Poke salad?

[RKenney]

I have only eaten it one time, but it was really good. I guess the person that prepared it, knew what they were doing. I have some areas on my land that produce some poke weed, so I'm thinking about the unthinkable.......cooking some myself.

I don't know the person who cooked the poke salad that I once ate, so I would like some "tips" on cooking some.

 

[Baxter83]

If my granny was still around I'd know who to ask. She used to have me, my sister, and my cousin pick it for her when we were kids and she'd make several batches a year, but that's been quite a few years ago.

 

[BowGuy84]

I know the size you cut it at makes a difference. Not sure the exact size and would be interested in the recipe...if I remember correctly it's pretty basic.

 

[FULLDRAWXX75]

Try this:

Ingredients
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2 lbs. poke leaves, stems removed, leaves washed and rinsed
shopping list
1/2 lb. bacon, fried and drippings saved. shopping list
1 large bunches of green onions, roughly chopped

How to make it
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bring the leaves to a boil in a large pot, allow to cook for about 15 minutes.

Drain the water from the pot and refill the pot with fresh water.

Bring the pot to a boil again and allow to cook for about 15 minutes. or until the leaves turn an olive green color.

Drain the leaves and rinse with cold water.

Squeeze the water from the leaves like you would do with spinach, return leaves to pot.

Pour the bacon drippings onto the leaves and add the onions.

Cover and allow to cook until the onions are very tender, then serve.

FDXX75

 

[Bertman]

good stuff.I always pick the tops.They are tender stems and all

 

[IceMann]

I have only eaten it one time, but it was really good. I guess the person that prepared it, knew what they were doing. I have some areas on my land that produce some poke weed, so I'm thinking about the unthinkable.......cooking some myself.

I don't know the person who cooked the poke salad that I once ate, so I would like some "tips" on cooking some.

Just dont eat it if the leaves have red in them or the stalks are red,they are very toxic..

 

[catman529]

The whole plant is poisonous, and you are supposed to boil in 2 or 3 changes of water before eating. I never saw the point in it personally, because boiling that much to remove the toxins will also take out all the vitamins. Maybe one day I will try it. I have eaten at least a handful of different wild plants, some are good, some not so much, but I love to try pretty much anything edible growing in the wild.

 

[FULLDRAWXX75]

fulldraw will eat anything

A little Newman's own vinegarette and I bet he'd eat the oat sprouts outta the bed of my pickup :D

LOL,

I used to for the right amount of money.............back in the day. Just ain't got the stomack for it anymore. LOL

I ain't eatin' no poison weeds either...............

FDXX75

 

[catman529]

try nettle leaves...they don't taste bad and you just gotta be careful for the stinging spines. boil them or roll the leaves up to avoid stinging your mouth. they are actually very healthful and the spines don't hurt you other than irritating the skin if they scrape or pierce it. I find it growing in thickets near the river most often. painful to walk through unexpectedly.

 

[ROUGH COUNTRY HUNTER]

i love it

 

[Anonymous]

When i lived down there a friend of mine made it for me.. boiled it then cooked it with Bacon and eggs mixed in..it was all right but i thought a bit bitter.. I like Fiddlehead Ferns a whole lot better!!

 

[W C]

I've been eating poke salad all my life. I pinch the top center leaf cluster off of the plants from the time they are about 6" tall until they get about thigh high. Wash them in cold water to get rid of grit and insects. In a large pot I fill it about 3/4 full of Poke and fill with cold water until covered. Bring to rolling boil and drain. Cover with water and boil again for 10 minutes. Drain and squeeze out as much water as possible. Put the twice boiled Poke in a large skillet, add bacon grease or cooking oil and begin frying over medium heat.(You'll need a good bit more grease or oil than you'd imagine) Turn frequently with a spatula and continue frying. Add more grease or oil to keep the greens from sticking/burning. Once the greens have gone from mushy to a sort of textured and lumpy, add about 4 beaten eggs, salt to taste and continue frying/turning until the greens are almost dry and eggs are done.

My favorite Poke meal is with fried fish....yyyuuummm!

Contrary to old wives tales Poke has several good benefits other than just cooking and eating the greens. The berries are very good natural remedy for high blood pressure. 4 to 10 berries eaten daily will lower BP and not harm the person. If eaten in large quantity they will lower the BP to dangerous or fatal levels. The berries can be harvested in fall and kept frozen for use throughout the year until next harvest.

I've found that April/May is usually the best time to pick Poke. After that it gets big, tough and 'strong' tasting.

 

[DCA-DEER]

We eat it every year the boiling 2 or 3 times is the most important my mom scrambles eggs with it taste real good.

