Recipes · Soups & Stews
Emily Meggett’s Okra Soup
- Serves
- 4-6
- Meal
- Soups, stews
- Issue
- November 2025
Ingredients
- 1/4 lb. salt pork, cut into about 10 (one-inch) chunks
- 4 lbs. okra, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, or 2 1/2 lbs. frozen cut okra
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 4 cups tepid water
- 1 Tbs. Nature’s Seasons, plus more to taste
- 1 (6-oz.) can of tomato paste
- Seasoning salt, to taste
- 1 Tbs. sugar
- 1/2 lb. small shrimp, peeled and deveined (optional)
- 2 Tbs. unsalted butter, if using shrimp
- Saltine crackers, to serve
- Cooked long-grain white rice, to serve
Method
In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, fry two or three pieces of salt pork. Cook over medium-high heat for about five minutes, until browned and crisp.
In the same pot, add the remaining salt pork, as well as the okra, onion, and bell pepper and sauté over medium heat in the salt pork fat for 12 to 15 minutes.
Add the water and Nature’s Seasons and let it come to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and let the mixture cook slowly for 1 1/2 hours.
After 1 1/2 hours, add the tomato paste, seasoning salt, and sugar and turn down the heat to low. Rinse out the tomato paste can and add one can of water to the pot. Cook over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes. (If you don’t turn down the heat to a low temperature and give it time to slowly simmer, it will burn.)
If you want to add shrimp, sauté the desired amount in the butter in a separate skillet until pink and add it to the okra soup just before serving; don’t overcook the shrimp.
Serve over rice.
From “Be Our Guest: Discover Tried & True Thanksgiving Recipes From Local Cookbooks.”