Learn how to cook greens with this tasty recipe that includes a short way and a long way to cook collards, kale, or mustard greens — no excuses will be accepted for tough, bitter greens. This recipe uses pork fat because it helps mask the bitterness of the greens while bringing out their great flavor.
Prep Time::15 mins
Cook Time::5 mins
Total Time::20 mins
Servings::4
Ingredients
¼ cup bacon drippings
4 bunches collard greens, tough stems removed
salt to taste
3 cups water, or more as needed (Optional)
Directions
Heat bacon drippings in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir greens in hot drippings until limp, tender, and significantly reduced in size, 1 to 4 minutes, depending on how tough the greens are. Season with salt and serve straight from the skillet.
If you prefer extra-tender greens, add 3 cups water to greens in the skillet; season with salt. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 hour, adding more water as needed.
Recipe Tips
The original recipe called for "a mess" of greens. A mess of greens is about as many greens as you can cram into a plastic shopping bag.
To get drippings, fry 4 to 8 strips of bacon in a cast iron skillet or frying pan until most of the grease cooks out and thickly coats the bottom of the skillet.
If you boil the greens without frying them first, you will need to boil them for at least 2 hours with some pork to reduce the bitterness of the greens.