Southern Louisiana Collard Greens Recipe “Hearty and Meaty”

by recipemagik.com

INGREDIENTS

• 680 gram Smoked Ham Hocks 1½ lbs
• 2 quarts low sodium chicken stock
• ½ lb bacon cut into bite-sized pieces
• ½ lb tasso cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 large yellow onion diced
• 3 cloves garlic minced or pressed
• 3 lbs collard greens
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice to taste (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Cook Smoked Ham Hock

• In a large Dutch Pot, combine ham hocks and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 2 to 3 hours until the hocks are tender.
• Remove ham hocks from the stock. Transfer to a cutting board. Pull apart the meat from the bones. Discard the bones. Chop up the meat into chunks and keep it aside.

Cook Bacon and Tasso

• Cook bacon and tasso in a large stockpot with a heavy bottom base set to medium. Allow them to get crispy.
• In the meantime, cut out the central part of collard greens and set it apart. We need the leaves. Roll them up like a ribbon and chop them with a sharp knife.
• Remove bacon and tasso from the pot leaving behind the leftover fat.

Cook Collard Greens

• Add diced yellow onions, finely chopped collard greens, and salt to the skillet. Stir for about 30-seconds.
• Stir again until the collard greens start to wilt and darken in color. This means your collard greens are looking great.
• Cook until you start to see the collard greens turn brown on the edges. This will add more flavor to your collard greens recipe.
• Just 2-minutes before your collard greens are about to be entirely done, add freshly pressed garlic and red pepper flakes.
• Stir in chopped ham hocks. Cook until the garlic, and red pepper flakes become fragrant.
• Add leftover chicken stock with the flavors of smoked ham hock. (As much as you want) You can use the leftover for some other recipes.
• Squeeze in lemon juice (as much as you need) and stir lightly.
• Serve your collard greens with lemon wedges, crispy bacon, and tasso.