These slow-cooked Southern Collard Greens are made with a ham shank and a dash of hot sauce. They are a delicious side dish for BBQ or chicken dishes. Make this kale for your next meal!
I grew up with a healthy fondness for sautéed veggies: bright, vibrant, peppered with garlic and red pepper, and maybe a little citrus at the end.
So were the Greens target served – lively, strong and above all emerald green. So you can imagine my shock when I first came across Southern-style collards.
It was more than 20 years ago. I was one of the few white employees at a black-run weekly newspaper in Madison, WI. Sometime in the spring we all gathered for a company picnic and these greens were part of the spread.
Army green, simmered in an olive-colored pot broth, with chunks of smoked pork floating around. I asked my boss, Ms. Franklin, what that was. She almost fell over laughing. ‘Those are collards, son! You’ve never seen cabbage?”
I didn’t have one as I’m white, from New Jersey and also from a largely Italian-Jewish WASP town. Ms. Franklin explained that cabbage is so tough it takes a long time to cook and isn’t really very good without some kind of smoked pork; the best was a ham shank.
Potlikker: The best part of the collards
And then she told me the secret of cabbage: It’s the potlikker, the richly spiced, smoky soup at the bottom of the cabbage pot. She said that’s where all the vitamins go after you stew the hell veggies.
Some people use the potlikker for their next batch of cabbage, and others add more ingredients (beans, more pork, etc.) and make a soup out of it. Whatever you do, don’t throw it away.
Southern collards, you should know, is one of those recipes with endless variations. Each region, even each chef, has its own twist. That’s how we had them at our company picnics so long ago. Or at least that’s how I remember them. Ms. Franklin is gone now, thank God. This is for you Betty!
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Check out this recipe for Southern Collard Greens
How to trim and clean collards
It’s important to clean kale thoroughly as it tends to trap dirt in the veins of the leaves.
This is the best way to clean cabbage:
- Rinse each leaf well.
- Soak the leaves in cold water, either in a clean sink or a large bowl.
- Swirl the leaves around in the water to make debris fall to the bottom of the sink or bowl.
- Scoop out each leaf (if you’re using a bowl, don’t drain the leaves into a colander or you’ll pour all the dirt back over them).
Once the leaves are cleaned, you should remove the tough stems: fold each leaf in half and tear the stem off the leaf, or snip the stems out with a paring knife or kitchen scissors. Stack several sheets on top of each other, roll them up and cut them into ribbons.
How to store and reheat collards
Leftover kale should stay fresh refrigerated in an airtight container with the potlikker in place for 3 to 5 days. You can also freeze them for 10 to 12 months.
The best way to reheat cabbage is in a saucepan on the stovetop over medium-low heat until warmed through.
Southern recipes to try with collards
- How to make shrimp and grits
- Fried chicken steak
- Southern Cornbread
- Fried Green Tomatoes
- Bouncing John
From the editors of Simply Recipes
Southern style collards
While you can make this recipe with chard, kale, beets, or mustard greens, they cook much faster than collards, so reduce the cooking time to 30 minutes.
ingredients
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2 tablespoon baconlard or vegetable oil
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1 Middle Onion, cut from root to tip
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1 ham ankle
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2 garlic carnations, smash
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4 cups chicken broth
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1 to 2 cups water
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8 to 10 cups (approx 2 lb) stemmed, cleaned and chopped Kale
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Kosher salt to taste
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Vinegar and hot sauce taste
method
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Cooking onions in bacon fat:
Heat the bacon fat in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion in the bacon fat, stirring frequently, until the edges begin to brown, about 5 minutes.
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Add the ham, garlic, chicken broth and water:
Add the ham shank, crushed garlic, chicken broth and water and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 1 hour.
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Add collards:
Add the kale and cook, partially covered, until tender, an additional 45 minutes to an hour.
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Chop the meat, add to the greens:
To serve, remove the leg of ham, remove the meat from the bones and cut into small pieces. Mix the meat back with the vegetables.
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Season the cabbage, then serve:
Taste and season with salt if needed. Serve at the table with vinegar and hot sauce.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 174 | calories |
| 8g | Fat |
| 16g | carbohydrates |
| 11g | protein |
