Collard greens are one of those old-timey southern dishes. You know the type of dish that people have fond childhood memories of. The dish that where there’s a constant debate over who in the family makes the best collard greens. The dish that you make from the heart and never from a recipe.
But…..
None of that applies to me.
You see I have to be completely honest with you folks. I wasn’t born in the south, and there weren’t any restaurants that served southern comfort food where I grew up. Hell, the first time I ever ate collard greens was four years ago!
So I’ll be the first to admit that I’m no authority on collard greens
I’m just a Yankee who likes southern food
But guess what? You don’t need to be a born and bred southerner to make great collard greens. All you have to do is come at it with respect and prepare it in a simple manner. And I’m going to show you exactly how to do that with today’s recipe.
Tips, Tricks, & Suggestions
- Always make sure to wash your collard greens thoroughly as they can contain a lot of sand and dirt.
- You can easily swap out the ham hock with either a ham shank or a cut of salt pork. It all just depends on what you prefer and what’s available.
- Want to use your slow cooker? Well no worries, just follow the instructions and simply add another couple of hours to the cooking time.
- I really enjoy serving this with either our smoked turkey breast or pulled pork
Collard Greens Recipe
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 2 to 3 hours
Servings: 6
Ingredients
2 Lbs of Collard greens, stems removed and cut into inch sized pieces
1 ½ Lbs of Ham hocks, ham shank, or salted pork
4 Cloves of garlic, cut into slivers
1 Medium onion, medium diced
1 Tablespoon of whole black pepper
6 cups of water
Salt to taste
Oil
Instructions
- Saute the collard, onion, and garlic: Get out a large 6-quart pot and add 2 tablespoons of oil to it. Place this over high heat add in the collard, onion, and garlic.
Sautee these ingredients for about 3 to 4 minutes, or until the collard greens have reduced by half of their size.
- Toss in the remaining ingredients: Quickly add 6 cups of water, the ham hocks/salt pork, and the whole black pepper to the pot.
Stir all of the ingredients together and let it come up to a boil. Once it’s reached a boil, cover the pot and reduce the heat to a simmer.
- Let the collards simmer in the covered pot for 2 hours
- Finish the collard greens: After the two hours, the collard greens should be nice and soft. To finish the dish you will want to remove the ham hock/salt pork from the pot.
Then cut the meat of the pork into small pieces and return to the pot. 
Stir the pork back into the collard greens and taste the dish to see if it needs any salt.
- Serve the collard greens immediately,and enjoy!
Collard Greens Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Lbs of Collard greens stems removed and cut into inch sized pieces
- 1 ½ Lbs of Ham hocks ham shank, or salted pork
- 4 Cloves of garlic cut into slivers
- 1 Medium onion medium diced
- 1 Tablespoon of whole black pepper
- 6 cups of water
- Salt to taste
- Oil
Instructions
- Saute the collard, onion, and garlic: Get out a large 6-quart pot and add 2 tablespoons of oil to it. Place this over high heat add in the collard, onion, and garlic. Sautee these ingredients for about 3 to 4 minutes, or until the collard greens have reduced by half of their size.
- Toss in the remaining ingredients: Quickly add 6 cups of water, the ham hocks/saltpork, and the whole black pepper to the pot. Stir all of the ingredients together and let it come up to a boil. Once it’s reached a boil, cover the pot and reduce the heat to a simmer.
- Let the collards simmer in the covered pot for 2 hours
- Finish the collard greens: After the two hours, the collard greens should be nice and soft. To finish the dish you will want to remove the ham hock/salt pork from the pot. Then cut the meat of the pork into small pieces and return to the pot. Stir the pork back into the collard greens and taste the dish to see if it needs any salt.
- Serve the collard greens immediately, and enjoy!
Inspiration from other blogs
From Divas Can Cook
From Simply Recipes
