Over twenty years ago, I tasted some amazing Southern collard greens at a church potluck in Savannah. Can you guess what the secret ingredient was? Ham hocks.
If you love Southern food, as much as we do, check out our black eyed peas and our skillet cornbread which are perfect for New Year's Day.
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About
Southerns like to eat collard greens on New's Day because they are in season at that time of year. For many Southerns, eating greens on the first day of the year symbolizes more folded money in your pocket in the new year.
The traditional New Year's Day meal in the South is collard greens, black eyed peas, hoppin' John, cornbread, and potlikker soup. Having pork and ham is considered lucky and will bring prosperity to you and your family.
There is a well known phrase, "Peas for pennies, greens for dollars, and cornbread for gold." The peas are symbolic of coins or wealth, greens are symbolic of paper money, and cornbread is symbolizes gold.
Whether you believe these foods will make you more prosperous in the upcoming year or not, it's a very delicious meal and is traditional in many homes in the South.
Ingredients
The ingredients for making Southern collard greens are easy to find in most grocery stores in the US, especially from November to January. Let's talk about the key ingredients in this dish.
- Fat: Bacon grease or olive oil can be used to cook the aromatics and fry the greens.
- Acid: We used old good apple cider vinegar to bring some tang to this recipe.
- Meat: To add a smoky flavor, we used smoked ham hocks and smoked ham. Bacon is also commonly used. If you are avoiding pork, smoked turkey drumsticks will also work well.
- Greens: Fresh collards greens were used. Choose leaves that can easy pull away from the stem and aren't tough.
How to Make
Soak the fresh collard leaves for 10 to 30 minutes in a sink full of slightly warm water with ½-1 cup of white vinegar and 1 tablespoon of salt. Scrub each collard leaf individually with your hands to get the sand and grit off, then rinse well with cold running water and set aside.
- To remove the stem, fold the leaf in half lengthwise and cut the rib out with a sharp knife. Place the ribs into a freezer bag for future use for vegetable stock, soups or stews.
2. Stack 3 to 8 leaves high and cut in ½ inch to 1 inch thin, even pieces. You can also roll the leaves before cutting.
3. Over medium high heat, heat up the olive oil and add the chopped onion. Saute for 6 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Sprinkle on the salt and pepper, then cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, stirring constantly, to bloom the spices. Dump the cooked onion mixture into a bowl and set aside.
4. Using the same pot, fry the greens in batches, stirring them constantly until they're wilted.
5. Return the vegetables into the pot and pour in the chicken stock and the water.
6. Add the red pepper flakes, the apple cider vinegar, and brown sugar. If you want, you can add 1 cup of additional chopped ham right now or wait until the end.
7. Place the three ham hocks into the pot, making sure they are surrounded by the greens, then cover the pot and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and let it simmer for 1 hour. Check on it occasionally to give it a stir.
8. After one hour, check the ham hocks. If the meat is tender enough for your taste, remove them and let them cool. If you want to cook them longer, keep them in the pot. Once the ham hocks are cool enough, cut the meat off the bones and shred it into smaller pieces.
Taste after one hour. If they are tender enough, you can remove the pot from the heat. If you like them very tender, keep cooking them on medium low and checking them every ½ hour.
Stir in the shredded ham hocks and the additional smoked ham. If you need to keep this side dish warm to bring to a covered dish event, transfer them to a 6 quart crock pot and keep on warm. Serve warm with fresh cornbread.
Serve
Serve collard greens with other traditional Southern foods like mac and cheese, cornbread, black eyed peas, spiral ham, pulled pork and grits.
Recipe FAQs
Add one teaspoon of salt or lemon juice. Stir and taste, if necessary, repeat the process until the bitter taste is gone.
Vinegar brings a welcome tang to this recipe and helps brighten this dish by balancing out the salty and savory earthiness of the collards.
Vinegar will also help tenderize the collards. If you add anywhere from 2 teaspoons to 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, depending on the amount of collard greens you are cooking and how tough they were.
Historically, during the days of slavery in the Southern states, collards were used by the slaves along with ham hocks to make one pot meals to feed their families.
When collards are raw, they are bitter like kale, but when they are cooked low and slow the heat mellows them and brings out their earthiness. Southern collard greens are usually cooked with vinegar and sugar which helps balance this popular Southern dish.
Store
Fresh: Wrap the unwashed bunch of collards in damp paper towels then place in an open plastic bag and refrigerate in the crisper drawer for as long as 5 to7 days.
