Collard Greens A La Carol Recipes

GINA'S BEST COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Thoroughly wash collard greens. Be sure to pull leaves apart and remove any sand. Chop collard greens.
• In a medium saucepan, bring 4 cups of salted water to a simmer. Place smoked ham hocks in salted water and cover for about 90 minutes. Cook ham hocks until slightly tender. In the same saucepan, add remaining ingredients and collard greens.
• Cover and cook greens for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• In a high-sided skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until brown, about 5 minutes. In the same pan add the onions and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Strip the leaves from the tough stems of the collard greens. Stack the leaves, roll them up and cut them into thin strips.
• To the skillet with the bacon and onions, add the garlic and red pepper flakes, brown sugar, cider vinegar, salt and pepper, to taste. Add the greens, stir and cover the skillet. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring halfway though. Collards are done when tender and no longer bitter. Remove from heat to a serving bowl. Serve the greens with the Light and Crispy Fried Chicken, if desired.

GRANDMA'S COLLARD GREENS

Steps:

• Cook onion and bacon in a large pot over medium-high heat until onions are soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Add chicken stock, vinegar, brown sugar, and pepper flakes and cook and stir until brown sugar has completely dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add 1/2 of the collard greens, reduce heat to medium, and cook until greens are slightly wilted, about 10 minutes. Add remaining greens, toss to combine, and simmer over medium-low heat until tender, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

COLLARD GREENS A LA CAROL

Steps:

• Fill large bowl with cold tap water.
• Soak collard greens in water, take out, and then rinse.
• Do this several times until no dirt is at bottom of bowl after washing.
• Rip thick stem from center of greens (its OK if a little thin stem is left).
• I usually accomplish this by folding green in half with stem sticking straight up, and ripping down and towards me.
• Chop onions and fry over medium heat in a deep frying pan for a few minutes.
• In the meantime, chop or tear collard greens into pieces and its okay.
• if they're big pieces, as they will shrink.
• Add greens to onions, and then add chopped garlic (as desired) and salt (and pepper if desired) on top of them.
• Cover and reduce heat to low.
• Let steam a few minutes.
• Check frequently and stir.
• The key to good collard greens is to not undercook them!!!
• Stir frequently and cover between stirrings.

COLLARDS WITH CABBAGE

Steps:

• Wash the collards well and tear into bite sized pieces. Cut away and discard the cabbage core, then cut cabbage into slices. Keep the collards and cabbage separate.
• Divide the bacon between 2 large pots over medium heat. Cook until fat has rendered but bacon is not crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside. Turn heat down under 1 pot, add 1 cup chicken broth and about 4 cups of water and bring to a boil. Add the cabbage and about half the bacon, reduce heat, cover and simmer about 30 minutes, until tender.
• Add onion and pepper flakes to the fat in the second pot and cook until the onion has softened. Add 1 cup chicken broth and about 6 cups water. Add collards to the pot with remaining bacon. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 1 hour, until tender.
• When the cabbage is tender, remove it from the pot with a slotted spoon, draining the liquid. Place it on a cutting board and chop finely with a large knife. Set aside.
• Remove collards from the second pot with a slotted spoon, saving the cooking liquid. Place them on a cutting board and mince them.
• Mix the minced cabbage and collards and return them to the first pot, adding enough cooking liquid from the second pot to make a mixture that is juicy but not too soupy. Taste and add salt if needed.
• Reheat and serve hot, with hot sauce or peppered vinegar on the side.