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Southern Collard Greens

A bowl of greens with bacon in it.


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Southern Collard Greens

A bowl of greens with bacon in it.

These authentic Southern Collard Greens are braised in a savory meat flavored and perfectly spiced resulting in an amazing tender silky texture. Serve with a heart meat dish and cornbread for that true downhome meal or Sunday supper as we call it.

  • Author: G. Brock
  • Prep Time: 30
  • Cook Time: 2 hrs 45 min
  • Total Time: 3 hrs 15 min
  • Yield: 8 1x
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: Simmering
  • Cuisine: Southern

Ingredients

Scale
  • 6 small bunches collard greens
  • 1 extra large smoked ham hock make sure it is meaty!
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp bacon grease
  • 1 tbsp seasoned salt
  • 2 tsp worcheshire sauce
  • 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes you can go down on this to 1/2 teaspoon if you like less heat.
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped onion

Instructions

  1. Start by pulling and tearing greens away from stems. Take a hand full of greens, roll them up and cut the rolls horizontally into small pieces. We personally remove the stems but this is a personal decision.
  2. Next, add greens to empty clean sink and wash them removing all grit, sand and debris thoroughly with cold water until water becomes clear.
  3. Next rinse the ham hock very well then add to a large pot along with enough water to fully submerge the ham hock then cover with a lid. Cook over medium high heat for about 45 minutes or until ham hock is near being tender.
  4. Once ham hock is almost tender, add greens and about 4-5 additional cups of water or enough to just barely cover greens to the pot.
  5. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot and cook while covered for at least 2 hours or until completely tender. Most water should have evaporated by this point just having enough to barely cover the greens.

Notes

To pick wonderful greens at your local grocery store or farmer’s market, be sure to pay close attention to the leaves. They shouldn’t be too tough. You want to make sure that the leaves are easy to pull away from the stem and tear/cut later when preparing them to cook.

You can scale back the spice to 1/2 teaspoon if 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes is too much.

What’s Shakin’ – Add our Moo Cow Mojo rub as a seasoning onto prior to serving with enhance the flavor and make your family and guest asking for more!

 

Keywords: collard greens, soul food collard greens, Southern collard greens recipe