Robert Carters Braised Collard Greens Recipes

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.

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:

• 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.

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.

VEGETABLE-BEEF SOUP

Steps:

• Heat a heavy 6-quart pot over medium heat. Add the salt pork and sauté until golden. Remove it and set aside. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of the drippings.
• Increase the heat to medium-high (add vegetable oil, if using). In batches, brown the marrow bones and stew meat. Add 3 quarts of water and the salt pork. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 2 hours, skimming off any foam.
• Add the tomatoes, carrots, onions, celery and parsnips; return to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Add the lima beans and green beans. Cover and simmer for another 30 minutes. Add the okra and simmer 20 minutes. Remove marrow bones and salt pork. Add the corn and peas and cook for about 10 more minutes, until cooked through. Skim off the fat from the surface and discard. Taste the broth and add sugar, salt and pepper as needed. The soup is ready but improves with age. If not serving immediately, refrigerate after it cools. Before reheating, skim off any congealed fat. If it is too thick, thin with a bit of water.

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

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.