comissaryqueen
Senior Cook
I love cooking local southern greens, poke is one of them but now I heard there is a recipe out there for the stalk also. Any southern folk out there that can help?
While I hesitate to mention this because it's bound to start an argument, from what I understand, the only parts of Pokeweed that should be eaten - if at all - are the young (as in no taller than 6"-8" high) shoots as they come up in the spring. All other parts of the plant as it matures are poisonous.
The few reliable people who do insist on eating older Pokeweed freely admit that they only do so after boiling it virtually to death with several changes of water inbetween to remove as many of the toxic properties as possible.