 

[FULLDRAWXX75]

try nettle leaves...they don't taste bad and you just gotta be careful for the stinging spines. boil them or roll the leaves up to avoid stinging your mouth. they are actually very healthful and the spines don't hurt you other than irritating the skin if they scrape or pierce it. I find it growing in thickets near the river most often. painful to walk through unexpectedly.

Yeah, eating Nettle's will add a whole new meaning to "POKE" salad. Them plants are nasty & evil................I remember back when I was about 9-10 yrs old playing football at a friends house and getting pushed out of bounds and landing in a patch of Nettles, I had on shorts and no shirt....................need I say more.

I can't even image eating that stuff.

FDXX75

 

[Rowdy]

Like "Crocodile Dundee" said...you can live off it, but it tastes like shat.

 

[catman529]

try nettle leaves...they don't taste bad and you just gotta be careful for the stinging spines. boil them or roll the leaves up to avoid stinging your mouth. they are actually very healthful and the spines don't hurt you other than irritating the skin if they scrape or pierce it. I find it growing in thickets near the river most often. painful to walk through unexpectedly.

Yeah, eating Nettle's will add a whole new meaning to "POKE" salad. Them plants are nasty & evil................I remember back when I was about 9-10 yrs old playing football at a friends house and getting pushed out of bounds and landing in a patch of Nettles, I had on shorts and no shirt....................need I say more.

I can't even image eating that stuff.

FDXX75

I discovered it by hiking through patches and getting stung all over. Painful stuff... but after researching and learning about it and hearing that it's good to eat (and make a tea out of, supposedly), I tried some by rolling the leaf up tight before chewing on it. Did not sting that way and actually didn't taste too bad, and I don't even like eating leaves. Might go well on a sandwich, which would also probably crush the spines so you wouldn't get stung.

Another tip for nettle, if you dare to handle it this much, you can strip the stems and they can make a surprisingly strong cord in a survival situation. I think it might just be the outer layer of the stems, but either way they are pretty tough and flexible.

 

[FULLDRAWXX75]

try nettle leaves...they don't taste bad and you just gotta be careful for the stinging spines. boil them or roll the leaves up to avoid stinging your mouth. they are actually very healthful and the spines don't hurt you other than irritating the skin if they scrape or pierce it. I find it growing in thickets near the river most often. painful to walk through unexpectedly.

Yeah, eating Nettle's will add a whole new meaning to "POKE" salad. Them plants are nasty & evil................I remember back when I was about 9-10 yrs old playing football at a friends house and getting pushed out of bounds and landing in a patch of Nettles, I had on shorts and no shirt....................need I say more.

I can't even image eating that stuff.

FDXX75

I discovered it by hiking through patches and getting stung all over. Painful stuff... but after researching and learning about it and hearing that it's good to eat (and make a tea out of, supposedly), I tried some by rolling the leaf up tight before chewing on it. Did not sting that way and actually didn't taste too bad, and I don't even like eating leaves. Might go well on a sandwich, which would also probably crush the spines so you wouldn't get stung.

Another tip for nettle, if you dare to handle it this much, you can strip the stems and they can make a surprisingly strong cord in a survival situation. I think it might just be the outer layer of the stems, but either way they are pretty tough and flexible.

Personally, I would be afraid of getting stung and my throat swelling closed and dying.................I will stick to lettuce on my sandwich please.

FDXX75

 

[catman529]

Interesting remedy. I've heard that jewelweed will help remedy poison ivy, it might also help with nettle stings. I know of one place where a big patch of jewelweed grows right next to a big patch of nettle. The juice from the jewelweed is what helps, and you can also make a tea from it and freeze the tea in an ice tray and rub the ice cubes on your poison ivy rash.

As for eating the nettle, the spines will be destroyed once you chew, or cook the leaves. They sting you not by puncturing, but by scratching. They are very brittle - when you brush against the spines, the tips snap off, which leaves them with a very sharp edge that scratches you and releases irritants into your skin, which causes the stinging. They are harmless to eat though, as long as you are careful to eat it right and not just put a leaf flat down on your tongue which wouldn't feel good at all. Cooking it would probably be the best way to kill the spines, but I'd like to try it on a sandwich sometime.

 

[TX300mag]

I love it. Parboil it and mix an egg in with it. :)

I've heard people say you can fry the stalks like okra, but I've never had somebody CONFIRM that they've actually done it. I want somebody else to do that FIRST! :D

 

[Sawgrass]

Pretty good stuff. I'm looking forward to getting out and finding some here pretty soon.

 

[Jer]

My mamaw used to make it...man i loved it when i was younger

 

[a retrohillbilly]

Picked a good mess acouple days ago. Size is just right about now!

 

[Boone 58]

yum!

 

[wlf89]

good a mess other night pretty good

 

[PickettSFHunter]

I aint big on the leaves but love the stalk fried just like squash.

 

[Spike]

When Kroger runs out of things to eat and my gardes quits producing I will try it.