I was in the Army Reserves for 12 years and had drill once a month at a facility located on White Bridge Road in West Nashville behind Nashville Tech. A group of us often ate lunch at a nearby restaurant that served a choice of meat and a choice of three side items for something like $6.99 for lunch. The meat was usually country ham, roast beef, and meat loaf. The side choices were typically black eyed peas, red beans, green beans, rice, corn on the cob, and collard greens. The first time we went there everyone was ordering collards for one of their sides, so I decided to try them too. I had never eaten them before, but after trying them that first time they became a regular favorite for my monthly lunches on drill weekends. When in the South, do as Southerners do...or is that Rome?
In the past 20 years, I've eaten collards prepared many, many ways. They are all basicallly the same with a twist here and there according to the particular region of the country. My wife has been making collards with bacon pieces using the recipe below for several months. I've found it on many of the typical recipe websites, but I've recently learned that the basic recipe was originally printed in the Wall Street Journal.
Here's the version from Simply Recipes:
- 4 strips thick-sliced bacon, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 TBSP sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Several dashes hot sauce (we leave this out)
- 1/4 cup apple-cider vinegar
- 2 pounds collard greens, stems removed, sliced into 3-inch-wide strips (can substitute kale or chard)
- 1 cup chicken broth (or water)*
This can be prepared easily and quickly in a skillet on the stove top. (Remember to fry the bacon first.) It's good!
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