Tamar Adler's An Everlasting Meal is a philosophy of cooking as much as a recipe book — built on the principle that waste in a kitchen is a failure of imagination, and that the most flavourful things in any cooking process are what most cooks discard. Pot likker (the liquid left after braising greens) is Adler's central example: a deeply flavoured, nutritious liquid that is the most complete expression of the vegetable's flavour and is routinely poured down the drain.
The cooking liquid remaining after braising greens (collards, kale, turnip tops, chard) — dark, intensely flavoured, rich with the vegetable's released flavour compounds. Used as a broth, a sauce base, a grain cooking liquid, or a soup base.
Pot likker used as the liquid for cooking cornbread, rice, or beans carries the flavour of the greens into the new preparation — producing a depth that water or commercial stock cannot replicate. The flavour is transfer: the greens flavour everything that cooks in their liquid.
- Pot likker is more flavourful than vegetable stock made deliberately from the same greens — the braising process extracts more compound from the greens than a stock simmer, and the greens themselves release compounds progressively during the long braise - Season the braising liquid properly — unseasoned pot likker is flat; properly salted pot likker is ready to use immediately - Use immediately or store refrigerated for up to 3 days — the volatile compounds that make it bright begin to dissipate after 24 hours - Reduce if needed for sauce applications — pot likker at full volume is a broth; reduced by half it is a sauce - The fat rendered from any pork added to the braise (a traditional Southern addition) integrates into the pot likker and provides richness
MOMOFUKU (continued) + AN EVERLASTING MEAL