Southern-Style Collard Greens

I’ve been making these collards for 10 years now. It has become my “signature dish” at thanksgiving and I think I wouldn’t be invited if I didn’t bring them. In fact my family thought this must be my grandmother’s recipe because they were *so* good the 1st year I made them. I followed the recipe to a T that first time with no issues. Now like a true southern lady, I taste and fiddle a bit as I get close to the end of cooking time. My most common change is to add a little crushed red pepper to give them a tiny bit of heat. But if it’s your first time, trust the recipe and you’ll be pleased with the result!

I have made this more then one time now and I have changed it go to
My liking I like allot of meat in mine and can eat it as a main. I used 8 ham hawks and a slab of pork belly cut into cubes brown all that then add the garlic . I also
Like the liquid it taste very good so I added 5 stock bigger cans and 3 cans of water and I leaf uncovered I love the way it makes my house smell!
And serve in a bowl don’t forget the stock and I also make home made cast iron corn bread to dip in with the greens !

Sometimes when I have nothing else to do, I read recipes.....looking for new stuff, looking for a different way to do things than I currently do, etc.  When I read this and saw some of the negative reviews, I couldn't help but put my two cents worth in.  First, it's a complete no-brainer whether to cover the pot or not!  For goodness sake, you're simmering something for hours!  Cover that pot!   If you have to complain that the recipe didn't spell that out for you and lead you to give a one star review, you probably need to find some rudimentary, "I've never cooked before and need you to spell everything out for me" site. And for "still waiting's" review, same thing.  You finally decided to turn the heat up after the greens were "just sitting there" after 2 hours???  Really??  To "Oriental's Review", being from the south of NC, you should know that everyone's collards (and fried chicken, cornbread, biscuits, field peas, etc.) are a little different.  Nobody does it exactly the same.  All that being said, this recipe sounds right good. Myself, I'm from South Georgia.  I grew up on (and continue to frequently feast on) collards, turnips and all of the other delicious stuff that people consider to be Southern. I learned to cook greens (collards, turnips and others) from my grandmother's housekeeper, Reba, whose cooking was the epitome of Southern soul food.  I have never been able to make a pot of greens taste as good as Reba's, God rest her soul.  I remember being a LITTLE girl and standing on a chair in the kitchen along side Reba washing greens and then rolling and slicing them.. If I had a dollar for every pot of turnips and collards that I've made over my 57 years, well, I wouldn't be rich, but I could get quite a few things on my Amazon wish list!!  I've not made this particular recipe, but it sounds pretty darn good to me.  My initial take is....less liquid.  I generally use about 1 qt liquid to 2 pounds of greens. The greens release alot of water as they cook and the liquid doesn't cook off IF YOU COVER THE POT!!  I would probably opt for the 12 slices of bacon OR the ham and a little extra bacon grease, not both. If using the bacon, I'd pour off the grease that cooks off leaving just a TBSP or so in the pot.   Just personal preference.  The amount of sugar sounds good, but you need to taste as the greens near done-ness, may need a bit more to cut the bitterness.  And I'd opt for a little less vinegar, maybe a couple of tablespoons.  Again, personal preference.  Might need a smidge more salt, again, taste near serving time and add if needed.  Over all, recipe sounds good from a "seasoned" green cookers view!

Pleas indicate in your cooking instructions, whether to cook the greens covered or uncovered! Hence my one star rating, since I couldn't write this review without one. This should not reflect on the recipe itself, since I haven't tried cooking this. It's my first time cooking greens and I want to do it right!

OK, These are the best Greens I've tasted next to my Grandma's..I cooked whole recipe and didn't have ANY leftovers...My daughter who is spinach lover ate 4 bowls lol...Thank you for awesome recipe

So I was tasting to make sure the flavors and the greens were to my desire they were half done and still tasted great. I've never added apple cider vinegar to anything in my life because of the smell. BS i told myself...i was missing out on this greatness! I did add garlic and onion powder because i love those two flavors! At the last five mins I also added kale. And my 11 year old picky daughter doesn't even know. AWESOME SAUCE!!

