Braised Collard Greens

"Traditional Southern preparation for greens. These can be made a day or two ahead, and actually they taste even better if you do make them ahead of time. If you want these to be vegetarian, leave out the bacon and use vegetable stock instead of ham hock stock or chicken stock. I use Recipe #442908 in this recipe, and it is the most authentic way to make them, but if you don't have the time you can just use low sodium chicken stock. You will notice that the recipe calls for 4 to 6 bunches of collards - this is because bunches can vary in size. If the bunches are big, you only need 4. If they are on the smaller side, use 6. You can use this same preparation for other greens as well - kale, mustard, turnip, etc."
 
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Ready In:
2hrs 30mins
Ingredients:
10
Serves:
8
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ingredients

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directions

  • 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.

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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>I'm originally from Atlanta, GA, but I now live in Brooklyn, NY with my husband, cat, and dog. I'm a film and video editor, but cooking is my main hobby - if you can call something you do multiple times a day a hobby. <br />I enjoy all types of food, from molecular gastronomy to 70's suburban Mom type stuff. While I like to make recipes from cookbooks by true chefs, I don't turn my nose up at Campbell's Cream of Mushroom - I'm not a food snob. <br /> I love foods from all nations/cultures, and I am fortunate enough to live in NYC so I can go to restaurants which serve food from pretty much anywhere on the globe. Because of this most of my recipes tend to be in the Western European/American food tradition - I find it easier to pay the experts for more complicated delicacies such as Dosai, Pho &amp; Injera. I really enjoy having so many great food resources available to me here in NYC. One of my favorite stores is Kalustyan's http://www.kalustyans.com/ <br />they have every spice, bean, &amp; grain in the world. If there's something you can't find, look on their website. I bet they'll have it and they can ship it to you! <br />Many of my recipes are Southern, because that's the food I grew up on. I hope the recipes I have posted here will be useful to folks out in the 'zaar universe! <br /> <br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/Adopted1smp.jpg border=0 alt=Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket /> <br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/smPACp.jpg border=0 alt=Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket /> <br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/PACfall08partic.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /> <br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/IWasAdoptedfall08.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /> <br /><img src=http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e110/flower753/Food/my3chefsnov2008.jpg alt= /></p>
 
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