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Collard Greens in Pot Likker

Source of Recipe

From "See You on Sunday" by Sam Sifton


Recipe Introduction

"These long-cooked sturdy greens, which you can make with turnip or mustard greens as easily as with collards, look like something you'd get at a steam table meat-and-three restaurant in the American South. They are velvet-textured, soft and pliant, a pale green that belies the immense taste each bite holds. For flavoring the pot likker (the stock that cooks the greens), I generally use a smoked ham hock, available in most large supermarkets, near the lard, and flake the cooked meat into the finished dish. But a smoked turkey leg or wing works brilliantly (same deal with the flaking of the meat) or, if you don't eat meat or can't serve it this evening, you'll certainly cook the meal faster. Just add a few tablespoons of soy or tamari, along with a liberal sprinkling of smoked paprika, to the water you cook the greens in, and it will take you a very long way toward nirvana. Do you save the stock after cooking to use in a subsequent meal? I do!"

List of Ingredients

◦ 2 smoked ham hocks or turkey legs or wings, approximately 2 pounds
◦ 2 large bunches collard greens or other sturdy greens, such as mustard or turnip
◦ 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
◦ Red pepper flakes
◦ Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


Recipe

Fill a large, heavy-bottomed pot with around a gallon of water and set over high heat. Add the smoked meat and allow the water to come almost to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and cook, partially covered, for an hour or so, until the meat of the hocks is pulling away from the bones.

Remove the hocks from the stock and shred the meat from them, discarding the skin. Reserve. You can make the stock, or pot likker, ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to use.

When you're ready to cook the greens, warm the stock in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. As the stock heats, trim the greens of their stalks, then take 3 or 4 of the leaves, stack them on top of one another, and roll them into a cigar. Slice these crosswise into thick strips. Repeat with the remaining leaves.

Add the greens to the simmering stock and stir. Allow them to simmer for 20 minutes or so, uncovered, then check their tenderness. They may be beautifully soft and pliant, with a velvet texture. Or they may not. Older greens take longer to cook into submission, sometimes as long as 90 minutes or so. Patience is a virtue here.

As the greens cook, combine the vinegar and red pepper flakes to taste. When the greens are finished, remove them to a warm platter and anoint them with a splash or two of the vinegar, then taste and season with more vinegar if you like, along with salt and pepper to taste.