Greens are a very Southern thing. There are some that love them and some that aren’t so fond. After making and eating a lot of greens, I understand why. When they are bad, they can be really unpleasant.
I have to say that this recipe produced the best greens I’ve ever had. They were just perfect. The two things I instantly noticed in Grace’s recipe was cooking the meat with the broth and then adding the greens and the vinegar during the cooking process, rather than afterwards. Grace says, “the vinegar cuts the bitterness of the collards”.
Ingredients:
3 Ibs Collard Greens, to skip the process of washing and soaking whole greens, just buy the chopped greens in the bags. They are pre-washed and ready to go. I still pick them over to remove any larger stems.
1-2 smoked Ham hocks or smoked turkey leg. If unavailable, any smoked meat will do. I used smoked pork necks one time.
2 boxes Chicken Broth, about 8 cups.
1 Vidallia or sweet Onion
1 Red Bell pepper, chopped
1/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Tbsp Garlic, minced
1 tsp Red pepper flakes
Salt, I like to wait until the greens have cooked a bit before I add the salt.
Preparation:
Add all ingredients, except the greens and the salt and cook on medium low heat until the meat is falling off or easily comes off the bone. When ham hocks are done remove them and put in a bowl to cool.
Using a slotted spoon look to see if there are any pieces of bone in the broth. Then, I add the collards a bit at a time into the broth and mash them down.
Bring to a boil and then turn to down to med/low, cover and cook for two hours. checking liquid and stirring occasionally.
After the ham hocks are cool, remove the meat and chop finely and add to the collards. I add the salt at this time and cook for about another 30 minutes to an hour.
The Louisville Chef 