Not Your Average Collard Greens

As the first week of November brought some colder temperatures to my neck of the woods, I started cooking a few dishes to better match the rainy days.

One side dish that I hadn’t made in a long time was collard greens, made with a master stock that includes chicken broth and chorizo. The collards are slowly simmered for several hours with diced onion and smoky bacon until tender.

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Not Your Average Collard Greens

As the first week of November brought some colder temperatures to my neck of the woods, I started cooking a few dishes to better match the rainy days.

One side dish that I hadn’t made in a long time was collard greens, made with a master stock that includes chicken broth and chorizo. The collards are slowly simmered for several hours with diced onion and smoky bacon until tender.

Ingredients

• 2 quarts unsalted chicken stock
• 3 links cured chorizo (cut into 1-inch sections)
• 2 Tbsp sunflower seed oil
• 8 oz ½ lb thick cut bacon, cut into lardons
• 2 white onions (medium dice)
• 3 lbs collard greens (washed extremely well)
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• Kosher salt (to taste)

Instructions 

• Combine the chicken stock and chorizo in a soup pot on the stove.
• Simmer the chicken stock for two hours on medium-high heat to reduce the quantity of chicken stock by 50% and infuse the liquid with the chorizo flavor.
• While the chicken stock and chorizo are simmering, prepare your collard green leaves by washing each leaf individually under cold water.
• *Note that collard greens can be really sandy, and often contain a few small bugs or tiny snails. It is worth spending the extra time to wash them well.
• Remove the thick center stems from each leaf, and cut the remaining softer leaf sections into 2-inch squares.
• Set the washed and cut greens aside in a large bowl.
• *You can slice the collard green stems very finely, or discard them. If you cook with the center stems, note that they require more cooking time than the softer sections of the leaves.
• After two hours of cooking, turn the heat to very low on your chicken and chorizo stock.
• In a Dutch oven or large sauté pan with high sides, add the sunflower seed oil, bacon, and diced onion.
• Cook the bacon and onions over medium heat for ten minutes, stirring frequently.
• Add the washed collard greens.
• After you have added all of the collard greens, add a few ladles at a time of the chicken and chorizo stock.
• Simmer the collard greens on low heat for roughly 2-3 hours, adding more of the chorizo and cooking stock as needed.
• After the greens are tender, season with freshly-ground black pepper, and stir in one Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar.
• Allow the mixture to cook for another ten minutes.
• Taste, and season with Kosher salt if necessary.
• Serve hot.

Notes

I prefer to eat these on the day that they are made, although the collard greens store well and can easily be reheated. I will often serve mine with creamy mashed potatoes when the weather is cold and rainy.
Some people add a bit of sugar to their greens—you do you.

Freeze any extra stock that you have leftover.