Braised Collard Greens With Smoked Pork Recipes

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.

SMOKED BRAISED MIXED GREENS

Steps:

• Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and render until you have enough fat to saute the garlic and onions. Add the garlic and onions and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the pinch red pepper flakes and season with salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute more. Add the greens in handfuls, adding more as the greens start to wilt, tossing with tongs until all the greens are wilted down. Add the chicken stock and cover. Cook until the greens are tender, about 10 minutes.

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.

LOWCOUNTRY COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Tear the greens from their stems. Take a handful of greens, roll them up lengthwise and slice them into bite-size pieces. Add the sliced greens to an empty, clean sink full of cool water and wash them, removing all grit, sand and debris. Drain sink and rinse greens thoroughly with cold water until water becomes clear.
• Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium. Add the onion and a pinch of salt, and sauté, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Add 4 cups of water to the pot. (This will become your potlikker.) Turn the heat to medium-high. Add the cleaned greens by the handful, stirring them until wilted before adding more.
• Add the smoked turkey, bouillon cubes, garlic and onion powders, apple cider vinegar, black pepper and red-pepper flakes to the pot. Bring to a rolling boil, then cover and lower heat to medium-low. Cook until greens are completely tender, at least 2 hours. Most of the water should have evaporated by this point, with just enough left to cover the bottom of the pot, and the meat should pull away from the bones.
• Take the meat out of the pot, transfer to a cutting board, and shred the meat with two forks. Add the shredded meat back to the pot and stir until well combined. Taste and adjust salt, pepper and onion powder as needed. To cut bitterness, add sugar; if you'd like more tang, add more vinegar. Serve hot.

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:

• 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 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.

ROBERT CARTER'S BRAISED COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Cut collard greens into chiffonade about 1/2-inch wide and blanch in salted boiling water for 10 seconds. Drain, refresh in ice water and squeeze dry.
• Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté ham and shallots. Deglaze pan with sherry vinegar and stir in honey. Add stock and bring to a simmer.
• Add collard greens and cook at a healthy simmer until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove greens to a bowl using a slotted spoon. Heat cooking liquid and boil until reduced to about 1/4 cup. Taste and adjust seasonings. (You may want to add a little more honey or vinegar.) Add butter, stirring constantly until it melts. Return greens to pan and toss to coat.

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.