Southern Collard Greens

The soul-food classic: collard or kale leaves simmered low and slow with a smoked ham hock until meltingly tender, sharpened with vinegar and hot sauce, the savoury 'pot likker' sopped up with cornbread

Origin: American South, United States

From the journey of Kale.

Collard greens, simmered low and slow with smoked pork, are one of the defining dishes of the American South and a cornerstone of soul food. The broad, flat-leafed collard is a loose-leafed kale, near-identical to it and used interchangeably; it was carried to the South by European settlers, but the dish belongs to the enslaved African Americans who made it, drawing on a deep West African tradition of slow-cooked leafy greens. They took the hardy collard, which thrived in the southern heat and stood through the mild winters, and cooked it for hours with a smoked ham hock or other cured pork until the leaves were soft and silky and the cooking liquor had become 'pot likker', a deeply savoury, mineral-rich broth that is prized as much as the greens themselves and traditionally sopped up with cornbread. Seasoned with onion, a splash of vinegar, and a dash of hot pepper sauce, collards became, with cornbread and black-eyed peas, the heart of the Southern plate. They carry a weight of meaning beyond the everyday: a 'mess o' greens' is eaten at the New Year, when the dark leaves are said to symbolise folded money and to bring a year of prosperity, set beside black-eyed peas for luck.

Ingredients

The Greens

  • 1.2 kg collard greens or kale, tough stems removed, leaves coarsely chopped

The Pot

  • 1 large smoked ham hock (or 200g smoked bacon, or a smoked turkey wing)
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 1.5 litres chicken stock or water

Seasoning

  • 2 tbsp cider vinegar, plus more to serve
  • 1 tsp caster sugar
  • 0.5 tsp dried chilli flakes or hot pepper sauce, to taste
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

  1. Put the ham hock, onion, garlic, and stock into a large pot. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, partly covered, for about 45 minutes to draw the smoke and flavour into the broth.
  2. Add the chopped greens to the pot in batches, stirring each addition down into the liquid as it wilts until all the greens are submerged.
  3. Add the vinegar, sugar, and chilli. Simmer gently, partly covered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the greens are completely tender and silky.
  4. Lift out the ham hock, shred the meat from the bone, and return the meat to the pot. Taste and adjust with salt, pepper, and more vinegar; the greens should be savoury, smoky, and gently tangy.
  5. Serve the greens hot in shallow bowls with plenty of their pot likker, with cornbread alongside for sopping up the broth, and hot pepper sauce at the table.

Notes

Collards and kale are interchangeable here; collards give the more authentic Southern flavour, kale a slightly sweeter result. For a smoky vegetarian version, use a smoked turkey alternative or add smoked paprika and a little soy or miso for depth, and finish with olive oil. Black-eyed peas and cornbread are the classic companions, and on New Year's Day the greens (for money) and the peas (for luck) are eaten together for prosperity in the year ahead.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route
Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
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