I adore how the smoothness of the cheese contrasts with the crunch of the almonds and how fresh the berries are! This is the salad of my dreams, and if you want to convert it into a heartier entrée salad, you can top it with some pan-seared salmon, grilled shrimp, or chicken.
| Prep Time: | 10 mins |
| Cook Time: | 3 hrs |
| Total Time: | 3 hrs 10 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 ½ quarts water
- 1 ½ pounds ham hocks
- 4 pounds collard greens, rinsed and trimmed
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (Optional)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the water and the ham hock in a large pot with a tight-fitting lid. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat to very low and simmer covered for 30 minutes.
- Add the collards and the hot pepper flakes the pot. Simmer covered for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Add the vegetable oil and simmer covered for 30 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 471 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 17 g |
| Cholesterol | 77 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 11 g |
| Protein | 27 g |
| Saturated Fat | 10 g |
| Sodium | 130 mg |
| Sugars | 1 g |
| Fat | 34 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I have been cooking greens, collards, mustard and turnip greens for a long time, and I’ve NEVER put sugar in them. I’m from a small town in Louisiana, and we don’t do sugar in greens.
I left out the pepperflakes because of my husband. I also used a mix of 4 greens this time…collards, kale, mustard, & turnip. I don’t eat meat, but my sons & husband loved the dish. Thank you!
Southern Collard Greens Absolutely Wonderful (don’t change a thing !!!)
Been eating southern collards all my life, and always used mama’s recipe. Married a California girl who surprised me with this recipe (with the additional step of chopping finely after cooking), and I gotta say it was pretty darn good. Thanks Allrecipes. Hardest part was finding a proper ham hock.
I am 75 yrs old, raised in rural Fla. Been cooking collards for over 60 years. This is a good recipe, but everyone may add or change an ingredient according to how their family likes it, what is available, or for economic needs. All good, let’s not debate over sugar, garlic or chicken broth. It’s a personal choice. Just use cleaned greens, a little smoked meat, onions & whatever one enjoys, a little hot peppers, etc. This is an excellent recipe!
I enjoyed this recipe and I’ll make it again!!!
I added fresh okra to the pot once my collards were done.. I also made pepper sauce to eat with my greens and corn bread.. #southerngirl
My family absolutely loved this recipe! My husband’s family comes from a long line of collard eaters, and this recipe was a crowd pleaser! Thank you for sharing! I did leave out the oil, and topped them with pepper vinegar.
Made this for New Year’s Day and turned out great! The perfect and simple greens recipe we were looking for. We used a few slices of bacon instead of the ham hock.
I added a little cider vinegar. Pops out the flavor. Love collard greens!!
It is called reviews, not criticisms, if you don’t like the recipe submit one, correcting someone else is not the same thing. Great recipe!
Sure that I would like it…am I the only one who likes bitter greens? BA
It’s a great starter recipe for a novice or seasoned cook. You can cut the oil out if you are using the smoked ham hock… The fat back has its own grease. If you opt to use it, maybe use an 1/8 of a cup! Um yes, you can add sugar cut the bitterness without it being sweet, just taste it every 20 mins or so to get the flavor where you like it. Do a sprinkle of sugar as needed (ie about a teaspoon). Taste to your preferences. The crush red peppers are a great way to add the kick without adding or taking away from any other favors. I just used 1 dominos packet we had in the pantry. 🙂
Scrumptious, and with the exception of the crushed red pepper, exactly how my Granny used to cook hers… and I wouldn’t take nuthin’ for my Granny’s collards (or turnip greens, for that matter)… made these today to have with ham tomorrow night and I found myself eating several forkfuls straight from the pot because they were so good… of course, I called it “tasting”, to make sure they were turning out all right… and we usually used some vinegary pepper sauce (not Tabasco… think Texas Pete) on them if we wanted a little zip… sometimes I did, sometimes I didn’t… but we never put onion or chopped tomatoes on top of our collards, although we often had onion cut up on the side to go with… try these just the way the recipe is written – with the ham hocks… this isn’t something you should try to “healthy up”… this is good old, down-home, Southern cooking at its finest – simple & tasty! P.S. The liquid left in the pot (pot liquor) is divine poured over crumbled up cornbread in a bowl… and it’s full of the vitamins that have cooked out of the collards… do try it!
Made this recipe for dinner tonight. And my family really enjoyed them.
The ingredients are right on, but not the cooking directions. First, wash your ham hocks off and put them in a pot, cover with water, bring to a boil and cook over medium heat for about fifteen minutes and pour the water off. Then, start a fresh pot with water to cover and cook until almost tender, but not quite done. Then, add your remaining ingredients and salt pork with your greens and bring to a boil. Simmer about an hour, or until the greens are the way you like them. Some people like them chewy, so take a few out after about 45 minutes and taste them for tenderness.. These steps are necessary to keep from having your greens too salty. Also, add about three cloves of garlic, chopped and a medium onion, chopped. Note: you must strip the thick stems off the greens and wash them about three times in cold water. People that write reviews don’t realize that some inexperienced cooks just might not know how to prepare the greens before cooking them. Also, it’s better to add them to a pot with the ham hocks in that’s boiling.
THIS RECIPE IS ON POINT!! MY ONLY CHANGES WAS TO SLICE UP AN AN ONION AND I USED SMOKED NECK BONES! DELICIOUS! OH AND I LET IT SIMMER FOR MORE THEN 3 HOURS!!!
I’m a True Southerner,born and raised in New Orleans First thing first they are people who cooks their “Greens” different. Me personally I was taught that you do add a little sugar in your bitter greens. As far as adding raw onions and tomatoes on top of your greens well that’s just absurd. I’ve never heard of anyone going that. So you keep on cooking the way you cook and so will everyone else.
My mother said they were the best greens she had ever eaten. I think it’s the pepper flakes.
I used the exact recipe as written except I didn’t use the oil I used a splash of cider vinegar as another person suggested. That seemed to be how I remember it the year I lived in N. Carolina, I worked at a hospital and they had collard greens and grits everyday in the cafeteria and I loved them (won’t mention the grits don’t want to start a war) lol but my grits didn’t turn out too well. Should I have cooked them longer? They seem to be missing something but I don’t know what, I know it’s not heat cause theirs weren’t hot in the least, can anyone give me ideas?? I’d appreciate it.
Thank you Tina for sharing this recipe! I am cooking this for the second time today 🙂 I made this with smoked ham hocks & a smoked turkey leg last. Today I am doing it with smoked ham hocks & half pack of salted pork. There is enough oil produced from the meat so I do skip the oil. Your recipe has been and will always be my guideline to making amazing collard greens!