Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 2 lbs collard greens, cleaned and chopped
- 1 lb turnip greens, cleaned and chopped
- 1 lb mustard greens, cleaned and chopped
- 1 lb smoked ham hocks
- 3 celery stalks, chopped roughly
- 2 large carrots, halved
- 1 large Vidalia onion, peeled and halved
- 1 large jalapeno, halved
- 3 bay leaves
- 8 C water, plus more as needed
- 3 C chicken broth
- 1/4 C light brown sugar, to taste
- 2 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp seasoned salt, to taste
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- Place a large dutch oven or stockpot over high heat and add the ham hocks, carrots, celery, onion, bay leaves, peppercorns, and kosher salt. Pour in 8 cups of water and give it a stir. Bring everything to a boil uncovered, then reduce the heat to medium-high and cover with a lid. Boil for 2 hours, or until the volume is reduced by 1/3.
- Strain all of the aromatics out of the broth with a spider strainer – or pour the liquid through a sieve, whichever is easiest. Add the chopped greens in handfuls to the pot. It will be hard to fit them in at first, but don’t worry: the greens will wilt very quickly, so just stir ’em around into the broth until you have enough room to add more, bit by bit.
- Once all – or most, if you really had too many – the greens are added to the pot, pour in the chicken broth, along with more water if needed. You want the greens to be just submerged; don’t go nuts. Next add the seasoned salt, apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, and hot sauce. Stir everything together well, then add the ham hock back to the pan. Cover, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
- After two hours the ham hocks should be falling off the bone. Remove it and set it aside until it’s cooled enough for you to handle, then remove the bone and skin and shred the meat. In the meantime, taste the pot liquor (that’s the juice the greens are swimming in) and adjust it with more seasoned salt or sugar, to taste, as needed.
- When you’re happy with the flavor, stir the shredded meat back into the greens, cover, and continue simmering for another hour, or until they are tender to your liking. Dassit!
Notes
- Smoked turkey will work in place of the ham hock, but the pot liquor won’t have that same silky mouthfeel because they don’t have enough fat. Stir in a few tablespoons of butter at the end to imitate this.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
