Gina’s Best Collard Greens

  4.4 – 145 reviews  • Ham
Level: Intermediate
Total: 2 hr 15 min
Prep: 15 min
Cook: 2 hr
Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients

  1. 5 bundles collard greens
  2. 4 cups salted water
  3. 3 large smoked ham hocks
  4. 1 cup sugar
  5. Salt
  6. 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions

  1. Thoroughly wash collard greens. Be sure to pull leaves apart and remove any sand. Chop collard greens.
  2. In a medium saucepan, bring 4 cups of salted water to a simmer. Place smoked ham hocks in salted water and cover for about 90 minutes. Cook ham hocks until slightly tender. In the same saucepan, add remaining ingredients and collard greens.
  3. Cover and cook greens for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 of 10 servings
Calories 384
Total Fat 17 g
Saturated Fat 5 g
Carbohydrates 22 g
Dietary Fiber 1 g
Sugar 20 g
Protein 37 g
Cholesterol 104 mg
Sodium 1393 mg

Reviews

Gregory Hughes
Soooooooo Good! My first time cooking fresh greens and using this recipe has changed my mind from popping open cans. Great recipe, thank you!
Joseph Rollins
LOVE THESE! I’ve made them several times and my crew can’t get enough. I use a ham bone from honey baked bc these are easier to come by where I live and we double the red pepper flakes. Occasionally, I’ll add 1/4 c of apple cider vinegar. Did I say we LOVE THESE!
Antonio Montes
I do not have a lot of experience making greens and this was one of 2 that appealed to me and it got great reviews. I intended to make one with smoked turkey but my store did not have any so I bought a ham hock. I had already bought both collard greens and kale. So I used this recipe as overall guidance. After reading reviews and consulting with a friend who makes greens, after the ham hocks were tender I drained off most of the broth, added only 1 T of sugar and added 3 T of red wine vinegar. I adjusted seasonings: salt, pepper and garlic. I will definitely make again, these were delicious.
Shannon Holland
Delicious! I left out the pepper flakes since I had a few sensitive stomachs coming over!
Marie Harrison
Delicious! I left out the pepper flakes since I had a few sensitive stomachs coming over!
Wayne Russell
I never made collards until I tried this recipe and it was DELISH.  Every time I prepare this dish I get rave reviews.  This is definitely a keeper to pull out for holidays and Sunday meals.  
Carol Wallace DVM
Both my family and I love these although I can’t say I follow the recipe to the letter (pretty sure that’s the idea anyway)
I use a ham shank that I sorta shred out once it’s soft and I use about a half cup of brown sugar instead of the cup of white sugar.
Joseph Butler
Love these greens! I’ve made them several times and am always happy with the result. I make it my own sometimes with different seasonings or by using smoked turkey but the one thing I love about it and never change is the 4C of water. I hate greens that are cooked with a lot of water..
Lisa Davis
That’s way too much sugar, and the water to greens ratio is way off. I used 6 cups of water for 1 bunch of greens, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and a few other modifications. I do enjoy a sweeter green, but this sugar to water ratio is something you’d see in a lemonade recipe, not a greens recipe.
Alicia Smith
My kids, that are usually turned off by anything green, love this recipe.

 

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