Fall Cooking: Braised and Spicy Collard Greens

We just kicked off the fall cooking season with a big pot of smoky, spicy collard greens. Boy are they good! There's nothing quite like tender, juicy collard greens to get us in the mood for winter cooking. Have you ever made collards? No? Here's the recipe we use, and a few more good tips on collards.

Collard greens are a classic Southern food, of course; hot and spicy collard greens go naturally with hoppin' john, cornbread, and pulled pork. They are also a great autumn and winter green; they're hearty and hardy, and they grow late in the season. They also don't cook down as much as spinach and chard; they keep their toothsome edge even after a long braise, so they're a really delicious main dish.

The classic way to cook collard greens is with pork: we like bacon or salt pork, although a ham hock is probably more traditional. Here's the recipe we use for our big pots of collard greens:

• Easy Braised Collard Greens with Bacon

And here are a few more tips on cooking these deliciously meaty greens with spice and smoke. Do you like collard greens?

• Virtual CSA Box: Collard Greens
• Good Question: How Do I Cook Collard Greens?
• Collard Greens and American Soy Sauce
• Recipe: Fried Eggs and Collard Greens Over Polenta
• New Year's Day Recipes: Hoppin' John and Plenty of Pork

(Images: Faith Durand)

Comments (6)

Most collard green braises will do just as well for beet greens. Num!

I pretty much use the basic recipe you link to, but I leave out the bacon and chipotle and go heavy on the red pepper flakes since I'm veggie. Everyone down south that I know never uses bacon--they use a ham hock.

I also put in a dash of cider vinegar. This, southern-style cornbread, and soup beans is a classic Appalachian meal!

I love greens with a passion! I'm from the South, so no big surprise I suppose. :P

Try a mix of half collard greens, half broccoli rape with a neckbone or smoked turkey meat. Or you can do the above mix with just oil and garlic.

Nothing is better than a pot of straight collards and a pork neckbone and some cornbread on the side.

I cook down smoked turkey and make a stock (about 2 inches of stock in the pot - sorry not more specific). Once you are satisfied with your stock add your greens and let them cook until they start to soften. Add one cup of sugar a little garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. You only want the sugar to cut the bitterness and add a touch of sweetness. You will love them this way!

I've never eaten collard greens. Last week I saw them for the first time ever at Safeway. Now I know why collard recipes specify quite a long cooking time!