Simmer the Collard Greens. Reduce heat, cover and cook the collard greens for 2-3 hours, or until done to your desired tenderness. They will turn a dark green.

Slow cooked collard greens are the best.

Boom! Done! You collard greens are ready to serve. They look so good, don’t they? Sprinkle on the red pepper flakes, maybe a couple splashes of hot sauce.

So good! Such a great side dish.

Recipe Tips & Notes
About the Pot Liquor (or Pot Likker). After cooking the collard greens low and slow this way, you’ll notice the color of the liquid in the pot has darkened and taken on the wonderful flavor of the collards and other ingredients.

This liquid is called “collard liquor” or “pot liquor”, or “pot likker”, and it is delicious.

Pot liquor is essentially the liquid remaining from simmering any type of greens or beans. It is enriched with many nutrients from the cooking process.

You can enhance the flavor with smoked meats and seasonings, making it not only good for you, but extra tasty, as we’ve done here.

Cooking Time. I usually simmer my collard greens for the whole 3 hours, but they are nice and tender with a bit of bite after 2 hours. Just cook to your preference.

You can get away with a stronger simmer for 45 minutes, but much will depend on the collard greens themselves, whether or not your particular batch wants to soften up enough for you.

Other Greens. You can definitely use other greens for this recipe. Consider mustard greens, kale, beet greens, dandelion greens or other green leaves.

You may need to adjust your simmering time.

Meat Options. Pork is most often used, like bacon and ham. Ham hocks are very popular and add lots of flavor. Smoked turkey is also a nice addition or substitute.

You can realistically use any of your favorite meats. Serve this up with fried chicken!

Storage And Leftover Collard Greens
You can store your leftover collard greens in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Use them to enhance soups, sandwiches, wraps and more.

That’s it, my friends. I hope you enjoy my southern collard greens recipe. Let me know if you make it. I’d love to hear how it turned out for you. Keep it spicy!

Collard Greens Recipe
This southern collard greens recipe makes the best collard greens you’ll ever have, with lots of bacon and smoked ham, simmered low and slow until so tender. You’ll never want them any other way.

Course: Side Dish Cuisine: American Keyword: bacon, greens, ham Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 2 hours Calories: 333kcal
Servings: 12 Tap or hover to scale

Ingredients