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Pickled Mustard Greens

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I was thinking about the crazy abundance of mustard greens that I had in my fridge the other day (Maybe I got a little too excited at the .50/bunch sale at Kroger…) and wondered if pickled greens were a thing. With a little googling, it turned out that they ARE a thing and super popular in Vietnamese, Chinese, and Thai food! Hooray! This was AWESOME news as I’d already decided it was going to be a thing for me even if it wasn’t a real thing.

Since all I know about pickling is that in the summer when my mama makes sweet pickles, stirring the vat is G-R-O-S-S, it was very, very good news to have some recipes to use as a starting point. Plus I’m a HUGE HUGE Chinese and Thai food fan. I checked out a couple of recipes (here— Even food bloggers read food blogs, BTW.) Some of which involved serious pickling processes, and ultimately chose to base mine on this one from Saveur because it seemed easy enough for my first go. Turns out it was easy and it made these lovely, crunchy, super tart pickles that I served on my southern take on Banh Mi, as the base of greens in a Venison salad, and in Venison Thai Larb. The next time you want a delicious side dish or have too many greens in your fridge, try this easy-peasy recipe on for size!
Pickled Greens
Serves: A lot.
What you need:
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. salt
1⁄4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 onion, cut into short lengths
1⁄2 lb. Mustard greens
3 red & green jalapeno chiles, split lengthwise
A clean mason jar for storage
What to do:
Wash and trim your greens and onions. I wanted mine to be full and lush and long. I was imagining using them on sandwiches, so it made sense to keep mine as in-tact as possible. I ended up trimming a few of them down though to fill in the jar a bit better. You want enough greens to fill a quart.. I didn’t have a quart sized measuring cup, so I used a pot.

Slice your peppers. Wash your hands THOROUGHLY, y’all. DO NOT get this stuff in your eyes. 😉 Stuff the greens and the peppers into a quart sized mason jar, and then boil the vinegar, salt, and sugar in a sauce pan. Once it reaches a boil, remove it from the heat and let it cool briefly so it doesn’t totally wilt your greens.


Pour the liquid over the greens, making sure you have enough to cover them fully. Then use a skewer or spoon to remove air bubbles from the jar. I went around the edge of the jar with a skewer and then poked the top ones down a bit. Seal the jar and let them marinate for at least 2-3 days (update: in the refrigerator!). The color will change and become a bit darker. Serve in soups or stews, in sandwiches, salads, or with BBQ. You won’t be sorry!

Here are some examples of what to serve with your pickled greens! Recipe for Venison Banh Mi and Venison Thai Larb coming soon!

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Comments

  1. I was just thinking about making some quick pickles for fish stick tacos (I know, ick, but we've had this box of fish sticks in the fridge FOREVER and I couldn't think of a better way to use them up than tacos), and you've inspired me to make it happen!

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  3. hi, great post! I was curious, are these actually fermented then, since you leave them out for a few days? Or do you let them sit in the fridge to pickle? I love fermented veggies- can’t get enough! I’ll have to try your recipe!

    Reply

    • Hi Rhianon, Ack! your question is a great one, and I’ll definitely make a correction/note that I let the greens marinate in the refrigerator for a few days rather than on the counter. This is more of a “quick pickle” process than an actual pickle process, I guess. So, I’ve been super interested in fermentation (I’ve got plans for some wild yeast and elberberry liquor next summer) but haven’t yet tried my hand. It looks like your web series is the PERFECT place for me to start my quest! Thanks for your comment!

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