Soul Food Collard Greens And Neckbones Recipe

These Southern-style collard greens are simmered in a smoked pork broth flavored with onion, red pepper flakes, and other spices, and are guaranteed to bring some comforting home cooking to your dinner table.

As I recently wrote, “Greens are a labor of love—a sacred art form.” They are beloved by almost everyone with a connection to the South and are the epitome of both comfort and soul food. Many cooks have their own preferences when it comes to making collard greens, so feel free to adjust my recipe to your personal tastes, but this post should have just about everything you need to know on how to cook a batch of greens at home.

Yes, you can! Whether or not you want to remove the stems from your collards greens is mostly about personal preference. (Sometimes you can tell they’re extra tough and it’s best for the stems to be removed.) Leaving the stem on will add more texture to the finished pot, whereas removing the stem leads to a silkier batch of greens. If you want to remove the stem, hold the stem with one hand and pinch along the the base of the leaf where it meets the stem with the other, run the hand pinching the leaf down the length of the stem, and voila! Now it’s time to clean them.

Southern Style Collard Greens Recipe

As with any leaf—from spinach to arugula to collard greens—you want to wash them first to remove any dirt or grit. Though you can often buy salad greens pre-washed, I’ve never seen collard greens sold this way. In order to clean collard greens, you should fill a large pot or the kitchen sink (depending on how many you are cooking) with cold water, add the leaves and move them around a bit to get any dirt to fall off and sink to the bottom, and then lift the greens out of the water, hopefully leaving all of the bad stuff behind. It’s best to repeat this process until the water left behind is clear.

If you want to take a more rustic route, then you can just tear the leaves by hand into bite-sized pieces. I, on the other hand, like to stack a few leaves on top of each other, roll them up into a log, and cut the collard greens into strips to your desired width. (Aka “chiffonade” for those familiar with culinary terms.)

This recipe cooks collard greens in a flavored broth made of smoked pork neck bones, onion, and spices. I boil these ingredients in water for a purer pork flavor, but you can also use chicken stock if you prefer. To make the broth, you can also use salt pork, smoked ham hocks, or smoked turkey (necks, wings, or legs). This is the base of what is known as the potlikker (or pot liquor), the liquid left behind after cooking greens, and prized by all.

Instant Pot Collard Greens

I like Southern-style greens to be nice and silky when they hit my lips. I’ve gone through three batches of collard greens to perfect this recipe. One time I purchased them from my local farmers’ market, and the other two, the greens came from the grocery store. For some reason, the farmers’ market collard greens cooked much faster than the grocery store greens—45 minutes versus upwards of 2 hours. I can’t say for certain that it depends on where you purchase them from, but I will say that it’s important for you to taste them as they cook!An authentic Southern Collard Greens recipe that is amazing for any occasion! Fresh collard greens broken down into bite-sized pieces that slowly simmer away and tenderize in a rich, meaty, and flavorful broth; better known as the pot likker. This staple among Southern cuisine and Black culture is an absolute must to be had!

Within America’s culinary traditions; these greens date back to hundreds of years. Additionally, they’ve been apart of Black culture for probably longer than I’m even aware of.

Listen, I’ve seen how collard greens have basically become gentrified. The wellness industry and other food outlets often leave out African Americans’ stamp on these here greens. They are an important part of Black culinary heritage. Southern collard greens are not just a recipe, they’re at best, an honored tradition. A timeless piece of

Best Southern Collard Greens Recipe

Oddly enough, collard greens originated near Greece. Yup, evidence shows Greeks and Romans aided in the cultivation of collards and kale. However, it wasn’t until the early 1600s that collards actually became known in the states. They were already being grown in a lot of Southern colonies and areas. In addition, these greens are almost exclusively grown in the South.

During the years that African Americans were under enslavement, collard greens were among the only vegetables that we could grow and harvest to feed our families. Consequently, it was enslaved Black people that made Southern collard greens gain popularity. Moreover, the way in which *

* would transform these large, dark, leafy greens into something magical; would be known as one of America’s greatest culinary contributions today.

Collard Greens With Smoked Turkey

Enslaved Africans took these collard greens and prepared them in such a unique way. The method consisted of slow cooking collard greens in a rich and flavorful thin-like gravy or stock known as

. The pot likker is commonly found within elements such as onion, garlic, smoked ham hocks, chicken stock, red pepper flakes, hot sauce, and more! With this rich + savory pot likker, collard greens go from bland/bitter to downright delicious to put it mildly.

My favorite way to get my hands on these big leafy greens is via the good ole farmers market. If you can source them this way, you’ll find that they are likely at their freshest state and super vibrant in color. However, I know that farmers markets are not easily accessible to everyone. And they aren’t always convenient. Alternatively, you can get a nice-sized bunch of them at your local grocery store in the produce area. Look for your collard greens to be somewhat limp and not so tough and also have good color. It’ll seem like a lot, but like spinach, the greens wilt down- sooo very much!

Collard Greens & Smoked Neck Bones “

Collards and cornbread, communion meal of daily resurrection. I ate the survival leaf as I stood at the field’s edge, soaking its cure through pores and spirit. *poem by Aneb Kgositsile found in The African American Heritage Cookbook: Traditional Recipes & Fond Remembrances From Alabama’s Renowned Tuskegee Institute

Since greens may come with grit/dirt (and sometimes little bugs) on them, thoroughly washing them clean is super important! Make sure your kitchen sink is clean and then fill it with cool water. Add the greens in with a tablespoon or two of vinegar. Stir the greens around with your hand to help release the grit. You should see any grit go to bottom of sink. Let the collard greens sit in the sink for a few minutes. Then rinse water and repeat at least three times.

De-stemming the greens is fairly easy. Hold the collard leaf stem with one hand and with the other hand simply pull leaf away from stem. Then repeat this process until all leaves have stems removed. In contrast, if you prefer your greens with the stems you could skip this step altogether. To slice the greens, take a leaf and roll it up tightly together. Next, using a sharp knife, cut collard greens into bite-sized pieces. Repeat process until all greens are chopped up.

Easy Collard Greens With Ham Hocks( The Best Southern Collards)

These southern collard greens get a huge bulk of their flavor from the meat that they’re braised in. Traditionally, smoked ham hocks yield such a great depth of flavor. The saltiness, the smokiness, and the overall flavor can’t be beat. However, if you are not a fan of using pork products,

Work great, too! As long as the meat you’re using is smoked & cooked, it’ll achieve the flavor profile that southern collard greens should have.

⇢ What makes this recipe Southern? These collard greens have big, bold flavor! There’s no watered down, unseasoned nonsense going on here…I’m just being straight up with ya. Authentic greens that are rich, flavor-filled, and hearty. When it comes to the best collard greens, this recipe is the ONE!

Instant Pot Collard Greens Recipe

You can use whatever your heart desires or what’s more convenient for you. As for me and my greens, much like my ancestors, I prefer to make my collard greens

. That is, buying fresh collard green leaves and breaking them down myself. ⇢ Please feel free to make yours using bagged/pre-chopped greens (often sold in the produce area of the grocery store) if you like. If opting for bagged greens, I would just make sure they’re pre-washed or soak them yourself for good measure before cooking with.

Is the ultimate way. And word to the wise, go on and sop up some of that cornbread in the pot likker juices. Yeahhhh. Southern collard greens can also be eaten with

Black Folks Soul Food Collard Greens Recipe

, too! All in all, serving them alongside your main dishes for an ultimate meal, is one of the most popular ways.

While collard greens are a common staple at holiday dinner