Ribs and rutabagas are an old-school southern recipe that you don’t hear a lot about these days. The traditional recipe utilizes cheap ingredients that otherwise might have been discarded. Today I want to share my spin on the dish, a pork steak and rutabaga recipe that I hope you enjoy. You’ll learn how to cook rutabagas Southern style and make them delicious!
Ingredients for Southern Style Rutabagas
- 2 pork steaks
- 1 good-sized rutabaga or 2 small ones
- 1 onion
- salt and pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp butter
- 1 tbsp lard
Prepping Southern Style Rutabagas
Prep is fairly simple for this pork steak and rutabaga recipe. Start by gathering your dry spices and measuring them out. Approximately ten minutes before you plan on cooking, take your pork steaks out of the refrigerator. Allowing them to come to room temperature will help create a better sear.
Next, we need to peel and dice the rutabagas. Peeling them is pretty straightforward. Dicing them can be a pain. Rutabagas are hard and dense. I recommend getting a decent-sized chef’s knife for the job. Be careful as you cut, as you will probably be exerting more force than you usually do when chopping veggies.
After your rutabagas are done, go ahead and dice up your onion. I usually go with a slightly larger dice for the onions. If you mince them too small they are going to disintegrate into the dish.
I normally make this dish in my GoWise USA electric pressure cooker. It cuts the cooking time way down. You can boil the dish in a saucepan if you don’t have a pressure cooker, but it is likely going to take over an hour to get the meat and rutabagas tender. Alternatively, you can use a traditional slow cooker if you have the time. Go ahead and set up whichever piece of equipment you plan on using.
How To Cook Pork Steaks
Let’s start by setting a stainless steel pan or cast-iron skillet on the stovetop and turning the heat up to medium-high. I personally use a T-Fal stainless steel skillet, as they are just easier to handle in my opinion. However, if you want to be traditional, go with the cast iron.
While the pan is heating, season the pork steaks with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. When the pan is hot, add the butter and grease the bottom.
Proceed to sear the pork steaks. You want to make sure you have a nice brown sear, as this is going to add some depth to the dish. We are also going to use the fond at the bottom of the pan once we are done. You don’t have to cook the pork steaks all the way through, but you do need to sear both sides.
As the pork steaks are searing, add your vegetables to the pressure cooker, saucepan, or slow cooker. Generously season them with salt and pepper. Finally, add your tablespoon of lard.
Once the pork steaks are seared, remove them from the pan and put them in the pot. While the pan is still hot, add a cup of water and stir vigorously to break up the fond at the bottom of the pan. Keep the pan on the heat while you do this, but lower it to medium. Once you have removed most of the fond, pour the contents of the pan into the pot with your other ingredients.
How To Cook Rutabagas, Southern Style
As I said earlier, a pressure cooker turns this into an easy meal. With my GoWise electric pressure cooker, I use the meat preset. Every model is different, so your mileage may vary on using a preset. I suggest letting it cook for at least 25 minutes.
Once the timer goes off and you’ve released the pressure, check both the meat and the rutabagas. Both should be fork tender. Your fork should go right through the Southern-style rutabagas.
You should also be able to tear apart the meat with a fork. If this is not the case, put the dish back on for another 5 to 10 minutes. The last thing you want is undercooked rutabagas.
Saucepan or Slow Cooker for Southern Style Rutabagas
If you don’t have a pressure cooker, the dish is going to have to cook for much longer. In a slow cooker, I would start checking the dish after 4 hours if it’s on a high setting. Depending on the thickness of the meat and how big your rutabaga chunks are, it’s going to take anywhere from 4 to 6 hours.
If you finish cooking the dish in a saucepan or stockpot on the stovetop, you are looking at 2 to 3 hours of cook time. I would start checking the pork steaks and rutabagas for fork tenderness after 2 hours.
And that is my pork steak and rutabaga recipe. It’s one of my favorite Southern rutabaga recipes. A number of traditional southern sides go well with the dish. My personal favorites are turnip greens and cornbread. Give this old-school southern dinner idea a try!
More Southern Rutabaga Recipes
If pork steaks aren’t your cup of pork, you can enjoy rutabagas without them! You can cook rutabagas on their own as a side with just a handful of ingredients. There are plenty of seasoning options that anyone can enjoy.
I personally enjoy them best with some type of pork fat, so lard or bacon grease is a must. All you need is a tablespoon or so to get the fat content right. Add that to cubed-up rutabagas, and then generously season with salt, pepper, garlic, and onion powder, and you’ve got a nice side dish for your dinner.
If you are looking to avoid pork fat, you can always go with chicken stock instead. Water and chicken bouillon cubes will work as well. The same seasonings I listed above will work with chicken-flavored rutabagas too.
One can cut out animal products altogether if vegetarian is your style. Olive oil can be subbed out for animal fat, though you shouldn’t put it in a pressure cooker. The seasonings might need to be increased to make up for the lack of flavor from lard or chicken stock. Try rosemary for a nice distinctive taste.
These are just some base ideas for cooking rutabagas. There are plenty of southern rutabaga recipes out there to try, or you can create your own!
What Food Goes With Rutabagas?
Rutabagas are great as a side dish. They can be substituted for sweet potatoes, baked potatoes, or anything starchy. Once cooked, they can be smashed and served like mashed potatoes as well!
Typically you don’t want to double up on starches, but one thing that goes extremely well with rutabagas is cornbread. This southern staple is great for soaking up those delicious leftover juices.
I like to pair rutabagas with greens. Turnip greens are my personal favorite, but collards and mustard greens pair nicely as well. Steamed cabbage is another great option.
Aside from pork steaks, rutabagas are awesome with other classic southern main dishes. They are the perfect counter to fried dishes, such as fried pork chops and fried chicken. I would avoid starchy entrees like chicken and dumplings though.
An example of a perfect southern dinner plate to me would have pork chops, turnip greens, and some rutabagas. Can’t forget the cornbread! I promise you would be full and satisfied after that dinner.
