter Sage Cornbread while you're eating.
How to Make Southern-Style Mustard Greens
Step 1: Start out by boiling your smoked meat in chicken broth until it's fork tender.
Meanwhile, clean your greens. Multiple times! This is super important to avoid gritty or sandy mustard greens.
Step 2: Once it's ready, remove the turkey wing and shred the meat off of the bone.
Set aside the shredded meat to be used later.
Step 3: Take the chicken broth you used for the turkey, and season well.
When you're satisfied with the taste, bring it back up to a boil.
Step 4: Finally, add back in your thoroughly washed greens and the shredded meat.
Boil, covered, for about 1.5 hours or until tender.
Recipe Pro Tips
- Clean, clean, clean your greens. Any type of greens (whether collard, mustard, or turnip) easily have dirt or grit trapped in between the leaves after harvesting. You have to wash and clean your greens multiple times to get rid of any dirt. I put instructions in the recipe card.
- No need to remove stems unless you really want to. Unlike tough collard greens, mustard greens are really tender; from the leaves to the stems. You can leave the stems in while boiling and they will cook down to a tender bite. I recommend keeping the stems for even more fiber and nutrients.
- Low and slow. Simmering greens is the way to go. I like to get the pot liquor nice and hot by boiling, and then immediately turn the heat down after I add the greens. Cover, and cook until they are ready to go.
Recipe FAQs
Sure! As they sit overnight in the refrigerator, the flavors will really sit and meld together. Just ensure they have completely cooled before storing!
To reheat, add them back to a large pan and warm through.
Please don't use any soap, lol!
Washing greens with a little bit of vinegar and lots of water helps remove any excess dirt. You can do this in a huge bowl or even a freshly cleaned sink. I recommend washing at least 3 times.
Yep they can.
Let the greens cool completely. Add them (and some of the broth) to a freezer-safe container or bag with the air removed. Freeze for up to 3 months.
To reheat, add them to a pot and cook on medium heat until warmed through.
If you tried this Southern-Style Mustard Greens Recipe, or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you! Thanks for visiting!
Southern-Style Mustard Greens
Equipment
- Large Pot with lid
- Large Bowl
- Strainer
- 2 Forks to shred the turkey meat
- Slotted Spoon
Ingredients
- 1 count smoked turkey leg
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 2 bunches fresh mustard greens
- 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar plus more for washing
- ½ - 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons hot sauce
- 1 ½ cups water
Instructions
- Place the smoked turkey leg into a large pot. Cover it with the chicken stock.1 count smoked turkey leg, 4 cups chicken stock
- Boil, covered, until tender. This usually takes 20 or so minutes.
- While that's cooking, it's time to wash your greens.Fill a large bowl (or clean sink) with hot water. Add 1 - 2 tablespoons of vinegar to the water, then add the fresh greens in.Be sure to either tear the greens with your hands or slice them into small pieces before washing.2 bunches fresh mustard greens
- Move the greens around the water using your hands. Drain the water, rinse them off with cool water, then repeat the process until the water runs clear.
- Remove the tender turkey leg from the broth, and shred the meat off of the bone.
- Add the chicken bouillon, vinegar, red pepper flakes, sugar, salt, black pepper, and hot sauce to the broth. In addition, pour in another 1 ½ cups of water into the pot.2 teaspoons chicken bouillon, 2 teaspoons white vinegar, ½ - 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon white sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 2 teaspoons hot sauce, 1 ½ cups water
- Let the broth come back to a boil, then add the shredded turkey meat and washed greens to the pot. Cover, turn down the heat to low, and cook until tender; this normally takes about 1.5 hours.
- Serve hot with a fresh slice of cornbread on the side. Enjoy!
Selina Picou says
What can I put in if we don’t like spicy?
Shani H. says
You can just leave out the red pepper flakes! The hot sauce doesn't really give spice (it's more flavor with the vinegar) but you can leave that out too if you really are sensitive to heat.
Lauren P says
When I say some of the best instructions and the best greens I’ve ever made for my family I meant it!! People sleep on the mustard greens and it was delicious!
Shani W. says
Thank you for commenting Lauren! 🙂