Make Ahead: It's actually best to make the collards a minimum of 4 hours in advance, or up to a whole day ahead. When you make them the night before, allow them to cool at room temperature for two hours before covering and refrigerating.
Reheat: This recipe for Southern collard greens tastes better the next day because the extra time will allow the flavors to deepen. To reheat, place in a pot over medium low heat. Stir and cook until heated through.
Freeze: Yes, allow the collards to cool first, then place in airtight freezer container or a zip-top freezer bag. Lay the freezer bags flat in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Expert Tips
- In a hurry? Use pre-washed collard greens.
- Don't want to use ham hocks? Use ham bone, smoked turkey drumsticks, wings, or bacon.
- Need this vegan? Omit the meat, use vegetable broth, smoked salt, liquid smoke, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and hot sauce to taste.
- Want this as a main course? Increase the meat per serving, by stirring in more chopped ham.
- Want to increase the spiciness? Increase the red pepper flakes to ¼ teaspoon, or add ½ teaspoon of hot sauce.
- Can't find collard greens? This recipe work for mustard or turnip greens.
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Recipe
Southern Style Collard Greens
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups yellow onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoon salt + more to taste at the end
- 2 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- 3 cups filtered water
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 pound fresh collard greens, washed and chopped
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
- 3 ham hocks, roughly 1 ¼ cups of meat (2 pounds)
- 1 cup smoked ham, shredded (if ham hocks don't have enough meat)
Instructions
Stovetop Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Saute the chopped onion for 6 minutes, then add the minced garlic and saute for one minute, stirring constantly. Season with salt and pepper.
- Using the same pot, fry the cleaned and chopped collards in small batches over medium heat until they wilt, stirring after adding each new batch. Put the wilted greens in a bowl to make room in the pot.
- Once all the collards are wilted, put them back in the pot and pour in the chicken stock, water, red pepper flakes, brown sugar, and vinegar and stir. Place the three ham hocks into the pot, making sure they are mostly surrounded by the greens.
- Bring the covered pot to a boil, then turn it down and let it simmer for 1 ½ to 2 hours. Taste test at 1 ½ hour mark. If you like your greens more tender, let it simmer a bit longer.
- Remove the ham hocks after the first 1 ½ to 2 hours, let them cool for 45 minutes, and shred the meat from them. Cut off the fat and grisle and discard.
- Add the ham hock meat back to the pot. Also add 1 cup of ham and simmer for 30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Remove the greens from the pot with a large slotted spoon, being careful to reserve the liquid (potlikker) for its nutritional value and taste. Use the potlikker to pour on top of individual servings of greens and sop it up with cornbread.
- Set out the potlikker for guests to pour on top of greens. Serve collards warm with cornbread, black eyed peas or grits.
Crockpot Instructions
- See step 1 from above then place the ham hocks, onions, garlic, water, and chicken stock in a 6-quart crock pot. Cover and cook on high for a total of 6 hours.
- After 4 hours, the ham hocks will be done. Use tongs to start pull the meat off the bones while it's still in the crockpot. Leave the meat and bones in the crockpot until the 6 hours are complete.
- After 4 hours of cooking, add the cleaned and cut collard greens, the spices (salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes), and brown sugar. Pour in the apple cider vinegar.
- Stir, cover, and cook for 2 more hours. Serve warm with extra ham, potlikker, and cornbread.
Notes
- In a hurry? Use pre-washed collard greens.
- Don't want to use ham hocks? Use ham bone, smoked turkey drumsticks, or bacon.
- Need this vegan? Omit the meat, use vegetable broth, smoked salt, liquid smoke, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and hot sauce to taste.
- Want this as a main course? Increase the meat per serving, by stirring in more chopped ham.
- Want to increase the spiciness? Increase the red pepper flakes to ¼ teaspoon, or add ½ teaspoon of hot sauce.
- Can't find collards? This recipe work for mustard or turnip greens, too.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on October 26, 2017. This post was updated with resized photos and collages, new FAQs, new information, and reformatted content on December 22, 2021.
Alex
The greens are soft, and have a kick to them. The ham hocks add a delicious flavor to these yummy greens.
Emma
Thank you, Alex! I'm so glad that you enjoyed these collard greens.
Beth
The spicy greens are divine with the succulent ham. These greens are loaded with juicy goodness from the pot liquor. They are soft and yummy!
Emma
You're a true Southern girl, Beth! Collard greens are a deservedly popular dish.