Collard Greens

If you don't like collard greens, you've probably just never had them cooked right.  For some reason, the world wants to boil them - BLECH!  I've seen more than one chef do so on Food Network so I think it's safe to say there is an epidemic of crappy collard cooking going down.

I'll concede that a slow simmer in a good pot liquor can be pretty tasty but my cooking method of choice is wilting.

First let me show you how my mom has it written down in her cookbook.  I'm trying to figure out why she even had it written down at all (because any Southerner worth her salt wouldn't need a recipe to cook collards) unless these are her notes from when my Nanny Richbourg taught her how to cook them when Mom first moved to the South.

This cracks me up....

And that's pretty-much it.  But if you'd rather have a traditional recipe to use, here's one for you to follow:

Collard Greens
1 bunch collard greens
1 onion, diced
4 tablespoons bacon drippings*
½ cup chicken stock**
Salt to taste

Fill sink with cold water and submerge collards to rinse away any sand, etc.  Drain well.  Trim the center stem from each collard leaf and discard.  Roll each leaf and chiffonade into 1" strips.  Set collards aside.

Melt bacon drippings in a large cast iron pan (or other sturdy, large vessel).  Sauté onions in bacon drippings for 2-3 minutes over medium-high heat.

Add enough greens to fill pot.  Toss to coat with drippings then cover for about 5 minutes.  Add chicken stock and salt then continue to add greens (as they will fit) at five minute intervals until all the greens have cooked down and have been added to the pot.

Once all greens have been added to the pot and tossed well, reduce heat to low, cover pot and continue to cook anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours.

*if you don't have any bacon drippings, chop 6-8 pieces of bacon and sauté to render fat before adding onion.

**Use any stock or cooking liquid used to braise meat.

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