I remember picking hundreds of bunches of collard greens over my childhood. Family reunions, Sunday dinners, birthdays. You name the holiday and there were probably collards greens there. This is a slight spin on a classic soul food side that my Dad better than almost anyone. I removed the pork ham hock and used smoked turkey instead. I used smoked turkey necks in these pics, but I normally used turkey wings. They have good flavor and are less greasy. I like my greens to have a nice vinegar taste so I normally add a splash or two more, but adjust the flavors to your liking. You can also use chicken broth in place of the water if you choose. Just make sure you use the low sodium variety. Step by step instructions below.
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Ingredients:
4 large bunches of Collard Greens
1 lb of Smoked Turkey (WIngs preferably)
1 medium Yellow Onion (chopped)
1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tbsp Worcheshire Sauce
3 tbsp Sugar
2 tbsp Garlic Powder
4 cups of water (divided)
2 TB Olive oil
Instructions:
Add olive oil to Dutch oven or medium sized stockpot over low heat. Dice the yellow onion finely and add it to the pot. Saute until onions are translucent.
Next, add your smoked turkey to the pot. Add enough water to just cover the turkey. Adjust heat to medium high, cover and cook until meat is tender. About 35-40 minutes will do it.
While the meat is simmering begin the process of picking and cutting your greens. Grab a couple of leaves and fold them stem side out as shown below. Separate the leaves from them stem and lay flat on your cutting board.
Once you have a good amount of leaves separated, stack them up and roll them up from bottom to top of your cutting board.
Slice the leaves from left to right and a bias. Once you get good at it you should be able to pick and slice multiple bunches at a time.
Next, add greens to a large bowl and fill with cold water. Wash them removing all grit, sand and debris thoroughly with cold water until water becomes clear.
Once ham hock is almost tender, add greens and cover. If all of your greens don’t fit at one time wait for about 5 minutes for the so that you can add the remainder to the wilted greens in the pot. Let simmer for another 5-10 minutes and take a look. If additional water is need add enough to just barely cover greens to the pot.
Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot, set the temperature to a simmer and cover. Give the water a taste test about an hour in and add additional spices, sugar and vinegar as needed. Cook an additional 2-3 hours or until completely tender.
Serve with your favorite cornbread recipe.