Listen, learning to make greens in my family is a right of passage so just know I think you are super special since I’m passing my Mississippi mama’s turnip greens recipe to ya. Just like her famous collard greens, the flavor is off the chain. She lets them simmer low and slow until they get tender in a flavorful pot likker loaded with smoked turkey and spices. Sure you can make turnip greens anyway you want but down in the South, this is straight up gospel. I’m here to hold your hand through the whole thing.
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Ingredients You’ll Need for Cooking Turnip Greens
- Chicken Stock: Vegetable stock or chicken broth are good swaps. You can also just use water along with a chicken bouillon cube.
- Smoked Turkey Leg: Grab a meaty fleshy leg and it must be smoked. You can swap in turkey wings or even a ham hock. Even smoked bacon works.
- Turnip: This is giving us some authentic texture and earthy flavor.
- Turnip Greens: Look for some vibrant crisp green leaves with no holes and tears. Avoid anything yellowy or with wilted leaves. Go for the smaller to medium sized bunches so they won’t be too tough and bitter and take too long to cook down. They are usually in season in the fall and winter but you can find them year round.
- Oil: Any neutral oil like vegetable oil or canola can be used. Also bacon grease is what my mama loves to use.
- Worcestershire sauce: Soy sauce is a great substitute.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: White vinegar, lemon juice or red wine vinegar is fine too.
- Brown sugar: Granulated also works.
- Red pepper flakes: I love just a little to kick up some spice.
How to Prepare Turnip Greens for Cooking – Let’s Get Cleaning!
Aight fam, so here is how to clean turnip greens like a BOSS. Turnip greens can carry a ton of dirt and grit, and nothing kills the vibe like biting into some crunchy dirt. I have literally watched my big mama and mama spend hours cleaning greens to ensure not even one speck of dirt enters the pot. It takes some time but that extra TLC makes all the difference.
First up, fill your sink with lukewarm water so we can loosen up any stubborn grit. Dunk the turnip greens into the water and let the leaves spread apart. Let them sit for a sec. Then start swishing them around and giving them a gentle scrub with your hands. This will help loosen the dirt from the leaves.
Once you think you’ve scrubbed them pretty well, lift the turnips out of the water, drain the dirty water, rinse the sink real quick, fill back up with fresh lukewarm water and repeat the process. We wanna keep going until these babies are spotless.
How to Cook Turnip Greens
Step 1: Pull the leaves from the stems after you’ve cleaned your greens.
Step 2: Combine the leaves in small stacks then roll them like a cigar.
Step 3: Cut the crosswise into 1 inch wide pieces.
Step 4: Finally this should leave you with strips of leaves. Get rid of the stems boos.
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Step 5: Add water and chicken stock to a large pot then add turkey leg. You wanna cook over medium low heat for about 45 minutes until the liquid is a golden color.
Step 6: Next add in your onion, bell pepper, turnip, half of your greens and your oil. Cover the lid and allow this first batch to get a nice cook down for about 10 minutes.
Step 7: Stir in the seasoning salt, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar and toss in those remaining greens. Stir everything together so all the greens mix up with the spices and flavorful goodness. Keep the heat on medium low.
Step 8: Cook until completely tender! We ain’t frying greens, we are braising them so you gotta have enough liquid to do this and create the pot likker. At the end, the meat should have fallen off the bone and those greens should be silky and tender boos. Shred any remaining into the greens and serve them up boos!
Turnip Greens
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 smoked turkey leg
- 1 medium yellow onion finely diced
- 1 green bell pepper finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 3 lbs turnip greens 6 small to medium bunches
- 1/3 cup neutral oil
- 1 1/2 tsp seasoning salt
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp Worchestershire sauce
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a large pot with a tight-fitting lid, add 2 cups of water and chicken stock. Add turkey leg and heat over medium heat and cook for 30 minutes until the liquid is a golden color and has been imparted with the turkey leg’s flavor.
- Meanwhile, thoroughly clean greens in a sink full of warm water. Pull the leaves from the stems. Combine the leaves in small stacks, then roll them like a cigar and cut the crosswise into 1 inch wide pieces, leaving you with strips of leaves. Discard the stems.
- To the pot, add the diced onion, bell pepper, turnip, half of the greens and all the oil. Cover with lid and allow first batch to cook down for ten minutes. The greens will reduce down by half.
- Stir in seasoning salt, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, red pepper flakes and remaining greens.
- Stir consistently, making sure to break up any packed greens and turn the lighter, less cooked greens to the bottom. Cook until greens are slick and tender, about 50-55 minutes. You may need to add more water to the cooking liquid; you want the greens to braise, not fry (this will help create a delicious pot likker).
- Most of the meat will have fallen off the bone, but shred any remaining large pieces and stir back into the greens and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Clean Those Babies!: Don’t rush the cleaning process. Put in some elbow grease and get those turnip greens super clean.
- Watch the Pot: You want some texture left so don’t leave them on too too long or they will literally fall apart, and not in a good way!
- Remove The Stems: They can be too tough.
- Add Liquid if Necessary: Keep checking your pot to make sure your pot likker is staying in tact. If you see the pot drying up, add more water or broth so the greens braise properly.
- Don’t Take the Smoked Turkey Out: You gotta keep that good ole tender meaty goodness in the pot. Once those greens are tender, take a fork and let that meat fall apart in the greens and mix the meat right into the pot so you get some in every serving.
- Grab the Right Pot: I like using a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven to make my greens because it distributes heat evenly so it doesn’t burn them but lets them simmer away perfectly.
Recipe Help
You certainly can boos! I like to make way ahead in fact and freeze until a craving strikes. They will last in the freezer properly packaged in a ziptop bag or freezer safe container for up to 3 months. You can also pop in the fridge for up to 5 days if you plan to eat earlier than that.
Bitter turnip greens ain’t it y’all. You can try to balance the flavors by adding in some more sugar or vinegar to get that bitterness to calm down some. Make sure you also cook the recommended time too!
Serving Suggestions
- Cornbread: Serve these up with a piece of some fried cornbread, honey cornbread, or hot water cornbread so you can get that pot likker soaked all the way up!
- Southern Classics: They are great served with smothered chicken, fried catfish, fried pork chops, or any Southern comfort food you can dream up.
- Southern Sides Galore: They also pair well with blacked eyed peas and Southern baked mac and cheese.
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I’m a transplant to the South from further north, and though I’ve eaten turnip greens, I’ve never made them. I knew I could count on your recipe and I wasn’t wrong! My husband and I practically licked the plates!
Wow I’m so so glad you enjoyed this recipe!