Boozy Braised Collard Greens Recipes

BRAISED COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot with a lid over medium-high. When hot, add ham hocks. When they're sizzling, flip and crisp the other side.
• Add the onions and stir so they are coated in the fat and nestled under and around the hocks. Turn the heat down to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add the garlic, paprika, cumin, cayenne, salt and brown sugar, and stir until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
• Pour in the chicken stock and hard cider and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2 hours, until the ham hocks are very tender.
• Remove the ham hocks and allow to cool slightly. Skim the fat off the surface of the stock. When cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bone (discard the fat and the skin) and chop into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces and set aside.
• Bring the stock back to a boil, then add the greens in large handfuls, pressing them down to wilt in the hot stock before adding more leaves. Add the reserved ham hock meat.
• Reduce heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, until the greens are silky and tender. Season with salt and serve with hot sauce and a splash of apple cider vinegar, if desired.

BRAISED COLLARD GREENS WITH BACON

Steps:

• Cut and trim the collard greens, removing the tough stems. Roughly chop the trimmed greens into 1/2-inch ribbons.
• Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crispy, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon to leave behind all of the delicious bacon fat to cook the collard greens in.
• Add the onions and red pepper flakes to the same skillet. Depending on the bacon you use, you may need more fat in the pan, so add the canola oil if needed. Saute until the onions are softened, fragrant and beginning to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and sweat 30 seconds. Then add the collard greens, stirring constantly until softened. Pour in the chicken broth and wine and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook until the greens are tender, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Once the greens are tender, return the bacon to the pan, add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

BRAISED COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Place ham hocks, salt pork, onion, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, and sugar in a large pot with the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, and cook for 30 minutes.
• Stir collard greens into the pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, and cook for 30 minutes, or until greens are tender. Season with red wine vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.

BRAISED COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Cook the bacon in a deep saute pan on medium-high heat until crisp, then set aside, leaving the fat in the pan. Add the red pepper flakes, garlic and lemon zest, and saute until fragrant. Add the collard greens and cook until they begin to wilt. Add the chicken stock and 1/2 cup water and cover, lowering the heat to a simmer. Let cook until the greens are tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Uncover, add back the bacon, raise the heat to medium-high, and reduce the liquid by one-quarter, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper.

SPICY BRAISED COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• In a large Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until just crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Pour off all but 3 tablespoons of the bacon drippings and lower the heat to medium. Add the onions and cook until tender and translucent, 3 to 5 minutes.
• While the bacon and onions are cooking, prepare the greens. To remove the thick, woody stems that run down the center of the leaves, hold the base of the collard stem in one hand. Wrap your other hand around the bottom of the stem, directly under the leaf (like you are holding a baseball bat). In one firm motion, quickly slide your hand up the stem, removing the leaf in one swift movement. To chop the leaves, stack a few on top of each other and roll up like a cigar. Slice the roll into 1-inch pieces, rotate, and give another good chop. Continue until all the greens are chopped.
• Increase the heat of the Dutch oven to medium-high. Add a few large handfuls of greens at a time - stirring constantly to allow each batch to wilt for a few moments - until you can fit all of the greens into the pot. Continue to saute the greens for 3 to 5 minutes, until bright green and wilted. Season with a very generous pinch of kosher salt and a few big grinds of freshly ground black pepper. Add the chicken stock, vinegar, sugar, and red pepper flakes to the greens and stir until combined. Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
• Add the cooked bacon to the greens and simmer an additional 15 minutes. Taste for seasoning (don't be afraid to be generous with the salt). Serve with hot pepper vinegar on the side.

BRAISED COLLARD GREENS ON GRITS CAKES

Steps:

• Butter a half-sheet pan (about 12 by 17 inches), line it with parchment paper, and butter the parchment paper. Set aside.
• Bring the broth, salt, white pepper, and cayenne to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. With broth mixture at a boil, gradually pour in the grits, while whisking constantly. After the grits are incorporated, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook, stirring constantly, until the grits are thick, about 5 minutes. Add the cheese and stir until melted. Spread the grits in an even layer about 1/2-inch thick in the prepared pan and refrigerate until set and firm, at least 1 hour.
• Bring the smoked turkey stock to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the greens and adjust the heat to maintain a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until greens are tender and liquid has evaporated, about 1 hour. Remove from heat and add the cider vinegar. Keep warm while frying the grits cakes.
• When the grits are set and firm, turn the grits out onto a clean cutting board. Using a 1 1/2-inch round or square cutter, cut the grits into small cakes. Put some instant flour on a plate and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Dredge the cakes in the seasoned flour. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, and fry the cakes, in batches, until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove from the pan and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
• Top each grits cake with some of the braised greens and serve.
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• Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add all the ingredients, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour. Strain the broth into a large bowl or plastic container. If not using immediately, fill the sink up with ice water to come about halfway up the sides of the container. Nestle the broth in the ice bath and stir it periodically to cool it down. Cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
• Yield: approximately 2 1/2 quarts

BRAISED COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion and 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the Cajun seasoning and cook 30 seconds. Add the ham hocks, chicken broth and 4 cups water. Increase the heat to high and bring to a low boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the ham is tender and falling off the bone, about 2 hours.
• Remove the ham hocks from the liquid. Remove and discard the skin and bones. Roughly chop the meat into bite-size pieces. Return the meat to the cooking liquid along with the collard greens and vinegar. Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the greens are tender, about 30 minutes. Serve the collards with some of the liquid.

