Collard Greens

Zaphro's Note:

Southern cooking at it's best.

• Total Time: 4 hrs
• Prep Time: 1 hrs
• Cook Time: 3 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 10

• 2 -3 medium smoked ham hocks or 2 lbs smoked pork neck bones
• 5 lbs collard greens (If you can't get them fresh, frozen will do.) or 2 -3 bunches collard greens (If you can't get them fresh, frozen will do.)
• 2 teaspoons salt

Directions:

1. Take 2 or 3 smoked ham hocks and put them in a large (6 quart) pot of water. Bring the water to a rolling boil and let it boil for about 1 1/2 hours. Add more water as it boils down. The idea is to boil the ham hocks until they begin to fall apart. You want the ham hocks to be falling apart before you add the collard greens.
2. Take the collard greens and separate the leaves (if fresh). Rinse each leaf individually under cold running water. After you rinse the collard greens thoroughly, stack several leaves on top of each other. Roll these leaves together. Then slice the leaves into thin strips using a cutting board and large knife. Rolling them together speeds up the process as you are slicking through several leaves at once.
3. Add your collard greens to the pot. Since this is a lot of collards, you will need to add them until the pot is full. Then allow them to wilt as they cook - then add more.
4. Add salt, cover and cook for thirty minutes on medium heat. Stir every few minutes to distribute the smoked meat taste evenly.

Reviews

[Sammijo]

This was a great recipe for collard greens to be certain ! The quanity of ingredients is perfect. I used a large soup pot in which I simmered the smoked ham hocks then added the greens as suggested. Although not listed I also added 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar and a light sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes as I read someplace that was a southern way to cook them. I simmered the greens about 2 hours because I recall a coworker cooking greens for a Thanksgiving pot luck , on a stove we had available, at work and she simmered them all mornings. To accompany the greens I prepared corn bread made in my cast iron skillet. We found dipping pieces of cornbread in the liquid an added treat. Thank you Zaphro for sharing your recipe. Now that I know how to prepare collard greens I'm sure to make them often.