These collard greens are straight from my Grandma Reid’s kitchen, transforming hearty greens into a tender, flavor-packed Southern side dish that’s perfect for your holiday table.
Simmered low and slow in a rich broth with smoky turkey, every bite is the kind of soul food that feels like home. Pair them with cornbread and black eyed peas, and you’ve got yourself a Southern classic that’ll have everyone coming back for more.
Jump to:
- Soul Food Collard Greens from Scratch
- How to Prepare Collard Greens for Cooking
- Quick History of Southern Collard Greens
- Ingredients Needed for this Recipe
- How to Make Southern Collard Greens with Smoked Turkey
- Variations and Pro Tips
- Storage, Freezing, and Reheating
- More Soul Food to Try
- FAQs
- Southern Collard Greens with Smoked Turkey
Soul Food Collard Greens from Scratch
Mary asked for some soul food to add to her fall and holiday spread, so Mary, I’m bringing you the collard greens that show up at every family table, no matter the season.
My almost 80-year-old Grandma Reid still grows collards in her garden, and I’ll never forget those days spent in her kitchen, tearing apart greens while one of my aunts ran screaming from a frog that jumped out. Good times all around!
Collards are a Southern staple, served alongside turkey and cornbread dressing at Thanksgiving, Hoppin’ John on New Year's Day, and ham and potatoes au gratin at Easter. They’re the heart of family meals, and I know they’ll be just as special at your table.
Collard greens might seem tough and bitter at first glance, but when slow-cooked with smoked meats, they transform into a dish that’s been a part of Black culture and Southern kitchens for centuries.
The smoked meat is really what makes for good greens. They infuse the leaves and the broth with hearty, smoky flavor; much like with southern green beans, that meaty flavor helps even picky little kids enjoy this recipe.
How to Prepare Collard Greens for Cooking
There are three simple steps to prepping collard greens: stripping the leaves from the stems, washing them thoroughly, and chopping the greens into bite-sized pieces.
I follow a three-step wash process as well, just like my mama and grandma do. First, a wash with vinegar, then a soak, and finally, a good rinse.
Collard greens are naturally waxy, and tiny grains of dirt just love to cling to them. Even if you’re looking at them and thinking, 'These greens look pretty clean,' trust me, they’re not clean enough. As you’re stripping the stems off, you’ll feel that grit on your hands. That’s why a thorough wash is a must to get them really clean.
I’ve got a full post that dives into how to cut and wash your collard greens properly, with step-by-step instructions and photos to make sure you get it right every time.
Quick History of Southern Collard Greens
Collards are a prehistoric plant but were first recorded being eaten in the Mediterranean, and revered for its health benefits!
Kidnapped Africans brought the seeds with them to the Americas in the 1600s during the time of chattel slavery. It was one of the few types of produce they were allowed to grow for themselves and were hardy, year-round plants that could survive in almost any climate.
To make them hearty, one pot meals they combined the greens with unwanted butcher parts like ham hocks and pigs feet, which evolved into the present day soul food staple.
Ingredients Needed for this Recipe
Full ingredients, measurements, and printable instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Fresh Collard Greens - though this is a collard greens recipe, it also works with mustard greens and turnip greens!
- Oil - to sauté the aromatics. Olive oil or vegetable oil is just fine.
- Yellow Onion and Garlic
- Smoked Meat - smoked meat is such an important part of black folks collard greens, friend. You can use smoked ham hock or smoked turkey legs and wings like I did here.
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Seasonings - red pepper flakes, kosher salt and black pepper. Most black folks use seasoning salt, too.
- Hot Sauce - use your favorite, I used Frank's. Don't use sriracha, it has a totally different flavor profile.
- Brown Sugar - this rounds out all that bright, salty and acidic flavor with a hint of sweetness.
- Chicken Broth - use a low sodium one so you control the salt in this. Smoked meats are already pretty salty!