Those greens went great with my candi yams, oven fried chicken, fresh steamed corn on the cob and hot water cornbread. Yes I am a southern that love good food.

Thanks for sharing this recipe.

My thoughts as well.

Great Recipe! After discovering that Kale is very tough to grow I decided to try collard greens. I looked for the highest rated simple dish and found yours. I deviated slightly. left out Garlic (mine went bad), 1 onion (Dogs in the house) and salt (Doctor advised). And it was delicious! I cannot believe i lived on this earth 75 years before I tried eating these greens. Next time I make it, I may do away with the other onion, so I can share with puppies.

I make this every week! I double up on bacon and skip the ham, use 1/2 the broth and make it vegi, use brown sugar, add crushed red pepper flakes and 2 table spoons of butter, sub apple cider vinegar with regular white vinegar and add a table spoon or two of grade A maple syrup, and skip the extra salt. I recommend this recipe as is or my way to anyone who wants a real good side of collard greens.!

My Granny always said that was the best part. She called it pot liquor.😁

So, please, share the southern NC recipe for greens. We can enjoy that version too!

Made this again, goes extremely well with a spring time BBQ. Full recipe will easily serve 20. Yeah bacon! 

I had to make the collard greens this year for new years day, along w/ fried chicken and field peas.  This was awesome.  Everyone loved the greens, i cooked them for about 2 1/2 hours, no brainer, only used about 1/4 lb bacon and one onion, and 2 packages cleaned greens, (2 lbs) along w/ 2 qts of stock.  Delicious!!!!!! There were enough left overs for my dinner tonight.   I finished them.  We had 14 for dinner on new years day.  Thank you for the recipe.  It will now be a tradition at our house for years to come.  Happy New Years!!!!

Why didnt you? Lol, seriously.

I know where I want to be for Xmas Eve dinner... this meal sounds delish !!! 

Outstanding! I wanted to drink the liquid.

I used fresh greens instead of the frozen stuff (it makes a big difference). I also chose to use a ham hock instead of the chopped ham pieces. I also added brown sugar instead of white, mainly because that is how my family has always made it. Really delicious!! Great recipe!

These were delicious! As an earlier reviewer noted, these are different from traditional Southern collards, but were really good. I think that the fresh collards sold in bunches are much better than the packaged kind. Just pull the leaves off the center stem. Also, the 3 containers of chicken broth were WAY too much. I started with one, and watched as they cooked to make sure they did not dry out. I never needed to add the other 2. Took them to a New Year's Day party in SC, and got lots of requests for the recipe.

Best greens I've made

Use brown sugar instead. Add chipotle pepper in adobe sauce for a little kick. Be careful! Seeds are very hot! You can scrape out seeds and add peppers to taste.

This recipe doesn't even come close to real southern cooked collards. I was born and bred in the south of N.C., and this is not what I consider to be good collards. Of course, if you're not from the south, you might enjoy it.

Awesome!!!!!!!

This is the collard greens recipe for those that thought they didn't like collard greens. Big hit around!!

Was given fresh collard greens (like enough to feed an entire elementary school) so I tripled the recipe..FABULOUS...I cooked them slow and easy on the stove for a good three hours until the ham fell off the bones as I had just thrown in the ham hocks. Served it for Christmas Eve dinner with Honey baked Ham, Potato salad, butternqut squash macaroni and cheese and red velvet cake/peppermint cream cheese frosting..all from this website!

I read this recipe in the October 2009 issue and decided to make that following Thanksgiving! What'a HUGE HIT! Now every year friends and family call me to make sure that I'm making the "famous" southern collard greens! They also request that I make plenty for them to take home as well! Thank you for the best collard green recipe EVER!

Absolutely the best greens I have ever eaten.

This was awesome! I have never made collard greens before but I will be making this recipe A LOT!

I followed the recipe exactly and it was so good. True southern cooking. My husband & I loved it. I will keep this one handy to make again.