Collard greens
Photo: Nolabob · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

Collard greens were brought to the American South by enslaved West Africans, who adapted the West African leaf-vegetable tradition (egusi, kontomire) to the European Brassica varieties grown in the Carolinas and Georgia. The slow-braise with smoked pork and the resulting 'pot liquor' became the canonical Southern preparation. Busy Bee Cafe (open since 1947), Paschal's and Mary Mac's Tea Room serve the reference Atlanta versions. The dish is the heart of every soul-food meat-and-three plate.

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Make it at home

Yield 6Hands-on 20 minTotal 2 hr 30 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 2 large bunches collard greens (around 1.5kg total), tough stems removed and leaves torn into 5cm pieces
  • 1 smoked ham hock (around 750g) or 2 smoked turkey wings, or 200g thick-cut smoked bacon
  • 1 large yellow onion, finely diced
  • 5 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1.5L chicken stock
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar, plus more to serve
  • 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon hot sauce (Crystal preferred)
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 2 tablespoons bacon fat or vegetable oil
  • Salt and black pepper
  • Pepper-vinegar (a Mason jar of cider vinegar steeped with chillies) at the table

Method

  1. Wash the collard leaves thoroughly in several changes of cold water; they hold a lot of grit.
  2. Heat the bacon fat in a very large heavy pot. Soften the onion over medium heat for 8 minutes.
  3. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the ham hock and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and cook 45 minutes to infuse the broth.
  4. Stir in the cider vinegar, brown sugar, hot sauce and red pepper flakes.
  5. Add the collard greens in batches, pushing them down into the broth and waiting for each batch to wilt before adding more.
  6. Once all the greens are in, partially cover and simmer 60 to 90 minutes over low heat, until the greens are completely tender and dark.
  7. Lift the ham hock out, strip the meat off, shred and return to the pot. Discard skin and bones.
  8. Taste the pot liquor (the cooking liquid); season with salt and black pepper. The liquor should taste smoky and slightly sharp.
  9. Serve in wide bowls with plenty of pot liquor and cornbread for dunking. Set the pepper-vinegar on the table for each diner to splash on.

Tip from the editors. Pot liquor is half the dish; do not drain the greens. Smoked turkey wing is the canonical alternative to ham hock for the version at Busy Bee.

Where to eat collard greens

Collard greens in Atlanta

Busy Bee Cafe ★ 4.7

$$ Soul FoodDowntown

Busy Bee Cafe in Atlanta opened 1947 on MLK Drive and won the James Beard America's Classics Award in 2022 for its decades of soul food service near the AUC.

OrderFried chicken with two sides; the oxtails on lunch special when available.

TipCash and card. Lunch and early dinner only Tuesday to Sunday; line forms before noon weekends.

Directions Book

Paschal's ★ 4.7

$$ Soul FoodDowntown

Paschal's in Atlanta has served soul food since 1947, when brothers Robert and James Paschal opened on Hunter Street. Located in Downtown. Priced at $$.

OrderFried chicken plate with collard greens, mac and cheese, candied yams.

TipThe current Castleberry Hill location since 2002 expanded with a banquet space; the original Hunter Street site is preserved at Clark Atlanta.

Directions Book

Mary Mac's Tea Room ★ 4.6

$$ SouthernMidtown

Mary Mac's Tea Room in Atlanta opened 1945 and runs Southern Sunday dinner classics in a four-dining-room compound on Ponce de Leon, with the same recipes.

OrderPot likker with a side of cornbread, then fried chicken with three sides.

TipOrder the pot likker as a starter; it comes free with cornbread. No reservations Monday through Thursday lunch; OpenTable for dinner and weekends.

Directions Book

This Is It Southern Kitchen and BBQ ★ 4.2

$ Street foodWest End

This Is It Southern Kitchen in Cascade and West End, Atlanta runs takeaway-counter soul food: fried chicken, ribs, wings and Southern sides since 1985.

TryWings and ribs

TipDrive-through and walk-up. The whole wings with a side of mac are the move. Multiple locations across Atlanta.

Directions

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