Southern Collard Greens with Bacon

Serving collard greens from the slow cooker.

Southern Collard Greens with Bacon

The crock pot is the best way ever to cook collard greens! They come out tender and full of flavor. Just add some warm cornbread and you're good to go!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American - Southern

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 10

Total Time 10 15

Servings

Calories 358kcal

Author Marye Audet-White

Equipment

Slow Cooker

Ingredients

2 pounds collard greens cleaned, remove center stems, cut leaves into chunks
6 ounces onion about 1 cup chopped
3 garlic cloves minced
1 teaspoon crushed red peppers more to taste
2 tablespoons bacon drippings
4 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 pound bacon cooked and reserve the drippings
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

To Clean:

It's easiest if you can find pre-washed greens but if you can't then follow the instructions below to clean all the grit out of them.
Fill the sink or a dishpan with barely warm water. I prefer to use a dishpan.
Push the collard greens under the water and move them around.
Wash the greens, scrubbing between your hands.
Let the water out of the sink or pour it out of the dishpan.
Rinse under running water.
Repeat this process until there is no sign of sand or grit in the sink.

To cook:

Fry the bacon until it is crisp. Remove from the pan, reserving 2 tablespoons of drippings, and crumble it.
Put in a ziploc bag or storage container, seal or cover, and refrigerate.
Spray the slow cooker with no-stick cooking spray.
Remove the leaves from the thick center stalks of the collards.
Cut or tear into large pieces. 2 to 3 inches is about right.
Add to the slow cooker.
Add the chopped onion and minced garlic.
Pour the chicken stock into a large mixing bowl and add the crushed red pepper, reserved bacon drippings, and vinegar.
Whisk to mix and pour the mixture over the greens in the slow cooker.
Cook on low for 10 hours or until greens are tender.
Add salt and black pepper to taste.
Give the bacon a few seconds in the microwave just to warm it up.
Serve collard greens with crumbled bacon on top.

Notes

Storage:

Just scoop any extra greens into an airtight container. Don't use a slotted spoon because you'll want to store all of the braising liquid (or "pot likker") too. Cooked collard greens will be fine in the fridge for up to 5 days.

I don't recommend freezing collard greens. Though they'll be safe to eat for six months to a year, they lose texture and tend to get mushy after thawing.

Tips:

- Pot liquor is the liquid that cooks the collard greens, and it provides a ton of flavor. You can taste test it before starting the crock pot—season it well because it will season your greens!
- Fresh greens from a farmer's market taste great but don't skip the cleaning steps. The leaves tend to hold onto a lot of sand and grit.
- Buy pre-diced onion and a bag of washed-and-cut greens from the produce section to reduce prep time.
- An easy way to remove stems from greens is to hold a leaf by the end of the stem with one hand and slide your other hand down the stem, tearing away the leaf as you go.

Nutrition