Southern Collard Greens

Step 1: Wash and Prepare the Greens

Begin by removing the thick center stem from each collard green leaf.

I like removing these because they can be pretty tough and fibrous, even after the greens have been cooking for a while.

Once you’ve removed the stems, stack several leaves on top of one another, roll them up tightly, and slice them into smaller pieces.

This makes cutting the greens much easier than trying to chop each individual leaf.

Continue working through the collard greens until they’re all sliced.

Now it’s time to get them cleaned up.

And this is one step I definitely don’t recommend skipping.

Fresh collard greens can hold quite a bit of dirt and grit between their leaves, and the last thing you want is to bite into a big bowl of greens and get a mouthful of sand.

I like to rinse mine three or four times in cold water, making sure to move them around and separate the leaves so any trapped dirt can wash away.

And I actually take this one step further.

After rinsing them, I like to let the greens soak in a mixture of cold water and vinegar while I prepare the rest of the ingredients.

This gives me a little extra time to make sure everything is nice and clean before the greens go into the pot.

Step 2: Dice and Cook the Onion

While the collard greens are soaking, dice the onion and set it aside.

Now heat some bacon grease in a large Dutch oven, at least six quarts, over medium-high heat.

Once the bacon grease is hot, add the diced onion.

Sauté the onions until they begin to soften and develop a little color.

And here’s one of the reasons I like using bacon grease for this recipe.

We’re building layers of flavor before the collard greens even go into the pot.

The bacon grease gives us a rich, savory base that works perfectly with the smoked turkey we’ll be adding later.

Once the onions have softened, add the fresh minced garlic.

Continue cooking for another minute or two, just until the garlic becomes fragrant and begins to develop a little color.

Step 3: Build the Cooking Liquid Base

Now pour in the chicken stock.

Follow that up with the apple cider vinegar, Cajun seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper, and sugar.

Give everything a good stir until the seasonings are evenly distributed throughout the liquid.

This seasoned cooking liquid is going to become the foundation of our collard greens.

And as the greens simmer with that smoked turkey leg, it’s going to develop into what we call pot likker.

That’s the flavorful broth left behind after cooking greens, and if you’ve never dipped a piece of homemade cornbread into it, you’re missing out.

Now, one thing I want to mention about the crushed red pepper.

I personally like my collard greens on the spicier side, so I tend to use a pretty generous amount.

But if you don’t like a lot of heat, start with less.

You can always add more later, or just serve the finished greens with your favorite hot sauce.

It’s a whole lot easier to add heat than it is to take it away.

Step 4: Add the Collard Greens

Once the cooking liquid is seasoned, drain the collard greens and begin adding them to the Dutch oven.

I recommend doing this in batches.

At first, it’s probably going to look like there’s absolutely no way all those greens are going to fit into the pot.

But trust me, they will.

As the greens begin cooking, they’ll soften and shrink down significantly.

Add a few handfuls, stir them into the seasoned liquid, and let them cook down a little bit before adding more.

Continue this process until all of the collard greens have been incorporated into the pot.

Step 5: Add the Turkey Leg & Simmer

Now nestle the smoked turkey leg down into the greens.

And don’t worry if the turkey leg doesn’t completely fit beneath the liquid right away.

As the greens continue cooking, they’ll shrink down even more, making plenty of room for everything.

The smoked turkey is one of my favorite things about this recipe.

As it slowly simmers, it adds a rich, smoky flavor to the cooking liquid while the meat becomes tender enough to pull right off the bone.

And combined with the bacon grease and Cajun seasoning, it gives these greens that deep Southern flavor we’re looking for.

Now bring the pot to a boil.

Once it’s boiling, cover the Dutch oven, reduce the heat to maintain a steady simmer, and let the collard greens cook for about an hour and a half.

This is where patience comes into play.

You don’t want to rush collard greens.

They need time to soften, and that long simmer allows them to absorb all those flavors we’ve been building.

As they cook, the greens will become darker, softer, and much more tender.

And that cooking liquid is going to become richer as the smoked turkey continues releasing its flavor.

Step 6: Shred Turkey Meat & Simmer

After about an hour and a half, carefully remove the smoked turkey leg from the pot.

Let it cool just enough that you can comfortably handle it.

Then pull all of the meat away from the bone.

Be sure to discard the bone, skin, and any tough tendons.

You only want the tender smoked turkey meat going back into the greens.

Once you’ve removed all the meat, return it to the Dutch oven.

Give everything a good stir so the shredded turkey is evenly distributed throughout the collard greens.

Now reduce the heat to a low simmer and continue cooking for another 30 minutes.

This final simmer gives the turkey meat time to work its way throughout the greens while everything continues absorbing that rich, smoky broth.

And by the time they’re finished, the greens should be nice and tender, with plenty of smoked turkey mixed throughout.

You’ll also have a pot full of that delicious, seasoned pot likker.

Give the greens a taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

And that’s all there is to it.