Best Eastern Nc Collard Greens Recipes

SOUTHERN STYLE COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• 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.

EASTERN NC COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Using large nonreactive pot, bring water, vinegar, salt, red pepper flakes & ham hocks to a boil.
• Reduce heat to simmer, cover pot & simmer 2 hours until ham hocks are falling apart.
• Cool liquid & ham hocks.
• Pick bones from meat & skin - chop both roughly & return to pot.
• Bring liquid to simmer & lay the collard stalks in the bottom of the pot. Next layer in the torn leaves, putting the largest, thickest on the bottom above the stalks & finish with the tender innermost leaves. There should be about 4 cups of liquid in the bottom of the pot - not all the leaves are submerged!
• Gently braise collards with lid on pot for an hour. Low heat is key - high heat causes release of sulfur compounds (as same other members of Brassicaciae family -cabbage, broccoli), stirring occasionally.
• Expect the leaves to initially brighten & then slowly turn a dark forest green - and smell really good!
• Add additional heat with pickled peppers or Texas Pete (made in NC) hot sauce & vinegar as you wish at the table - Mmmmmm good! Freezes well in freezer bags.

BEST EVER COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Heat broth.
• Add remaining ingredients.
• If there is not enough broth to cover greens, add more.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat& simmer for about 3 hours.
• Remove bay leaves.

BRAISED COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• 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.

LOWCOUNTRY COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Tear the greens from their stems. Take a handful of greens, roll them up lengthwise and slice them into bite-size pieces. Add the sliced greens to an empty, clean sink full of cool water and wash them, removing all grit, sand and debris. Drain sink and rinse greens thoroughly with cold water until water becomes clear.
• Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over medium. Add the onion and a pinch of salt, and sauté, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Add 4 cups of water to the pot. (This will become your potlikker.) Turn the heat to medium-high. Add the cleaned greens by the handful, stirring them until wilted before adding more.
• Add the smoked turkey, bouillon cubes, garlic and onion powders, apple cider vinegar, black pepper and red-pepper flakes to the pot. Bring to a rolling boil, then cover and lower heat to medium-low. Cook until greens are completely tender, at least 2 hours. Most of the water should have evaporated by this point, with just enough left to cover the bottom of the pot, and the meat should pull away from the bones.
• Take the meat out of the pot, transfer to a cutting board, and shred the meat with two forks. Add the shredded meat back to the pot and stir until well combined. Taste and adjust salt, pepper and onion powder as needed. To cut bitterness, add sugar; if you'd like more tang, add more vinegar. Serve hot.