There’s nothing quite like Southern collard greens. Southern cooking can sometimes appear intimidating or too involved, but this recipe is anything but. All you need are a couple of hours, a handful of staple ingredients, smoked turkey, and your collard greens (the star of the show) for an easy side (or meal on its own!) you can serve all year long. While we think this recipe is perfect as is, it’s also completely adaptable based on your tastes, crowd size, and what you have on hand—you can truly make it your own. Read on for everything you need to know.
Ingreadient
- 6 bunches collard greens
- 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium Vidalia sweet, Spanish, or yellow onion, finely chopped
- Kosher salt
- 1 lb. smoked turkey (any combination of necks, legs, butt, and/or wings) or pork neck bones
- 2 chicken bouillon cubes
- 1 tbsp. garlic powder
- 1 tbsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more
- 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
Direction
- Tear greens from stems; discard stems or reserve for another use. Working in batches, roll up greens and cut horizontally into small pieces.
- Throughly rinse greens under cold water, removing all grit, sand, and debris, until water runs clear.
- In a large Dutch oven or pot over medium-low heat, heat oil. Add onion; season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 7 minutes.
- Add greens, then pour in enough water to just cover greens (4 to 5 cups). Add turkey, bouillon cubes, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and red pepper. Bring to a rolling boil, then cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until greens are tender and meat pulls away from the bones, about 2 hours.
- Transfer turkey to a cutting board and shred with 2 forks. Return meat to pot and stir until well combined; season with salt and black pepper, if needed.
