
My brother Eddie was over for dinner a while ago one fortuitous night when we happened to be having collard greens. I say fortuitous because Ed introduced us to a wonderful new way to serve these healthful, somewhat bitter greens—with barbecue sauce.
Huh? Barbecue sauce?
Ed explained that whenever he had collard greens it was with barbecued ribs, and the sauce from the ribs would make its way over to the collard greens, making them taste oh so good. Well, that was enough incentive to try it, and I must agree, collard greens are excellent served with a little BBQ sauce.
They are also pretty good on their own with onions and garlic. Our recipe works great as a base; feel free to add the BBQ sauce!
Shopping for Collard Greens
Collards are in the same family as kale, mustard greens, and other hearty greens. The leaves are dark green and the stems are tough.
Look for collards that have an even green color and look fresh. Avoid collards that have browned or wilted leaves or show other signs of age. They will keep for several days in your fridge.
How to Prepare Collard Greens
To prepare, cut away the tough stem and slice the greens into thick ribbons.
Cook the greens in plenty of fat until they are tender and silky. Young, fresh greens are usually ready in about 15 minutes, but older, tougher greens can take up to 45 minutes.
More Recipes with Collards and Kale:
- Southern-Style Collard Greens
- Collard Greens with Bacon
- Sautéed Kale with Smoked Paprika
- Kale with Sausage and White Beans
- Kale Salad with Balsamic Dressing
Collard Greens Recipe
We use bacon fat here primarily for flavor. Bacon fat provides an excellent balance to the natural bitter of the collard greens. That said, you can easily skip the bacon fat and just use a little more olive oil.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons bacon fat
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons onion, chopped
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 2 pounds (900 g) collard greens, tough stems discarded, leaves chopped
- 2 tablespoons dark sesame oil (Dynasty or comparable brand)
- Chili pepper flakes, a pinch
- Salt, a couple pinches
- Sugar, a couple pinches
- Barbecue sauce (optional)
Method
1 Cook onions and garlic: Use a large skillet with a tight fitting cover. Melt bacon fat and heat olive oil on medium heat.
Sauté onion until transparent, a couple of minutes.
Add garlic and and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
2 Cook the collards: Mix in the greens, sesame oil, chili pepper flakes, salt, and sugar. Cover and cook until tender, 8-15 minutes. (Note that young collard greens will cook up relatively quickly. Older greens may take upwards of 45 minutes to tenderize.)
If you want, serve with barbecue sauce.
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This was easy and delicious!
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Hi Grace, yay! I’m so glad you liked the collards!
These were great! I will definitely make them again. I was concerned that my husband would prefer the typical ‘Southern way’ but he really liked them also.
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Just made collard greens for the first time. Thanks for the recipe. Served it with some left over basmati rice. Just learning to cook and eat this way.
You need to add a quarter cup of apple cider vinegar.
Made this today; it was definitely a keeper. Paired it with pressure cooker baby back ribs; two great tastes that go great together.
Definitely on my regular rotation; thanks!
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