Southern Style Collard Greens

Collard Greens – Available in the produce section of most grocery stores, they’re usually sold in large bunches. This recipe calls for about 3 pounds worth of fresh collard greens, which is usually 2-3 bunches. Grab one and weigh it to get an idea of what you’ll need. If your store sells bagged collards that have been washed and cut, feel free to use that as it saves a lot of prep time. I would use frozen only if you must, and I do not suggest canned collard greens at all.

Ham Hocks – Most grocery stores sell smoked ham hocks in a package of 2-3 hocks. Look for where your store sells whole and sliced ham products, and usually off to the side you will find smoked ham and turkey products. If you cannot find them, you can substitute with bacon or smokey turkey parts instead.

Cooking Fat – This recipe is a bit more of a Cajun style collard greens version, so in addition to a bit more spice, I also start the cooking process with bacon grease. While rendered bacon fat adds nice flavor to the collards, you can replace it with butter or a neutral oil. Alternatively, you can also cook some chopped bacon for a few minutes before adding the onions to make bacon grease and add more meat to the dish.

Vegetables – In addition to the collard greens, I like to add diced yellow onion and minced garlic to the dish. Other popular additions include bell peppers, jalapenos, or mixing the collards with mustard greens, turnip green, or kale.

Stock – While you can make this with just water, some chicken stock adds a nice flavor to the dish and the pot liquor. The recipe calls for 1-2 teaspoons of kosher salt, and this will depend a lot on the stock or broth you use. Homemade chicken stock made without salt or store-bought low-sodium, or no salt added stock will need more salt, while other broths, bouillon cubes, or better than bouillon will need less salt.

Worcestershire Sauce – Optional, but I like the extra bit of salty, smoky, savory flavor that Worcestershire sauce adds to the dish.

Vinegar – The acid from the vinegar helps to cut through the bitterness of the greens. I used apple cider vinegar here, but white distilled is fine as well. Some people will also serve vinegar table-side for collard greens like a condiment.

Seasoning – The seasoning I cook the greens with is fairly basic. I like a mix of kosher salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper, and smoked paprika. Adjust the crushed red pepper for your preferred level of spiciness, or even add a bit of cayenne for a bigger kick.

Sugar – Also optional, but because of the natural bitterness found in collard greens, a bit of granulated sugar can help balance the flavor in the opposite direction. Start with one tablespoon and you can add a bit more if your collards are particularly bitter.

Simmer the Ham Hocks

In a large stock pot or Dutch-oven (preferred) add the bacon grease and heat over medium heat. Once melted and hot, add the diced onion with a bit of salt and pepper. Sauté the onion over medium to medium-high heat until it starts to turn translucent, about 6-7 minutes.

Add the garlic and mix, then place the ham hocks into the pot and give them a short sear for a minute or two. Now add just a bit of the stock and the seasoning. Stir and allow the seasoning to bloom in the bacon grease for a minute. Adding a few splashes of the stock will help keep the garlic from burning.

After a minute or so, pour in the chicken stock. You want to cover the pork shanks here, so add more stock or water until they’re just covered. Bring the stock to a boil, then cover the pot and reduce the heat to a simmer.

Cook at a simmer for 35-45 minutes to start tenderizing the ham hocks. While these are cooking, get to work on the collard greens.

Clean & Cut the Collard Greens

One thing about collard greens is between their large leaves and harvesting and shipping in bundles, they tend to hold on to a decent amount of dirt and debris. Because of this, they need thorough cleaning.

I like to start by removing the stems on collards. Take each leaf and either fold it in half and slice off the stem or lay flat and slice down each side of the stem. The stem tends to go almost all the way to the top of the leaf, just a few inches shy. Removing these first will reduce the total volume of the collards when you wash them.

Fill a very large mixing bowl with water, or alternatively, thoroughly clean your sink with soap and water, rinse completely, and then fill the sink with water. Place the leaves into the water, in batches if necessary, and use your hands to give them a good shake up and down and side to side. Repeat this process with fresh water until you see no dirt or debris at the bottom of the bowl or sink. No need to dry the leaves.

