Greens

[peabody]

How about some step by step directions for cooking up some greens to go with my beans and ham for new years ?

[The Ole Man]

Well--my wife and I dine some at a local restaurant called Appilachian Grill. They have the best Collard Greens we've ever had. The place has some good food. Grilled Salmon with bourbon sauce, lump crab cakes, Slamming Flounder, Chicken Piccata, Steaks, Prime Rib etc. We picked their process for greens from the owner/chef a few weeks back. We had always just boiled the collards in water and seasoned with bacon grease. Nope. Braising is the way to go--followed by boiling in chicken stock.

First, you want a large non-stick fry pan--12" or more. Put in a couple tablespoons of bacon grease and heat to medium--not frying temperature just hot. Your collard leaves have been cut from the stems, washed and torn or cut into smaller pieces--right ? Add a bunch to the fry pan and braise in the bacon grease turning and braising until they are all nicely wilted (limp) and dark. Remove and do another bunch by bunch until all are braised. Add bacon grease to the pan as needed. In a stock pot, put in a can of Campbells Soup Condensed Chicken Broth plus a can of water. No--you don't use the Swansons "Fat Free" Chicken Broth. How can you call something Broth if it's fat free ?? The Campbells Chicken Broth (with fat) is in with all their other Condensed Soups. Crush and steep a Herb Chicken Bouillion Cube in a couple of cups of water. Add that to the pot. Put your braised greens in the pot and now add enough water to just cover the top of the greens. Add a couple of more spoons of bacon grease. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to a fast simmer. Cook until greens are tender (take a few out in a bowl and taste test for tenderness). Salt and Pepper to taste. Lift the collards out of the pot allowing them to drain some as you lift them out. Have the cornbread at the ready. Enjoy.

[SWMBKRN]

Get a HUGE pot and fill it about 2/3 with water and bring to a boil.
Add about 3-5 rough chopped garlic cloves.
Add a good pinch of pepper corns.
Sometimes I'll use some fine cheese cloth and make a sachet to hold the garlic, pepper corns, and any other whole spices/bay leaves/whole herbs I add for easy removal at the end. Sometimes I'll use whole cloves, whole nutmeg, rosemary stalks, etc depending on my mood.
Add about a half to 3/4 cup of cider vinegar.
Add a good large couple pinches of salt.
Add a few tablespoons of olive oil.
Let the water boil for a few minutes with these ingredients.
Add a huge bunch of washed and rough chopped greens to the pot. So much that they are coming over the top of the pot. Like push them in the water and add more and then add some more. Make it so the top of the pot will not even sit on the edge of the pot it is so full. The leaves will wilt and all get in the water and the top will settle on the pot eventually.
With the top on the pot, turn the flame down to medium.
Let the greens cook and enjoy the smell.
Stir from the bottom of the pot to the top 3 times about every 10-15 minutes.
Keep an eye on the water so that it doesn't start boiling too much and over flow. If it does just decrease the flame a notch.
Check the greens with a fork. When the thick stalks will accept a fork tine without much resistance, taste it and see if it is al dente, and turn of the heat or turn to the flame to the lowest setting and put the top back on the pot. This usually takes about 45-90 minutes depending on the size of the pot. I use a pot that is almost 4 gallons.
Let the greens sit for another 10 minutes.
Serve the greens from the pot with some pepper vinegar.
If you are like my family you will also drink the pot liquor (the water the greens cooked in) in coffee mugs with some pepper vinegar.

Enjoy. I LOVE greens.

[SWMBKRN]

The way the Ole Man described is how I like to cook kale. The only difference is I use half water half stock. Still sounds extremely yummy.

My way came from my mother's nanny who was an old country black lady that could cook like no one else on this planet. She showed me how to wring a chicken's neck, pluck the feathers, and fry it when I was 4.

[The Ole Man]

While we're talking recipes, try out copykat.com. Hundreds of recipes---750 of them are restaurant copykats. Pull down on right side to Categories.

[peabody]

Thanks guys . I love to eat them ,just can't cook them very well . I'll giver these a whirl .

[two feathers]

SWMBKRN..you've got it down pat,except I like to add a fresh piece of pork to the poy. Oh yeah, must have awnyawn (onion) as the old cookin' cajun Justin Wilson would say!:cheers:

[raptor]

I make mine similar to what the others are describing but add a ham hock to my stock (along with some garlic, onion and other spices). After the mixture starts to simmer, I add the well-washed and chopped greens and stir frequently. I don't over-cook the greens. This is a receipe handed-down to me from my grandma who could cook "southern" as well as anyone. I often cook-up a lot of her dishes from memory and the smell in the house reminds of days long gone-by at my grand parents farm.
raptor

[trout4life]

3lbs collards washed/cut
6 slices bacon chopped
1/2 onion(more if you like) chopped
garlic 2TB minced
brown sugar-1/2 cup
smoked ham hock(1)
6cups water/chicken stock
salt-pepper to taste at each layer.

Crisp bacon in large pot. Add onion, cook till translucent. Add ham hock and cook 1 minute. Add garlic/brown sugar, dissolve. Add water/stock and bring to simmer adding greens, pressing down as they wilt. Cook for 1:15-1:30.

[o1pilot]

I use both beef broth and chicken broth. Also add 3 or 4 cubed turnips along with ham hocks.

[peabody]

Ole Man ,gooooooooooooood stuff . Next month i'll try another one .