Description
Southern Collard Greens, a side dish served in Southern homes all year round. It’s a traditional favorite for New Years Day as the greens are supposed to bring wealth for the New Year. Easy to prepare with this recipe.
Scale
Ingredients
- 1 – Pound of fresh Collard Greens, washed well and chopped.
- 1 – Smoked Ham Hock (about 4oz) or fat back, hog jowl or streak-o-lean
- 1 – Medium Onion, chopped
- 2 – Cloves of Garlic, chopped
- 1 – teaspoon of Black Pepper
- 1 – Tablespoon of Salt
- 1 – Tablespoon of Sugar
- 1 – Tablespoon of Texas Pete Hot Sauce
- 1 – Tablespoon of Butter
- 3 – Quarts of Water
Instructions
- Place 3 cups of water in a large pot and bring to a boil.
- Wash and scrub the Ham Hock well, cut into sections and add to the boiling water.
- Let Ham Hock simmer for about 30 minutes on medium heat.
- Wash the collard greens scrubbing each leaf under cool running water until clean.
- Fold each collard leaf in half, either in your hand or on your cutting board.
- Pull the leaf section away from the stem. Discard stems.
- Stack a couple of leaves together on your cutting board.
- Begin at one end and roll the leaves up tightly. Then, cut lengthwise down the center of the roll.
- Squeeze the cut sections back together, rotate and cut the roll into about 3/4 inch slices.
- Add leaves to the pot a little at a time, let them cook down a minute and then add more.
- Reduce heat to a low simmer, leave the pot uncovered and simmer for about 30 minutes.
- Chop the onions and chop or mince the garlic cloves.
- In a small saucepan on medium low heat, add the butter and let it melt.
- Add the chopped onions and garlic to the butter and sauté until onions are translucent.
- Add the cooked onions and garlic to your stock pot with the collard leaves.
- Add salt, sugar, black pepper and Texas Pete Hot Sauce in amounts listed. Stir well.
- Let simmer another 15 minutes or until the collards are as tender as you prefer.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the greens and place in a bowl. Let the liquid continue to simmer.
- Chop the greens into smaller pieces but not to the point of being mushy.
- Remove the ham hock, chop the meatier portions into small pieces and return to the liquid.
- Return the chopped collard greens to the liquid and stir well.
- Keep warm until ready to serve.
Notes
Cornbread goes well with Collard Greens. Some folks like to dip their cornbread in the “potlikker” or liquid and eat it that way.
Leftover potlikker and even some of the greens can be used to make Potlikker Soup.
Keywords: Southern Collard Greens Recipe, made from scratch, fresh collards, mama's collards, southern recipes, with ham hocks, soul food