BRAISED COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
• Cut the tough stem ends from the collards and discard. Cut the leaves and tender stems into large bite-size pieces. Submerge the collards in the boiling water and cook, stirring once or twice, for 6 minutes. Drain the water and set the collards aside.
• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and add the garlic and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic is just beginning to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the collards, vinegar, and 1/4 cup water to the pot and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the collards are soft and all of the water has evaporated, about 10 minutes. If the water evaporates too quickly, add a few extra tablespoons so that the collards have time to cook fully; they should be very tender. Serve immediately.

BRAISED COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• In large hot stock pot sear prosciutto hock or country ham scraps.
• Add vinegar, maple syrup, red pepper flakes, salt and 1 quart water.
• Bring to a boil.
• Simmer for approximately 1 hour.
• Adjust seasonings.
• Blanch collard greens in this mixture for about 10 - 15 minutes.
• The greens should be soft & tender in texture but still green.
• Remove from stock and let cool, reserve pork stock.
• To serve heat 1 cup pork stock, veal stock, sherry vinegar, 1 teaspoon maple syrup, 1 teaspoon roast garlic puree and salt & pepper to taste.
• Add optional heavy cream if desired.
• Reduce by half.
• Add cooked collard greens.
• Serve warm.

BRAISED COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Strip the collards off the stems and tear into pieces. Discard the stems.
• In a large stock pot, sauté the diced bacon over medium heat until it has rendered out most of its fat and has browned.
• Add the onions to the pot and sauté until browned.
• Add the greens a handful at a time, and sauté over medium heat, while stirring. Once one handful wilts, add the next handful. Continue until all the greens are wilted.
• Add the sliced garlic and sauté for 30 seconds - just until it becomes fragrant.
• Add 1 quart of the stock. If this is not enough to cover the greens, keep adding stock (or water, if you don't have any more stock) until the greens are covered.
• Add the bay leaves, sugar, pepper, red pepper flakes, and salt. A NOTE ON THE AMOUNT OF SALT TO USE: I use home made ham hock stock to make this, and the saltiness of the stock depends on the saltiness of the hocks they are made from (this can vary considerably). Because of this it is important to always taste the stock you are working with before adding any additional salt to the dish. If you are using store bought chicken stock, I would not add any salt at this point. I would cook the greens for 2 hours, and then taste to see if you need any additional salt. Store bought chicken stock is very salty, even the "less sodium" kind. You can always put more salt in, but you can't take it out, so go easy here.
• Bring to a boil and stir well. Lower the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2 hours.
• Remove the bay leaves and taste the greens. If you think they need more salt, now is the time to add it.
• IF YOU ARE MAKING THE GREENS AHEAD OF TIME:.
• Leave the bay leaves in the pot. Taste and add more salt IF NEEDED. Refrigerate for up to 2 days. When you are ready to serve, re-heat the greens on the stove over medium heat. Remove the bay leaves before serving.

BRAISED SMOKED COLLARD GREENS WITH PEPPER VINEGAR

Steps:

• To make the pepper vinegar: Bring the vinegar and sugar to a boil and stir to dissolve. Add the chiles and cool in the fridge for at least 2 hours to overnight.
• Smoke the collards in 2 batches: Preheat the oven to 200°F. To create a smoker, use two large aluminum pans. First, heat the wood chips in a cast-iron pan over hight heat, until they begin to smoke. Remove the cast-iron pan from the heat and place the hot wood chips in one of the aluminum pans. Then, using a small but sharp knife, punch holes in the bottom of the second pan and place it on top of the first pan with the wood chips inside. Add the collards to the top pan, place in the oven, and smoke for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
• In a Dutch oven, sweat the red and white onions, leeks, and shallot with 2 cups of the olive oil and a nice pinch of salt. Add the smoked collards in increments until they cook down, then add more. Once all of the collards are in the pot, add the remaining oil and 8 cups of water. Cook, covered, on low heat, until done, about 1½ to 2 hours.
• To serve: Dress the collard greens with the pepper vinegar to taste.

BRAISED COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Remove the tough stems from the collardleaves. Finely slice the stems crosswise.Stack a few leaves on top of each other andcut into 1 1/2- to 2-inch pieces. Repeat with allleaves. You'll have 8 packed cups.
• Heat a 10-inch saute pan over high heat.Swirl in the oil and add the onion, bacon,and red pepper flakes. Fry until the onion issoft and the bacon is beginning to renderits fat and crisp up, about 13 minutes.
• Add the greens, 2 cups at a time. Stir into theonion mixture as you add. They will collapseand shrink in the heat.
• When all the greens are in the pan and theheat has returned to sizzling high, pour inthe vinegar. Stir to evaporate. Cover andlet the greens cook over low heat until justtender, 10 to 15 minutes. Add a bit of wateras needed to keep the greens from burning.Add salt to taste and serve.

BOOZY BRAISED COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Remove stems from greens and discard. Roll up like a cigar and slice into ribbons.
• In a large pot over medium heat, add bacon, onion, and garlic. Render bacon until crisp and the onion is tender, about 6 minutes.
• Stir in brown sugar, vinegar, broth, and bourbon. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and stir in the collard greens in batches. Cover and cook for 1 1/2 hours until tender and soft.