Crock Pot Collard Greens and Ham

Submitted by PalatablePastime

"An excellent choice as a side dish for fried catfish or pulled pork. Also goes well with cornbread to soak up the juices which are called "pot likker". When you eat this kind of food, you know you are living!"

 

• Ready In: 6hrs 25mins
• Ingredients: 9
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 1 smoked ham hock
• 4 -6 slices thick bacon (optional)
• 8 cups collard greens, tough ribs and stems removed, torn into thin strips (kale may also be used)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 cups water

• Serve With

• 1⁄2 cup minced mild onion (optional)
• red wine vinegar (amount to taste) (optional)
• hot pepper sauce (I like Tabasco, amount to taste) (optional)

directions

1. Note: be sure to rinse collards thoroughly before using.
2. Remove any thick stems and tear or chop leaves into strips.
3. Cook bacon in a skillet until the fat renders and bacon becomes translucent.
4. Place bacon, with its drippings, into the bottom of the crock pot.
5. Add the greens, ham hock, salt, pepper, and water into crock pot.
6. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours.
7. Remove ham hock, discard skin and shred meat, returning meat to crock pot.
8. Serve greens with minced onion, vinegar and Tabasco, if desired.

Reviews

[dgpat]

Love this recipe!!! I have done it with collards and with kale and both were great!! I use 1/2 water and 1/2 chicken broth, a little garlic powder, a diced potato and diced small onion and a diced ham steak~~~Up here (north), smoked ham hocks or smoked turkey are just about as expensive as steak!! It always comes out great, and I LOVE the convenience of being able to do it in the crockpot!! Thank you!!

 

[Cincichic]

This was delicious. I added 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes for an extra zing.

 

[Sarah J.]

Great recipe and simple to use. I did add red pepper flakes. I like the bacon for extra flavor, although the collard greens were home grown by a local farmer in Miami, Florida. They are delicious!

 

[ejo801]

We got our greens though our Bountiful Baskets co-op. Having never cooked collard greens before, I went straight to my comfort zone: my crock pot. We loved this recipe! The only thing I did different was add an extra ham hock. Easy to make and the flavor was wonderful. My wife loved the vinegar and I went for the Siracha. As noted in other comments, the meat from the hock didn't go far. I may add some diced ham in the future. Also, I ended up with a lot of extra broth. You better believe I ladled it out, froze it, and used it in a chili verde recipe soon after. I'm a broth enthusiast, so I loved re purposing the flavor of this dish (dubbed "green pork broth") for another use.

 

[kattzzmeow]

Very easy! I didn't have Ham but that was ok. My hubby is from Kansas City and has been dying for my mom to make greens for him. I decided I would make them instead and he LOVED them! This is one of those things that only his mom can cook and I conquered it! HA