Take a small bundle of leaves, maybe 5-6 at a time, and roll them lengthwise tightly like a cigar. Using a knife, cut the rolled collard greens roughly an inch wide. When the ham hocks have finished simmering, you can remove the lid and start tossing the greens into the pot as you cut them.

Like spinach, collard greens shrink a lot as they cook, so add as many chopped collards as you can at a time. For me, they usually shrank just enough that I could add some, roll and slice some more, and add the next batch as the previous batch shrank just enough. Repeat this process until you use all the collard greens.

Braise the Collard Greens

Once all the collards have been added to the pot, add the Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, and sugar and stir well to combine. If needed, add a little more water or stock until the greens are just covered.

Bring the mixture to a boil again, stirring frequently. Partially cover the pot and reduce to a simmer once again. Allow the collards to braise in the pot for another 1 ½ - 2 hours.

Check on them occasionally to see how much the liquid has reduced and give it a stir. After at least 1 – 1 ½ hours you can give them a taste with the liquid and adjust the seasoning if needed, adding more salt or red pepper if you want it spicier.

Once they have braised for a good 1 ½ - 2 hours, remove the lid and pull out the ham hocks with tongs. Set them aside for a few minutes until they’re cool enough to handle.

When cool enough, the pork should easily come off the bone. Remove the skin and fat and give the meat a rough chop and then add it back into the pot and stir.

If there is still a good amount of liquid at this point, remove the lid and let it simmer for another 30 minutes and up to an hour. I recommend braising the collard greens for at least 2 hours and up to 3 hours total.

Once fully cooked the collards should be dark green and have a little liquid left, but not soupy. I like to use tongs or a mesh strainer to remove the collard greens from the pot. Reserve the pot liquor and serve the collard greens hot or warm. Serve with a bit of potlikker, vinegar, and/or hot sauce on the side.

More Meat – If you prefer your collard greens with more meat than ham hocks alone, I suggest options like bacon, ham, or smoked sausage. For the bacon or sausage, chop it up and add it to the pot first. After a few minutes, add the diced onion and cook as normal. Reserve some of the crispy bacon to top the collards when serving. If using ham, dice and add it to the collards when you add in the chopped ham hocks to warm it.

No Pork – If you prefer your southern style collard greens to be pork-free, that’s fine. Use butter or oil instead of the bacon grease to cook the onions in. Instead of ham hocks, use smoked turkey necks, wings, or drumsticks. If you would like more meat in the final dish, I recommend using the smoked turkey legs over the other options as they will give you the most meat.

Sugar-Free – To balance the natural bitterness in collard greens without using refined sugar, I suggest adding some acid later in the cooking process. When you add the chopped meat back in from the ham hocks or smoked turkey, add a bit more vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice. This will help balance the bitterness without using sugar.

Vegan Collard Greens – If you would rather keep this vegetable side dish vegetarian or vegan, you only need to make a few small tweaks. Instead of using the bacon grease, use butter (vegetarian) or a neutral oil (vegan) instead. Replace the chicken stock with either water or vegetable broth and omit the ham hocks and Worcestershire sauce. This removes a lot of the smokey and savory flavor though, so consider replacing it with a bit of liquid smoke instead. Start with a ½ teaspoon and taste after an hour, adding a bit more if preferred.  

❄️ How to Store Southern Style Collard Greens

Once completely cooled, you can store southern style collard greens in an airtight container or zipper locked bag in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. I like to reserve the pot liquor in a separate container, and you can refrigerate that for about the same amount of time.

To reheat leftover collard greens, you can add a little bit of pot liquor and microwave them in a bowl. For the best flavor, however, I like to heat a good tablespoon or two of the potlikker in a saucepan over medium heat until melted. Add a good portion of leftover collards and stir occasionally until heated throughout.

If you would like to store for longer, braised collard greens can also be frozen. Add the leftovers and a good amount of the pot liquor to a freezer safe zipper lock bag and remove as much air as possible. Seal and store in a freezer for 2-3 months. Thaw for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator and reheat as above in a saucepan.