Southern Collard Greens

Stockpot with collard greens and a wooden ladle.

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5 from 13 votes

The secret to Southern collard greens is to season the pot liquor and cook the greens low and slow.

Prep Time10

Cook Time2

Pot Liquor1

Total Time3 10

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Southern

Servings: cups

Calories: 189kcal

Author: Anecia Hero

Ingredients

3 pounds washed and chopped collard greens See Recipe Notes
1 smoked ham hock 1 large smoked ham hock, smoked turkey leg or bacon strips (6) See Recipe Notes
water
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder , or 1/2 cup chopped onion
3 teaspoons chicken bouillon , ( or 3 cubes)
1½ teaspoons salt
1-2 tablespoons white vinegar
Trappey's white pepper sauce , white pepper vinegar; to taste
salt and black pepper ,to taste
pinch sugar (optional)

Instructions

Wash greens thoroughly. At least 3 times. Cut away core stalk; chop or tear into small bite size pieces
3 pounds washed and chopped collard greens
In a large stockpot, on medium-high heat, add protein, (and chopped onion - optional), water and seasonings to pot; cover and allow to cook for 1 hour. Once the meat is tender, you can either remove the hamhock, pull the meat away from the bone and shred it and add it back to the stockpot or just leave it whole in the stockpot. See Recipe Notes
1 smoked ham hock, water, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon onion powder, 3 teaspoons chicken bouillon , 1½ teaspoons salt
Add greens and a tablespoon of white vinegar to stockpot; stir well; allow to cook 5-8 minutes with the lid off. Place lid on stockpot and cook on low heat until greens are tender (about 2 hours); stir occasionally
3 pounds washed and chopped collard greens, 1-2 tablespoons white vinegar
Add salt, pepper, pepper-vinegar to taste; add a pinch or two of sugar and a little more vinegar if you like
Trappey's white pepper sauce, salt and black pepper, pinch sugar (optional)

Notes

Yield:

I used three big bunches of huge collards in this recipe and I got about 4 cups of greens and broth. If you serve this with a ladle that holds about half a cup, you will have plenty to serve 8-10.

Greens:

If you use pre-cut/pre-washed greens, still rinse them again in a colander just to be safe.

The quickest way to cut collard greens is to remove the stem, stack 6-8 leaves, roll 'em up, and slice into ¼" inch ribbons.

Water:

Start with 3-4 cups per pound of raw greens; if you find you need to add more during the cooking process, then add more. You want the greens barely covered by water. If you add more water, you might want to add more seasonings.

Protein:

If you use bacon, I recommend cutting it into tiny pieces and cooking it in the stockpot until crispy. Then, add a little water (stand back - it will splatter) and begin scraping the bacon residue from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.

Add the rest of the water and seasonings and let that simmer for 1 hour. Then resume recipe.

Nutrition