Slow Cooker

Southern-Style Collard Greens

by:
January 20, 2014
4.6
5 Ratings
Southern-Style Collard Greens
  • Serves 6
Author Notes

These slow-cooked greens are the epitome of southern comfort food. A simple recipe that fills your kitchen with wonderful smells of anticipation for hours. Make them for a meal by themselves, or with your favorite barbecue. If you've never had collard greens before, one bite of these will make you wonder where they've been all your life. —justrealfoods

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 bunches collard greens, washed and stems removed
  • 4 slices of bacon, diced
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 smoked ham hocks (2-3 lbs total)
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 4 cups organic chicken stock
  • 2 teaspoons hot sauce
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Directions
  1. Tear collard green leaves in half (lengthwise) and layer in a small stacks. Roll each stack lengthwise and cut the roll into 1-inch sections. Set aside.
  2. In a 8-quart stockpot over medium heat, render bacon until brown and just turning crispy. Add onion and sweat, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and ham hocks and cook another minute.
  3. Add prepared greens to the pot and saute until they start to wilt; about 5-7 minutes.
  4. Add remaining ingredients to the pot, stir and bring to a boil. Cover, turn heat to low and simmer for 3 hours or until the greens are very tender.
  5. Remove ham hocks from the pot. When cool enough to handle, separate the meat from the bones, chop and return the meat to pot, stirring to incorporate. Serve and enjoy.
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  • justrealfoods
    justrealfoods
  • Katheryn's Kitchen
    Katheryn's Kitchen
  • mthierfelder
    mthierfelder
  • topdawg11
    topdawg11

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5 Reviews

mthierfelder
mthierfelder April 17, 2023
Really good, I did it in an instant pot for 1 hour. Could have gone 45 minutes as the greens were just a tad over, but still a total crowd pleaser. Ham hocks stole the show. Will make again.
 
topdawg11
topdawg11 November 8, 2021
Very good collard greens. They have a little bit of everything with the brown sugar and cider vinegar but the smoked ham hocks take these over the top. The greens are easily eaten but not mush.
 
justrealfoods
justrealfoods January 20, 2014
Sounds delicious and will definitely have to look for Tropicale when in Palm Springs to give them a try! Let us know what you think of ours after you've had a chance to make them. We're also getting ready to post a new recipe for a ham and bean soup soon that uses the leftover broth from this recipe as a base (it's the current main image on our homepage at justeralfoods.com). We'll send out a message on Twitter when it's up, so save your broth from the collards! Cheers.
 
Katheryn's K.
Katheryn's K. January 20, 2014
This looks so delicious, it reminds me of a fried chicken meal I've had many times at a restaurant called Tropicale in Palm Springs- they serve collards greens with the chicken- sooo good- spicy sweet with tang and more bite than spinach or kale. Will definitely try this recipe- can't wait to get back to Tropicale and have that meal!
 
justrealfoods
justrealfoods January 20, 2014
Sounds delicious and will definitely have to look for Tropicale when in Palm Springs to give them a try! Let us know what you think of ours after you've had a chance to make them. We're also getting ready to post a new recipe for a ham and bean soup soon that uses the leftover broth from this recipe as a base (it's the current main image on our homepage at justrealfoods.com). We'll send out a message on Twitter when it's up, so save your broth from the collards! Cheers