Sunday Collards

2026-10-25 · Serves 6

Ingredients

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, peanut oil, or canola oil
1 smoked ham hock or smoked hog jowl (or ¼ lb slab bacon, diced)
8 cups water
3 dried chile peppers (or 1 Tbsp crushed red pepper flakes)
1 Tbsp kosher salt
3¾ lb collard greens (about 3 bunches), stems removed, washed, cut into 1-inch strips
Pepper vinegar or Tabasco, for the table

Method

Render the hock. Pour the oil into an 8-quart stockpot over medium-high heat and swirl to coat the bottom. When the oil shimmers, score the ham hock with a small sharp knife and set it in the pot. Sear it all over as best you can, until some fat renders, about 6 minutes. Spotty browning is fine.
Make the stock. Pour in the water. It will hiss and pop for a few seconds. Add the chiles and salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes, until the stock tastes deeply of smoke and spice.
Add the collards. Add a few handfuls of collards and stir often, pushing them under the liquid, until they turn bright green and go floppy, 3–5 minutes. Keep adding handfuls, stirring and submerging, until all the greens are in the pot, 6–10 minutes.
Simmer low. Turn the heat to low and simmer very gently for 1 hour. The greens turn a very dark, matte green and go completely tender.
Serve with a slotted spoon, and pass pepper vinegar at the table.

At a Glance

1 Tbsp oil		score hock, sear 6 min	add; it spits	add, simmer 30 min	add by handfuls, 6–10 min	simmer very gently 1 hr	serve with a slotted spoon
1 smoked ham hock
8 cups water
3 dried chiles
1 Tbsp kosher salt
3¾ lb collard greens	stem, wash, cut 1-in strips
pepper vinegar

Notes

Adapted from Matt Lee and Ted Lee, The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook (W. W. Norton, 2006), p. 205.

Braised greens get a bad name from flat seasoning, not only from overcooking. The fix is a low simmer in a well-seasoned pot likker: smoke from the hock, heat from the chiles, and enough salt to carry both.

Save the pot likker. It makes a strong stock for soup, or a lunch on its own with crumbled cornbread, minced onion, and a shot of pepper vinegar. It freezes well.