Braised Collard Greens With Bacon Recipes

COLLARD GREENS WITH BACON

Steps:

• Place bacon in a heavy pot and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until fat begins to render, about 5 minutes. Drain off 1/2 of the bacon grease.
• Reduce heat to medium and add onion. Cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes. Add garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper; cook and stir for 2 minutes.
• Increase heat to high and immediately pour in 3 cups water. Bring to a boil, stirring to scrape up browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add chopped collard greens and 1 more cup of water. Bring back to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until greens are tender, about 1 hour.

COLLARD GREENS WITH BACON

Steps:

• Working in batches, stack greens; cutcrosswise into 2-inch-thick strips. Gatherstrips; cut crosswise into 2-inch pieces.Transfer to a large bowl of cold water;swish to remove grit. Transfer greens toa colander using a slotted spoon; letdrain. Repeat until greens are free of grit.
• Heat oil in a very large skillet overmedium-high heat. Add onion andbacon; cook until onions are translucent,about 4 minutes. Add greens; cook, stirring,until greens begin to wilt and arereduced in volume.
• Raise heat to high; add vinegar. Cook,scraping up brown bits from bottom ofskillet, until vinegar has evaporated,about 1 minute.
• Add stock; reduce heat. Simmer, covered,until greens are just tender, 12 to 14minutes. If making ahead, refrigerate,covered; reheat over low heat.

BRAISED COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot with a lid over medium-high. When hot, add ham hocks. When they're sizzling, flip and crisp the other side.
• Add the onions and stir so they are coated in the fat and nestled under and around the hocks. Turn the heat down to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add the garlic, paprika, cumin, cayenne, salt and brown sugar, and stir until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
• Pour in the chicken stock and hard cider and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2 hours, until the ham hocks are very tender.
• Remove the ham hocks and allow to cool slightly. Skim the fat off the surface of the stock. When cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bone (discard the fat and the skin) and chop into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces and set aside.
• Bring the stock back to a boil, then add the greens in large handfuls, pressing them down to wilt in the hot stock before adding more leaves. Add the reserved ham hock meat.
• Reduce heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, until the greens are silky and tender. Season with salt and serve with hot sauce and a splash of apple cider vinegar, if desired.

QUICK-BRAISED GREENS AND BEANS WITH BACON

Steps:

• Prepare the greens: Cut the tough stems out of the greens and discard. Stack the leaves, roll tightly crosswise and slice into 3/4-inch-wide ribbons. Transfer to a large bowl, cover with cold water and swish to remove grit. Transfer greens to a colander, cleaning them a second time if the water remaining in the bowl is visibly dirty.
• Cook 2 bacon slices in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium heat, turning occasionally, until browned and crisp, about 6 minutes. Transfer the cooked bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Meanwhile, cut the remaining 2 bacon slices crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide strips.
• Add the 1/4-inch bacon strips to the hot bacon fat and cook, stirring, until the fat in the bacon strips starts to render, about 1 minute. Add the onion and a pinch each of salt and pepper and cook, stirring often, until golden brown around the edges, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and sage and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Stir in the stock, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer, 5 minutes.
• Increase the heat to medium, add the greens, season with salt and pepper and stir until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Cover and cook until tender with a little bite, about 3 minutes.
• Uncover and add the beans and hot sauce. Stir until the beans are heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide among serving dishes and crumble the cooked bacon slices on top. Serve with more hot sauce.

BRAISED COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Place ham hocks, salt pork, onion, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, and sugar in a large pot with the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, and cook for 30 minutes.
• Stir collard greens into the pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, and cook for 30 minutes, or until greens are tender. Season with red wine vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.

SOUTHERN-BRAISED GREENS WITH BACON

Steps:

• In a large, heavy pot cook the bacon until it has rendered most of its fat, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the onions, garlic, salt, cayenne, and black pepper and cook until the onions are wilted, about 4 minutes. Add 1 quart of water, the beer, vinegar, and molasses and bring to a boil. Begin adding the greens in batches, pressing down with a wooden spoon to submerge them in the hot liquid and adding more as they wilt. When all of the greens have been added, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the greens, partially covered and stirring occasionally, for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until tender.

BACON AND BROWN SUGAR-BRAISED COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings in pan. Crumble bacon; set aside.
• Add onion and garlic to drippings in pan; cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in crumbled bacon, 2 cups water, and next 4 ingredients (through pepper). Gradually add greens. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour or until tender.