Collard Greens
Cooking Collard Greens the old-fashioned way takes time. Greens are simmered in their liquid until each morsel is tender enough to melt in your mouth. The liquid takes on a character by itself and becomes something my family calls “pot liquor.” We often eat pot liquor like a soup, separately with a wedge of cornbread. When your greens are well seasoned the pot liquor is indeed something to savor. There’s no need to use a slotted spoon to serve these greens!
I personally prefer to use water, but I know many like to use chicken broth. Call me a purist, the unadulterated flavor of Collard Greens with traditional seasonings plus smoked meat is unbeatable!
My father loved a boiled egg with his greens, sliced and served as a garnish on top. Add slices of jalapeño pepper if you like, this is good eating!
A couple of tips for cooking greens:
- If you are buying your greens as whole leaves from the grocer, you will need to trim the stems and cut the greens up before cooking. The stems are edible and can be included, but if you include a lot of stems they will detract from the silky texture of well cooked Collard Greens. It is best to pull the larger stems back from the leaf and discard them. (See this recipe's Photo Gallery)
- The easiest way to cut up Collard Greens is to stack a small bundle of the trimmed leaves, then roll them into a cylinder. Make one cut through the length of the roll, then several cuts across at about 1 inch intervals.
- Make sure your Collard Greens are simmering in their liquid throughout the cooking time. Don't let them dry out; they need the liquid to achieve the desired tenderness.
- Use your own judgement for when your Collard Greens are tender enough. Some like them firmer than is traditional which will require less cooking time. But don't be afraid to cook your greens for as long as it takes to reach the desired tenderness! You may get nice, young tender greens that won't take as long, or your greens might need a little more cooking time to get there.
- You can add more meat to your greens to make them a one pot meal with accompanying cornbread (Like my Corny Cornbread). A boiled egg is additional protein.
Special note: The old folks that I grew up with would always comment that when their home grown greens were harvested after the first frost they were noticeably more tender. I have found that to be true!
Also, don’t discard the Pot Liquor, it retains the vitamins and minerals that leached out of the greens as they were cooking. Very healthy, very gut-friendly!
Collard Greens simmered to melting tenderness, giving their flavorful liquid as a Pot Liquor bonus.
- 2 lb Collard Greens (washed and cut/torn)
- 1 Medium Onion (chopped)
- 1 Celery Stalk
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 6 clove Garlic (chopped)
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
- 3/4 lb Smoked meat
- 6 cup Water
Prepare your pot. Place the water, onion, celery, Bay leaves, garlic, salt, peppers and smoked meat into a large soup pot and bring to a boil. Once it is boiling, reduce heat to a simmer.
Add the Collard Greens and stir to combine. Water should reach the top of the greens in the pot. Cover and bring the contents back to a simmer.
Continue to simmer for 1½ hours, checking periodically to make sure the greens have enough liquid.
After one hour, check the greens for tenderness. Continue checking every 15 minutes.
Adjust seasonings as desired.
Serve Collard Greens in a bowl or a dish with sides. You can use a slotted spoon for serving the greens and save the pot liquor for later. Or you can serve Collard Greens in a bowl with the Pot Liquor, preferably with a wedge of cornbread to soak up the goodness.
Garnish with a boiled egg or sliced jalapeño pepper.
Traditionally served with cornbread as the starch.