Southern Mixed Greens
A Soul Food classic; my grandfather's favorite way to eat greens!
- Prep time
- 30 min
- Cook time
- 3 hr 30 min
- Yield
- 12 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 Lb smoked ham hocks (or smoked turkey parts)
- 3 celery ribs (chopped roughly)
- 2 large carrots (halved)
- 1 Vidalia onion (peeled and halved)
- 1 large jalapeno (halved)
- 3 bay leaves
- 8 C water (plus more as needed)
- 3 C chicken broth
- 2 1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 C light brown sugar (to taste)
- 2 Tsp seasoned salt (to taste)
- 1 1/2 Tsp garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp kosher salt
- 2 Lb collard greens (cleaned and chopped)
- 1 Lb turnip greens (cleaned and chopped)
- 1 Lb mustard greens (cleaned and chopped)
Instructions
- 1
Grab your trusty Dutch oven or stockpot and crank up the heat to high. Toss in the ham hocks, chopped celery, halved carrots, onion, jalapeño, bay leaves, and a sprinkle of kosher salt. Pour in 8 cups of water, give it all a good stir, and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, cover the pot, reduce the heat to medium-high, and let it go for 2 hours. The water should reduce by about a third, and your kitchen will smell like heaven.
- 2
After the broth has cooked down, strain out all those flavor-packed veggies and spices with a spider strainer or by pouring the broth through a sieve. Now, grab your cleaned and chopped greens—collards, turnip, and mustard. Add them in handfuls, stirring as you go to wilt them down and make room for more. They’ll shrink faster than your patience on a Monday morning, so don’t worry if it seems like too much at first.
- 3
Pour in the chicken broth and top it off with more water if needed—just enough to barely cover the greens. Stir in the apple cider vinegar, light brown sugar, seasoned salt, and garlic powder. Don’t forget a dash of hot sauce if you like a little kick. Add the ham hocks back to the pot, cover it up, and reduce the heat to medium. Let it simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally to make sure those greens soak up all that goodness.
- 4
After 2 hours, the ham hocks should be tender and falling apart. Remove them from the pot and let them cool enough to handle. Shred the meat, discard the bones and skin, and return the shredded meat to the pot.
- 5
Give the pot liquor a taste (that’s the flavorful broth) and adjust the seasoning with more seasoned salt or brown sugar if needed. Stir everything together and continue simmering, uncovered, for another hour, or until the greens are tender and full of flavor.