The SO needs to avoid greasy foods before her upcoming colonoscopy. I’m still making ham hocks and black-eyed peas, which means more beans for me! But I need to make the greens without a ham hock, salt pork, bacon, or other greasy meat. Is it possible to make a mess o’ greens without fat?
OK, of course it is; but I’ve never made collard greens without pork. I could just boil them and add salt, but that doesn’t sound tasty. Any ideas?
I’ve cooked mustard greens with beer and red pepper flakes.
I wouldn’t just boil them plain. Yuck. At the very least, add some vinegar.
Butter is also verboten? :dubious:
How about olive oil, garlic?
Is there a reason you can’t use a flavorful, lean pork? Like a smoked pork chop or Canadian bacon. Or even the lean from a piece of slab bacon.
Liquid Smokeis your friend in such a situation. No, it’s not “chemicals”, it’s actual smoke made liquid. Swear to god. It will give you that satisfying smoked pork-y flavor without pork.
My vegan greens are shallots and garlic in a little olive oil (and really, only a little is needed) then the greens and some red pepper flakes, a splash of liquid smoke and a generous squeeze of lemon juice or drizzle of vinegar to finish. Salt and pepper if you need it, but you probably won’t. Yum. Now I want greens.
Here’s an interesting article that may be useful to you. 10 Ways To Add Bacon’s Smoky Flavor to Vegetarian, Vegan & Kosher Dishes | The Kitchn
Can you detail the preparation? I assume you sauté the shallots and garlic in the oil, and then toss in the greens?
I haven’t used liquid smoke. How much is a ‘splash’? (I saw Alton Brown make liquid smoke once.)
I used chicken thighs in collared greens on Christmas. I also add some caramelized onions. You don’t need smoke or pork.
Just put in a shake, then taste. You can also use Spanish paprika to impart smoke flavor (which is what I generally use. Liquid Smoke tends to taste “sooty” to me, for lack of better description.)
At any rate, I make my collards without pork all the time. I figure, I’m usually serving it with pork, why add more? I just use a bit of broth, onion, garlic, pepper flakes, salt, pepper, splash of vinegar. I don’t even bother with any type of smoke flavor, whether it’s via Liquid Smoke or smoked paprika.
You got it. A splash is…kinda like salt “to taste”. Of course, it’s going to depend on how many greens you’re cooking, but start with 2-3 drops and taste and add more if you want it. There’s an orifice reducer on the bottle to make it easier to control. It’s easy to go overboard, so start small; you can always add more, you can’t really recover well if you add too much.
Sautée the shallots (or onions) and garlic in the oil until soft but not burnt. Add the cleaned greens along with any water clinging to the leaves, give it a stir, cover it and put the heat to medium low. Go do some dishes or something, and come back in about 10 minutes and give it a stir. If it looks dry, add a few tablespoons of water. Some greens release enough liquid on their own to cook in, but some need a little added water. You want to keep it steamy in there.
Total cooking time depends on the kind of greens - harder greens take longer to get soft. Kale can take 45 minutes. Turnip greens are done in 10 minutes. Collards are somewhere in the middle. If it doesn’t look done, replace the lid and continue to let them steam. If it looks done, toss in 1/4-1/2tsp of red pepper flakes, depending again on how much green stuff you have and how much you like red pepper. Add a few drops of liquid smoke, stir and taste. Taste good? Then turn off the heat and add the juice of half a lemon, or a whole lemon if you like it. If I’m feeling particularly lemony, I may add some zest of the lemon, too.
Many people *boil *their greens in several cups of ham/pork stock. It’s probably easier for a novice, but I like the more concentrated flavor with this method, using just enough water to produce steam and a little potliquor (potliquor is the cooking liquid left behind, and it’s really yummy sopped up with biscuits or bread, or just slurped off the plate when Mom’s not looking!)
Same recipe makes awesome green beans, by the way. Even canned frenched green beans can be made edible this way!
Cooking with pork adds a lot more flavor to foods. Liquid Smoke has its place, but it doesn’t have the punch of pork. I get a ham steak, cut off most of the fat, dice it up, and use that for a lot of my pork flavored dishes. Or I get a smoked pork chop. There’s far less fat.
Smoked ham hocks have an incredible flavor, but around here at least, they are no bargain. The price per pound is just about the equivalent of a ham steak, the last time I checked. Ham hocks consist mostly of bone, skin, some fat, and a tiny bit of meat.
Incidentally, gravy separators are great.
Look for seasoned collard greens in a can.
You can use a smoked turkey leg.
Those are not actually as terrible as one might think. I often find them at the dollar store and nom to my heart’s content, as I’m the only rabid greens fan in the house. Aside from tomatoes, the only canned veggie I can really endorse.
I love the seasoned-in-the-can greens, too! I have half a dozen cans in the pantry.
Some kind of smoked turkey parts? Necks, wings, thighs, just for flavor?
I understand that, but if I’m eating collard greens with smoked/barbecued pork, I really prefer the contrast of fresh green flavor. I don’t need smokesmokesmoke porkporkpork in every dish on the table, especially the vegetable sides.
I’m very much familiar with using hocks and ham and smoked animal parts to infuse a smoky flavor and extra richness in foods. I just prefer my greens not to have that flavor. I want something light and vegetable-y tasting to go with my heavy smoked pork.
Yeah, I couldn’t figure out why I grew so tired of my traditional New Years Day menu. It was because everything tasted heavy and porky, from the peas to the greens.
I don’t do it that way anymore.
why can’t you just skim off the fat from the top of the pot?
ham hocks aren’t exactly going to dissolve into the mixture, so it’s easy enough to remove at the end.
