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Savory juice may not be the first flavor profile you’d think of, but boy is it good. This bright, vegetal, well-balanced drink has a Buffalo-style kick that you’ll crave.
Why we love this recipe
This savory juice with a spicy kick has long been one of my favorite green juice recipes. It’s:
- Beautifully balanced
- Refreshingly different
- Packed with nutrients
- Also, weirdly kinda fun, if you’re into this sort of thing? I don’t know. I really like it a lot.
I first published this recipe here and in my Serious Eats column way back in 2014.
What you’ll need
Here’s a glance at the ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe.
- Green curly kale tends to have a fairly mild flavor, and it produces quite a bit of juice. You’ll use two large leaves, including the stems.
- Cucumber is an easy choice for juicing. I like to use unwaxed varieties so I can include the skin. English and Persian cucumbers are good bets, as in anything from the garden or farmers’ market.
- Carrot is a popular juice ingredient for a reason. It adds a hint of sweetness and heft to this recipe to balance out the savory elements. Trim off the root end. You can peel it if you like, but you don’t have to.
- A little bit of garlic adds a ton of savoriness to this recipe. I know it sounds a little intense, but it’s so good.
- Lemon adds an element of tanginess and freshness. You’ll use a knife to cut off the peel and white pith and then put the rest of it through the juicer.
- Celery is an absolute workhorse of green juice. It has a mild, pleasant flavor and contributes a ton of volume. Put it through the juicer last to flush out any remaining goodness from the other fruits and veggies.
- For that classic Buffalo sauce vibe, you can’t beat Frank’s Red Hot original. You can use any hot sauce you like.
How to make it
Here’s an overview of what you’ll do to make a beautiful glass of savory juice. You can see the steps in action in the video that accompanies this post, and get all the details in the recipe card below.
- Start by feeding the kale through the juicer. It will probably want a little help from the plunger to get rolling through the machine.
- Add the remaining ingredients in the order suggested in the recipe card below. You’ll finish with the celery, which is super-juicy and helps flush the rest of the ingredients through the juicer.
- Strain into a glass.
- Add as much hot sauce as you’d like, and serve. That’s it!
Best practices for making fresh juice
- Buy organic produce for juicing when possible, since juice is a concentrated source of everything its ingredients contain, including nutrients and pesticides.
- How you’ll prep your produce depends on the individual juicer. In general, always remove peel and pith from citrus, wash vegetables well to remove any dirt, and trim any really gnarly ends from produce. Beyond that, follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Juice the ingredients in the order listed to maximize yield. Finishing with a very juicy ingredient like celery helps to flush more stubborn ingredients like ginger through the juicer.
- A note for centrifugal juicers: When juicing leafy greens and herbs, you’ll get a better yield if you tightly pack the greens (roll them up before adding to the feed tube of your juicer) and place them between two harder, juicier ingredients (such as cucumber and apple). Nudge the greens through the juicer one small push at a time.
- If your juicer has multiple speeds, use a slower speed for softer ingredients like leafy greens, soft herbs, and citrus.
- Keep in mind that juicers vary a lot in terms of design and yield, so your mileage may vary. Over time you’ll learn what works best for you.
Expert tips and FAQs
For many years, I’ve used the Kuvings Whole Slow Juicer. It’s a masticating juicer (which I will remind you means CHEWING, you perv), so named to my great chagrin because it kinda chews up your fruits and vegetables before sending the juice through a strainer. This method does a good job preserving nutrients for a longer period of time and minimizing oxidation.
Before that, I used an earlier version of the Breville Juice Fountain, which is an excellent centrifugal juicer. This method wins the award for least terrible name, but it causes more oxidation, so the nutrients in your juice won’t last as long.
Both kinds of juicers are totally great if you’d like to drink your fresh juice right away, but masticating juicers are better at preserving nutrients for up to a few days, in case you like to juice in batches.
As noted above, the nutrient retention in fresh juice has a lot to do with what kind of juicer you’re using. If you have a centrifugal juicer, it’s best to drink your juice fairly soon after you make it. With a masticating juicer, feel free to juice in larger batches. They’ll keep well in an airtight container in the fridge (such as a quart-sized mason jar) for two to three days.
Juice can be frozen for longer storage, but you’ll find that any remaining solid bits fall out of suspension and sink to the bottom after defrosting. I’m not personally a huge fan of the texture of defrosted juice, but if you’re okay with it, freezing can be a good bet.
More green juice resources
Whether you’re new to juicing or want to get next-level, I recommend reading my thorough post on Juicing for Beginners. It has all my best tips, tricks, and resources for your juicing regimen, whatever you’d like it to be.
And here are a few more favorite green juice recipes:
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Savory Juice (Buffalo Green Juice)
Ingredients
- 2 large leaves curly kale, including stems
- 1 4- inch piece cucumber
- 1 large garlic clove, peeled
- 1 medium lemon, peel and pith removed
- 1 medium carrot
- 2 ribs celery, including any leaves
- Frank’s Red Hot or other favorite vinegary hot sauce, to taste
Instructions
- Feed all ingredients through juicer in the order listed.
- Stir well and strain through a fine-mesh sieve.
- Pour into a glass.
- Add hot sauce to taste, and serve.
Notes
- Green curly kale tends to have a fairly mild flavor, and it produces quite a bit of juice. You'll use two large leaves, including the stems.
- Cucumber is an easy choice for juicing. I like to use unwaxed varieties so I can include the skin. English and Persian cucumbers are good bets, as in anything from the garden or farmers' market.
- A little bit of garlic adds a ton of savoriness to this recipe. I know it sounds a little intense, but it's so good.
- Lemon adds an element of tanginess and freshness. You'll use a knife to cut off the peel and white pith and then put the rest of it through the juicer.
- Carrot is a popular juice ingredient for a reason. It adds a hint of sweetness and heft to this recipe to balance out the savory elements. Trim off the root end. You can peel it if you like, but you don’t have to.
- Celery is an absolute workhorse of green juice. It has a mild, pleasant flavor and contributes a ton of volume. Put it through the juicer last to flush out any remaining goodness from the other fruits and veggies.
- For that classic Buffalo sauce vibe, you can't beat Frank's Red Hot original. You can use any hot sauce you like.I use the Kuvings Whole Slow Juicer, a masticating juicer that juices pretty efficiently and preserves nutrients for a longer period than centrifugal juicers. You can make this recipe with any juicer.
- The nutrient retention in fresh juice has a lot to do with what kind of juicer you're using. If you have a centrifugal juicer, it's best to drink your juice fairly soon after you make it. With a masticating juicer, feel free to juice in larger batches. They'll keep well in an airtight container in the fridge (such as a quart-sized mason jar) for two to three days.
- Juice can be frozen for longer storage, but you'll find that any remaining solid bits fall out of suspension and sink to the bottom after defrosting. I'm not personally a huge fan of the texture of defrosted juice, but if you're okay with it, freezing can be a good bet.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Doubled the ingredients and added some salt and pepper. I prefer savory items and I am glad I could find this in a juice! Delicious!!