Pan-Fried Collard Greens
- Total Time
- 1½ hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 2pounds collard greens, stems removed
- 1tablespoon distilled white vinegar
- 1tablespoon kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)
- 1pound smoked Cajun or regular turkey, preferably neck or wings, cut up
- 1pound ham hock, sliced (see Tip)
- 2large yellow onions, coarsely chopped
- 1 to 2habanero peppers, stemmed and halved
- 6cups unsalted chicken broth, store-bought or homemade
- 1tablespoon chicken seasoning base, such as Knorr or Better Than Bouillon
- 1tablespoon seasoned salt
- 1chicken-flavored bouillon seasoning cube, such as Maggi (optional)
- 4ounces dried barracuda or other fish (optional), rinsed, skin removed and broken into chunks
- ½cup olive oil
- Cooked rice, for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
Wash collard greens in a bowl full of water with vinegar and salt. Drain and repeat if needed, until the water is clear. Roll the leaves up into tight bunches and cut into thin strips. Set aside.
- Step 2
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high, and add turkey and ham hock. Boil for 10 minutes, and then rinse and dry the meat. Clean out the pot.
- Step 3
In a blender or food processor, purée onions and peppers. Return the pot to high heat, and add turkey, ham hock, about three-quarters of the onion and pepper purée, along with broth, chicken seasoning, seasoned salt and Maggi cube if using. Bring to a boil, and cook until the liquid is reduced to 1 cup, about 40 minutes. Add the dried fish, if using.
- Step 4
Meanwhile, in a large pan, heat oil over medium. Add remaining onion and pepper purée, along with collard greens. Cover and cook, stirring frequently, until greens are wilted and tender, about 30 minutes.
- Step 5
Once stock is reduced, lower heat to medium, add cooked greens and cook, stirring well, for 5 to 10 minutes to incorporate flavors and thicken the broth. Serve with rice.
Tip
- Ask the butcher to slice the hock for you. If you can’t find a ham hock or a professional to slice it for you, you can use other smoked pork with bones, such as smoked pork neck. Just watch out for any brittle bone shards in the finished dish.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Lynn
If you want to do a vegetarian version, omit all the meat/fish and instead add some Liquid Smoke, as well as a roux. Both of these items will help to enrich and thicken the liquid, give it a more appealing, deeper brown shade, and a nice smokey smell.
NY
For a vegan version use better than bullion un - chicken bullion paste and Goya Ham seasoning, both are vegan. Eliminate the fish, ham and smoked turkey wings. Also add a dash of smoked paprika. It’s delicious.
Jessica
I made this with smoked turkey necks and pork necks and used Old Bay as seasoned salt. Don’t think you have to but I painstakingly took the meat off the bone after boiling them which makes the final product a little easier to deal with, but it took a while. This is DELICIOUS! I had fewer collards than called for which was fine because that meant more of that onion puree to sautee them in to make them richer, and I saved half the broth to make this again! Yum
Elizabeth
There is simply NO Need for all this meat. Greens are a vegetable! No healthy southerner would eat this. Add 1/4 cup of smoked ham OR 3 strips of bacon, or a half of a smoked sausage (Cajun if you like it). 1/2 chopped onion, 2 tbsp vinegar to soften the leaves and smooth the flavors. Add 1-2 tsp of Cajun season, red pepper flakes if you like hot, or salt and pepper if you don’t. Liquid smoke is fake. If you are vegetarian, add mushrooms for richer flavor. Simmer: two hours. Instapot 30 min.
Helene
This is a Liberian dish, as the article says. In Liberia, we use all different types of meat--chicken, fish, ham, beef--with our greens. We identify our food by the vegetable, not by the meat, because it is assumed that most of our dishes will have all different kinds of meats in them. If you are looking for a "healthy southerner" collard greens, go find a different recipe.
Too salty
Maybe no bullion cube?
Stephanie
Couldn’t find a ham hock! Sliced up a pound of bacon instead. Added a splash of apple cider vinegar at the end. Used old bay and lawry’s seasoning salt, definitely went heavy on those. Oh. My. Lanta. These are bomb.
Jason
I love that this is referred to a “vegetable dish”. That’s not a criticism, but did make me laugh.
John Allen
Is the cooked meat taken out after final cooking and removed from the bones then returned to dish?
JEnny Schmidt
What's "smoked cajun turkey necks or wings"?
ML
"Smoked Cajun or regular turkey" is smoked turkey. Cajun or not Cajun. But smoked. Necks or wings are suggested for this recipe.
Jessica
I made this with smoked turkey necks and pork necks and used Old Bay as seasoned salt. Don’t think you have to but I painstakingly took the meat off the bone after boiling them which makes the final product a little easier to deal with, but it took a while. This is DELICIOUS! I had fewer collards than called for which was fine because that meant more of that onion puree to sautee them in to make them richer, and I saved half the broth to make this again! Yum
Nicky
Why does this recipe include both chicken seasoning base and a chicken-flavored bouillon seasoning cube? It seems duplicative.
Carolyn R
Question, and this applies to a lot of recipes where the ingredients require trimming. Do you need 2 pounds of collard greens weighed by the bunch or 2 pounds trimmed? The difference can be considerable.
egrace
Which greens can you get up there? This recipe will work best with greens like kale or mustard greens, greens that have a definite bitter flavour and texture. Rather than spinach which tends to be too tender and too delicate a leaf.
Norman of BC
Thoughts on best substitute for collard greens? Up where I live in Northern BC, they’re not available in any form.
Michijim
This recipe stirred memories of many Sunday dinners at my Grandmothers home in NC. Well prepared collards are one of those delightful culinary experiences everyone should try at least once in their life.
Jean
Any ideas about salt adjustment especially if not using meat? Also I used a milder pepper, poblano. Great technique for preparing the greens, yum.
NY
For a vegan version use better than bullion un - chicken bullion paste and Goya Ham seasoning, both are vegan. Eliminate the fish, ham and smoked turkey wings. Also add a dash of smoked paprika. It’s delicious.
Lynn
If you want to do a vegetarian version, omit all the meat/fish and instead add some Liquid Smoke, as well as a roux. Both of these items will help to enrich and thicken the liquid, give it a more appealing, deeper brown shade, and a nice smokey smell.
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