Do you want to know how to cook collard greens the best way? Normally, collards require a very long cooking time before they taste good. However, by that time, they have a really unpleasant khaki color. They typically burn before they become sufficiently soft, so you can’t just sauté them in some fat. The nerds (in a good way) at Cooks Illustrated claim that shallow blanching followed by sautéing is the best method for preparing collards and other assertive greens. In this manner, the collards cook quickly and also have a lovely appearance.
How to Cook Collard GreensWant silky, tender, flavorful collards? Follow these steps on how to cook collard greens to cook up a pot in true Southern style. Then keep the recipe handy all year long, because these silky greens are just too good to serve only on Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day!
2 large bunches collard greens (about 2 to 2 & 1/2 pounds total)
2 lbs. smoked ham hocks (or hog jowl or country ham), rinsed with warm water to remove some of the saltiness
Watch This Southern Collard Greens Recipe
Cleaning collard greens thoroughly is essential because they have a tendency to retain dirt in the leaf ribs.
Heres the best way to clean collards:
Give each leaf a good rinse.
Soak the leaves in cold water, either in a clean sink or a large bowl.
Swish the leaves around in the water to encourage any dirt to fall to the bottom of the sink or bowl.
Lift out each leaf (if youre using a bowl, dont drain the leaves into a colander or youll wind up pouring all the dirt back over them).
You should cut out the tough stems after cleaning the leaves. You can do this by folding each leaf in half and tearing the stem away from the leaf, or by using a paring knife or pair of kitchen scissors. A few leaves are piled on top of one another, rolled up, and cut into ribbons.
How to cook collard greens
Make your broth with your choice of smoked meat. The broth is the key to making tender, flavorful collards. While the broth is cooking, work on cleaning and prepping the collards.
Wash your collards thoroughly.
Remove the stem that runs down the center of the collard green leaf. This part is tough, bitter, and not tasty. The smaller, tender, young leaves wont need stripping. Then cut your leaves into strips. (pictured above)
Once the broth is ready, add the collards in big batches. You wont be able to put them all in at once. Add a big batch, cover them, and cook about 2 minutes. Remove the lid and mix the collards around. This will make room for you to add another big amount in. Keep doing this until you fill the pot. 3lbs sounds like a lot of collard greens, but they are cooked down to half the size of your pot once they are finished. Once they are all in, cook them covered for an hour at low heat, stirring occasionally.
Do a taste test to see if they are completely done after an hour. If they are not completely tender and flavorful, cook them another 15 minutes. An hour usually does it. Most of the liquid will be sopped up by the collards. Any extra is the tasty pot likker that is delicious to dip cornbread in!
The smoked ham hocks have flavorful meat. You can add the ham meat back into the collards. To do so, remove skin and fat. Then dice the meat and mix in the collards. This is optional.
Collards grow best in sandy soil. As a result, their stems frequently have hidden layers of sand and dirt.
Usually, rinsing them off is insufficient to completely remove the sand.
Follow these steps to clean collard greens:
Fill your kitchen sink with water and let the collards soak in it for about 10 minutes.
Swish them up and down and side to side to try to loosen any lingering dirt.
Then rinse them off individually to double check for any remaining sand.
