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Slow-Cooked, Smoky Southern Collards

Source of Recipe


From "The Old Farmer's Almanac Comfort Food" by Ken Haedrich



List of Ingredients



• 3 Tbsp vegetable or light olive oil
  
• 4 strips bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
  
• 1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
  
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
  
• 2 to 2½ pounds fresh collard greens, rinsed and chopped
  
• 1 ham hock
  
• 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
  
• 2 beef bouillon cubes
  
• 3 Tbsp light brown sugar
  
• 1 Tbsp barbecue sauce
  
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  
• Several dashes hot pepper sauce
  
• ½ tsp red wine or balsamic vinegar, plus more to taste
  






Instructions



1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottom soup pot over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often, until the bacon has rendered a good deal of fat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 7 minutes.
   
   
2. Add the collards and just enough water to cover. Add the ham hock and salt, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
   
   
3. With a ladle, remove 1 cup of the simmering water to a small bowl, add the bouillon cubes, and stir until dissolved. Add the bouillon to the pot, with the brown sugar, barbecue sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and hot pepper sauce, and stir. Simmer the mixture, uncovered, for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally, until the leaves are tender but not mushy and the mixture resembles a stew.
   
   
4. Add water, ½ cup at a time, if necessary to keep the greens stewing but not drowning. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if desired.
   
   
5. During the last 30 minutes of cooking, add ½ teaspoon of vinegar at a time and taste. You want to perk up the flavor with the vinegar, not disguise it. Serve the collards separate from the broth, in cups or bowls. Pass vinegar for sprinkling.
   
   Makes 6 servings