What is your recipe for collard greens? Everyone cook them differently?

I want to here from different cultures.What is your recipe for collard greens? Everyone cook them differently?
I don't know what culture this would be...I'm a caucasian woman living in NE Ohio and have just created my own way thru experimenting.





I wash the green thoroughly to remove sand and unidentified stuff.





I remove the really thick stems (some people think that's a total waste--do what you think is right).





I put the greens in a BIG pot with a ham hock or meaty ham bone. I sprinkle the greens liberally with Adolph's Meat Tenderizer. Add water, cover, cook until they cook down. Add a little vinegar, a chopped onion, salt, pepper and a sprinkle of sugar. Cook longer. When the bone or hock is meatless you can remove the bones.





I know this is not exact, but I wanted to tell you what I did so you can see what the differences are. If y ou need exact times, I'm sure they will be provided by other respondents.What is your recipe for collard greens? Everyone cook them differently?
Collard Greens Ma's way








6 pounds collard greens


3 tablespoons canola oil


1 cup finely chopped onions


1 cup finely chopped celery


1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper


1 or 2 small fresh hot peppers, seeded, deribbed and finely chopped


1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic


3 pounds meaty ham hocks or shanks (optional, but delicious!)


3 bay leaves


1 1/2 cups cold water


2 tablespoons fresh thyme (or 2 teaspoons dried)


1 1/2 tablespoons fresh oregano (or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried)


2 teaspoons Creole Seasoning (see below)


Hot pepper sauce to taste





1. Pull the coarse stems all the way out of the collards, and wash the leaves very well in several changes of cold water.





2. Heat the oil in a large, heavy saucepan or Dutch oven. Add mirepoix and meat (if you are using meat) and saut茅 the vegetables until the onion is translucent.





3. Tear the greens into bite-sized pieces and add to the pan. Stir to coat greens with the vegetable mixture and oil. Add seasonings and water. Cover the pan and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat for forty minutes (to one hour - depending upon how tender your greens are)





4. Allow the greens to sit in their liquor while you remove the hocks and cut them into bite-sized pieces. (If there is a lot of liquor in the pan, you may wish to reduce it by one-half.) Be sure to discard all the bone, skin and gristle. Stir the meat back into the pot. Serve hot.





Creole Seasoning Mix





Makes about 3 tablespoons seasoning and doubles exactly





1 tablespoon fine sea salt


1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper


1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper


2 teaspoons white pepper


1 teaspoon garlic powder
in the south here we buy a big pig knuckel the uglyest one you can find at the market add salt and pepper boil the greens down you should cook it till all the meat falls off the pigknuckel thats how you know they are done
I soak them in a sink full of water to get all the sand out. Roll the leaves up, and slice them into ribbons. Then I cook them in chicken broth for about 12 minutes.
Also from the South





Wash greens, then wash them again, when they are clean wash them one more time.


(lol the sand loves to hide in the things)


OR buy the pre-cut/cleaned ones in the bag


In a very large pot place greens and cover with water. Add salt and 1/2 lb of raw bacon or a piece of fatback. (I don't keep fatback on hand so...) You could also add pork chops (not boneless).





Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Depending on what I put in with them to cook (notice that all choices involved pork) about an hour later they will be ready to eat.





YUMMY even better with a slice of buttered cornbread...............