Sugar, Grease, Salt and Alcohol...
There they are in all of their glory. And in this very special episode of Facts of Cooking Life, there will be Thanksgiving. That's right, there will be grease (fatback, lard and bacon grease- oh my), sugar, salt and alcohol in all of its Thanksgivingy glory.
Hubby and I eat an early lunch with my family, head home and prepare/have Thanksgiving dinner with his family. I am amazed every Thanksgiving at the amount of food I have on my dining room table for only six people. Turkey, yeast rolls, company rice (my Mother-In-Law's recipe that she is yet to share), sweet potato casserole, green beans with county ham, collards, butter beans, dressing, bread pudding, a cobbler of some sort and pecan pie. I am trying to figure out exactly who it is I think I am feeding.
It may be more akin to getting to play with make-up when you are little girl. You do not get to do it often so Sugar, pile it on until the lipstick tube is empty, rouge is in perfect pink dots and your powder blue eye shadow is glistening for all to see! Or in this case all the sugar, flour,bacon and country ham in a tri-county area is sitting on my counter top waiting for a little Thanksgiving love.
Now I do not do it all by myself. Memaw, my mother-in-law, brings the company rice and the sweet potato casserole. My brother-in-law brings the bread pudding. The rest is all me, baby. I love, LOVE, L-O-V-E to cook. Cooking for Thanksgiving and Christmas is like opening gifts from Santa on Christmas morning. However, I know that I cannot do it all in one day so some of my dishes I cook as freeze.
This weekend, I made my collards and froze them so all that will need to be done is thaw and reheat. Collards are perfect for freezing because they taste better after a little time in the freezer.
I have two recipes for my collards. One that incorporates almost all of the Four Southern Food Groups with lots piggy. There is also a lighter version that I promise is almost as good. Hey, I said almost.
I am a huge fan of the crock-pot for a recipe like this. Throw them in and walk away.
The yummy goodness that is collards my Grandma's way-
4 lbs of collards
1 1/2 lbs of ham hocks or neck bones
1 quarts of water (brought to a simmer)
1 small onion
1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes or a few dashes of hot sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
A pinch of sugar
Clean your collards! If you are buying them from a Farmers' Market, they will need to be cleaned. If you are buying in the bag from a big box story or grocery store them will need to be rinsed.
I find the best way to clean them is fill your sink up with cool water and in small batches put the collards into the water and swish them. (Swish is a very technical culinary term.) We are not done. Fill the sink with water and white vinegar, I would add a cup, and put the collards back in and let them soak for 5-10 minutes. Little creatures do not particularly care for the vinegar and that will help you find any that the swishing missed. Again swish, think the agitator in your washing machine for about 30 seconds. Drain and rinse 2-3 more times. You should be all set. If you are using the store bought bagged collards that say pre-cleaned, give them a good rinse under running water and drain.
1. Chop your onion and put in your crock pot. If you are not using your crock pot (cp), put them in a stock pot on low. You really do not need to add oil or grease because we are not browning the onions. But you are more than welcome to add a little bacon grease it you like. Fat is flavor.
2. Chop your collards to the size you like.
One of my grandmother's left hers in pieces and my other grandmother chopped hers, think the consistency of creamed spinach. They are both delicious it is just a matter of preference. I leave mine in pieces since not everyone like the "smushed" texture of chopped. Smushed another technical culinary term.
3. Place the collards in your cp or your pan. Pour the water over the collards. If you are using your cp, you may need to this in batches pouring some of the water over the collards. This will wilt them some so that you can put more in the cp. If you are using the pan, it is not as important because the collards will start to wilt a little in the heat of the pan.
This will look like a ton of collards but they will cook down. This recipe actually serves 6. It will look like 26 when prepping them.
4. Add the the remaining ingredients.
5. For cp users- set it on low for 6-7 hours or high for 4-5. Stove top cookers- bring your collards up to a gentle boil. As soon as they come to a boil, reduce heat to med-low and simmer 1 1/2-2 hours. I find that if I just my cast iron dutch oven, I have to turn them almost to low due to the pot likker evaporating. Check on them occasionally and if the water is getting low just add a little more.
I know, I hear you. This tale a long time. That is why I did them this weekend. I prepped them first thing and went about cleaning. By the time, the house was clean and errands run they were ready to be put in containers to cool. Once cool put in the freezer.
Now the Almost As Good as Piggy Infused Collards
(Remember- I said ALMOST.)
4 lbs of collards
3 cups of *chicken stock and 1 c of beer (nothing fancy or limey or frou-frouy) (brought to a simmer)
1 small onion
1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes or a few dashes of hot sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
A pinch of sugar
*veggie stock may be substituted if you want to keep them meat free
Clean your collards! Refer to the method above.
1. Chop your onion and put in your crock pot. If you are not using your crock pot (cp), put them in a stock pot on low. You really do not need to add oil or grease because we are not browning the onions. But you are more than welcome to add a little olive oil it you like.
2. Chop your collards to the size you like.
3. Place the collards in your cp or your pan. Pour the stock and beer mixture over the collards. If you are using your cp, you may need to this in batches, pouring some of the liquid over the collards. This will wilt them some so that you can put more in the cp. If you are using the pan, it is not as important because the collards will start to wilt a little in the heat of the pan.
This will look like a ton of collards but they will cook down. This recipe actually serves 6. It will look like 26 when prepping them.
4. Add the the remaining ingredients.
5. For cp users- set it on low for 6-7 hours or high for 4-5. Stove top cookers- bring your collards up to a gentle boil. As soon as they come to a boil, reduce heat to med-low and simmer 1 1/2-2 hours. I find that if I just my cast iron dutch oven, I have to turn them almost to low due to the pot likker evaporating. Check on them occasionally and if the liquid is getting low just add a little more chicken stock or water.
Beer in collards? What in the world? That is crazy. While I am a big proponent of the 4 Southern Food Groups, this is not adding alcohol for the sake of alcohol. It actually gives a a great flavor and helps with the bitterness that greens have. You can also use beer in the first recipe as well as chicken stock if you want even more flavor.
Thaw in the refrigerator and heat and serve on Thanksgiving day. You can freeze them in containers or in zip-top bags. Drop the bags in a large pot of simmering water and you do not even have to thaw. Simmer until heated through and put in serving dish.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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