These Garlic Butter Collard Greens are a staple of Southern consolation meals. The recipe options collard greens slowly cooked with butter, garlic, onions, and a touch of brown sugar for an ideal steadiness of flavors. Completed with a topping of crispy bacon, this dish is a hearty and flavorful facet dish.
If anybody does consolation meals proper, it’s the South. My buttery collard greens, paying homage to my final journey to South Carolina, are sautéed with onion and garlic, sweetened up with brown sugar, and spiced up with purple pepper flakes. Every thing will get slow-braised multi function pot, then topped with smoky bacon.
Why I Love These Collard Greens
- Straightforward: With a preparation time of simply 10 minutes, as soon as the straightforward prep work is completed, the remainder of the time is simply letting the greens simmer low and sluggish with out requiring fixed consideration.
- Flavorful: The dish is full of wealthy flavors, from garlic and onion to brown sugar and crispy bacon.
- Nice for Any Event: Whether or not it’s a vacation feast like Thanksgiving, Christmas, or a comfortable household dinner, these greens are versatile sufficient to suit into any meal.
What Are Collard Greens?
Collard greens are the leafy a part of collards, a veggie in the identical household as cabbages. The uncooked leaves have robust stems that get eliminated earlier than you eat them, a bit like kale or spinach. These leafy greens are a staple in Southern cooking, and in case you’ve by no means tried them, you positively need to give this recipe a go!
Substances
- Butter: I like to recommend utilizing room temperature butter.
- Onion: A small diced yellow onion will do.
- Pink Pepper Flakes: For slightly warmth.
- Shallots: A few shallots, minced.
- Garlic: I extremely advocate freshly minced garlic for the perfect taste.
- Collard Greens: Be certain that to take away the stems and chop the leaves up beforehand.
- Hen Broth: For the braising liquid. You can even use vegetable broth.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: Pink wine or white wine vinegar is okay to make use of.
- Brown Sugar: For the right quantity of richness and caramelized taste.
- Salt & Pepper
- Bacon: Cube up thick-cut bacon and prepare dinner it to a crisp.
The right way to Make Garlic Butter Collard Greens
- Sauté: First, sauté the onion in a big pot with melted butter. Add the purple pepper flakes and shallots, stirring alongside the best way. Lastly, add the minced garlic and prepare dinner for about 15 seconds, till aromatic.
- Add Collards and Prepare dinner: Add the collards to the pot together with the rooster broth, vinegar, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Give the whole lot a stir and produce the pot to a simmer, then cowl and depart the greens to prepare dinner on low for an hour or so.
- Put together the Bacon: Whereas your greens are simmering, fry up the diced bacon in a skillet. I like to recommend eradicating the cooked bacon from the pan utilizing a slotted spoon. Set the bacon apart for now.
- Serve: When the collard greens are tender and able to serve, sprinkle the bacon over high. Lastly, season with salt and pepper to style, then dig in!
Recipe Suggestions
- Prepare dinner low and sluggish. Sautéeing adopted by sluggish braising with broth and vinegar is the important thing to collard greens that prepare dinner up good and tender, with none bitterness.
- Including apple cider vinegar enhances the flavors of the collard greens, and, extra importantly, helps lower the bitterness.
- Many supermarkets carry uncooked collard greens within the produce part subsequent to related leafy greens like Swiss chard and kale. Be certain that to take away the stems and chop the leaves up beforehand.
- Watch out to not overcook. Actual cooking occasions can fluctuate relying on the toughness of your leaves. Collard greens will flip vibrant inexperienced once they’re finished cooking.
Serving Ideas
I like serving these greens as a facet to Smothered Pork Chops or Air Fryer Fried Hen. They’re additionally nice to serve with my Sheet Pan Shrimp Boil and this Gentle Skillet Cornbread. In the course of the holidays, place them subsequent to Garlic Rosemary Mashed Potatoes or these Prompt Pot Mac and Cheese goodies! Over New Yr’s, collard greens are a conventional facet dish to take pleasure in alongside a Hoppin’ John Skillet.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
Leftover cooked collards must be transferred to an hermetic container and refrigerated for 3 to 4 days or frozen for as much as 4 months. I wish to reheat mine in a skillet with the juices for a number of minutes till heat.
Straightforward Vegetable Facet Dishes
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Soften the butter in a big stockpot or Dutch oven set over medium-high warmth.
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Add the onion to the melted butter and prepare dinner for 3 minutes. Stir within the pepper flakes and shallots; prepare dinner for two extra minutes. Stir regularly. Stir within the garlic and prepare dinner for 15 seconds.
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Add the collards and prepare dinner for 3 minutes; stir within the rooster broth, vinegar, brown sugar, salt, and pepper, and produce to a simmer. Flip warmth all the way down to low, cowl, and simmer for 1 to 1.5 hours or till very tender.
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Within the meantime, prepare dinner the bacon in a skillet set over medium warmth; prepare dinner for 4 to five minutes or to a desired crispness. Take away from warmth and spoon the bacon out with a slotted spoon.
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When able to serve the collard greens, high them with the cooked bacon.
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Style for salt and pepper, and modify accordingly.
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Serve.
- Collard Greens: If you happen to get common contemporary greens, you need to first soak and clear them to get rid of dust and grit. Nevertheless, in case you get a bag of pre-chopped and pre-washed collard greens, you’ll be able to bypass this step, though a fast rinse in a colander as a precaution remains to be advisable.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: Incorporating apple cider vinegar boosts the style of the collard greens and reduces their bitterness.
- Braising: Start with sautéing, then transition to a sluggish braise, which is crucial for attaining tender collard greens.
- Cooking Time: The exact cooking length may differ only a bit based mostly on the toughness of the greens. You’ll know the collard greens are completely cooked when tender and never robust.
- Storage: Switch leftovers to an hermetic container and refrigerate for as much as 4 days or freeze for 3 to 4 months.
Energy: 251 kcal | Carbohydrates: 13 g | Protein: 8 g | Fats: 20 g | Saturated Fats: 10 g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 2 g | Monounsaturated Fats: 6 g | Trans Fats: 0.5 g | Ldl cholesterol: 42 mg | Sodium: 171 mg | Potassium: 410 mg | Fiber: 5 g | Sugar: 4 g | Vitamin A: 6090 IU | Vitamin C: 42 mg | Calcium: 282 mg | Iron: 1 mg
Dietary information is an estimate and supplied as courtesy. Values might fluctuate based on the elements and instruments used. Please use your most well-liked dietary calculator for extra detailed information.