How to Make Southern Collard Greens with Smoked Turkey
Step 1 | Make your pot likker. Saute the chopped onion with a little salt and pepper until golden at the bottom of a big ole pot, then add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Sauté until fragrant, then add in the smoked turkey.
Let that warm up for a minute, then we add in the chicken broth, brown sugar, and a good hoot of hot sauce. Simmer for 1-2 hours, until those turkey wings and legs are super tender and shreddable.
Step 2 | As that pot likker is simmering, cut and wash your greens.
Step 3 | Shred the meat from the turkey drums and wings. Discard the bones and fascia. Some people will even throw out the fattier skin and gristle, but I'm a greedy girl so I want it all!
Step 4 | Replace the meat back into your pot and add the cut collard greens as well. Give the meat and greens a good stir and put the lid on. Simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours, stirring the greens occasionally to ensure nothing's burning or adding chicken stock if needed.
Step 5 | When the leaves are wilt-y, super tender, and have soaked in all that pot liquor flavor, you're done!
Variations and Pro Tips
- Many people make collard greens in the slow cooker, it saves a lot of space when your stove and oven are busy on holidays!
- Other smoked meats - traditionally, collards are cooked with smoked pig parts like ham hock, neckbones, and pig's feet. If you're not pig-shy try the collards with smoked ham hocks, you won't regret it!
Storage, Freezing, and Reheating
Keep your leftover collard greens in an airtight container with the pot liquor in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freeze: Cool the greens down, then place them into freezer-safe zip top bags with a bit of pot liquor. Flatten the bags as much as possible so that they thaw quicker and are easier to store in the freezer. Keep in the freezer for three months and when ready, thaw in the fridge overnight.
Reheat: on the stove top in a saucepan on medium low until warmed through or heat it up in the microwave (stove top is my preferred way).
More Soul Food to Try
FAQs
Raw, collard greens taste bitter and unpleasant. But southern cooked collard greens are made in a way that gets rid of all the bitterness, cooking the greens down until tender, and they absorb all the flavor from the broth they're cooked in.
Absolutely! Make collard greens up to 3-4 days ahead of time and keep them in the fridge, then rewarm in a pot on the stovetop over medium-low heat until heated through and serve!
Those thick, tough stems and veins are what holds the bitterness. Get rid of the stem and feel for veins the leaves want to tear away from when you tear apart the collards.
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Southern Collard Greens with Smoked Turkey
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ½ cup yellow onion, medium dice
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 smoked turkey leg
- 1 smoked turkey wing
- 8 cups chicken stock or broth, low sodium
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce, more or less, if you like
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoon brown sugar
- 2 lbs collard greens, washed, stemmed, chopped
- Kosher Salt and Pepper, to taste
Instructions
Make the Pot Likker
- Saute the yellow onions in the vegetable oil over medium heat for 3 minutes, until we have a golden color on them. Season them with the kosher salt.1 tablespoon vegetable oil, ½ cup yellow onion, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Add the minced garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for just a minute, stirring frequently.5 cloves garlic, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Add the turkey leg and wing to the pot, then pour in the chicken broth, hot sauce, and brown sugar. Stir and put the lid on. Let the pot simmer for 1 to 1.5 hours, or until the turkey is shreddable and tender.1 smoked turkey leg, 1 smoked turkey wing, 8 cups chicken stock or broth, 1 tablespoon hot sauce, 2 teaspoon brown sugar
- Remove the turkey from the pot likker and shred the meat from the bones. Add the meat back to the pot and discard the bones.
Cook the Greens
- Put the collard greens into the pot with the apple cider vinegar. Stir thoroughly and place the lid back on the pot. Simmer for 1.5 hours up to 2 hours, until the collards are wilty, a deep olive green color, and taste tender and savory.1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 2 lbs collard greens
- Taste the greens and pot likker and season with more hot sauce, salt, and pepper as needed. Serve the greens with cornbread and other southern dishes!Kosher Salt and Pepper
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