collard greens???

[gypsyman]

Thanks everyone for the advice on the jalopeno peppers, will try frying them here in the next day or so. Question about collard greens. This is the first year I ever grew them, and just back from the garden, and their looking pretty good. And I went to the internet,you know, the one Al Gore invented, to find out how to harvest them. What I would like to know, do you pull the whole plant, or, what I'ld like to do, is cut a few leafs off each plant?? The outside leaf's have a few hole's in them from the white moth's, which I don't mind, or cut the inner leafs, which look a little greener and possibly more tender(?).
What I was thinking of trying, is cook them like wilted lettuce.Bacon and onion in a frying pan,cook down, add vinegar and sugar with the leafs. Cook until tender, eat. If it's like lettuce, you can start out with a half a bushel, and it'll cook down to nothing. Any suggestions welcomed.  gypsyman

[AtlLaw]

I've always seen the whole stalk cut.  Never heard of picking leaves...    Sounds like a lot of trouble for very little benefit since they do "cook down."

I cook 6 bunches every New Yyear's day and have run out the last 2 years.  I'ma going to 9 next year!   

Fried collards...    Sounds interesting!  Try it and let us know!   

[mcwoodduck]

Being a transplanted Yankee.
I will eat Collard greens but only with the sweet pepper relish made by the ladies of the wheat swamp church in La grange, NC.
and I once walked into my Grandmothers in Richmond, Va while she was cooking Collard greens.  Promptly took out the trash, then cleaned out the garbage disposal and kept opening cabnets and checking all over.  She asked what i was doing.  i said I was trying to get rid of the LOW tide smell from either the trash or the GD and something must still be in the house.
As she lifted the lid on the Collards I yelled BINGO and was trying to take the pot outside to throw it away before she explained that was normal and the smell will go away.  I set up an outdoor cooker for her and the collards.

[Possumcop]

Pick the green leaves and wash them. Cook in big pot with lid, cover with water, add pinch of sugar, salt and bacon drippings. Don’t forget the cornbread!!! Just folks from the south know these secrets HA!! I remember my grandmother making collard kraut and boy that stuff was good.

One Last Note: When cooking collards or chitlins the flies will line up on the screen door wanting out of the house.

[JBlk]

I generally pick the leaves from my collards as they are growing to have as a side dish for my supper.When it gets to be late fall I cut all of the leaves leaving the stock and  canning the leaves.The stock will continue to produce leaves right up to a hard frost.We generally plant plain and curly mustard and turnips also for greens.My buddy takes his greens and blanches them in a pot of boiling hot water heated on his turkey cooker and then plunges them in ice water.He then puts them in plastic bags and freezes them.The greens prepared in this manner remain bright green and are sure good when the snow is covering the ground.

[Possumcop]

Forgot one thing, they're better after they've had a heavy frost on them. That's what my grandmother always said.

[Graybeard]

My recommendation would be to feed them to the rabbits and then eat the rabbits. Some things ain't fit fer human consumption directly and I place any and all "greens" in that category. Best run them thru some rabbits and eat the meat and use the droppings to fertilize the garden.

[charles p]

The type of collard makes a difference.  I like what we call cabbage collards.  They are smaller and a lighter shade of green, with a little yellow and purple hue.  This will make a sweet collard rather than a bitter collard.  Wait for the frost.  Boil some cured pork meat for thirty minutes then introduce the collard leaves and buds and boil them until tender.  A pinch of sugar and a red pepper are optional.  Drain and reserve the juice.  Use a chopper or two knives to cut them up.  If too dry, add some juice.  Salt and black pepper to taste.  I like to chop the lean meat from my cooked out seasoning pork and add that into my chopped collards.

If you have a turkey fryer and can cook your collards outside, you house won't smell like collards all day.

When you see a white butterfly near your collard patch, start dusting the plants with Seven dust or you will soon have worms eating your collards.

[AtlLaw]

I dunno...    One of the few times I've disagreed with Bill'um... 

I  have never noticed anything offensive about the smell of collards cooking.  I mean we're not talking chitterlins here!  They smell bad cookin whether they be slung, unslung, or stump whipped!  But then I take some time preparing my greens.  I strip the leafs off the main vein, then wash them real good.  From there the go into a large pot, I use my pressure cooker, that has some boiling water and a lot of suitably tenderized (in said water) hog jowls.   

Damn I'm makin myself hungry!   Fortunately I got more beer... 

[charles p]

I usually cook collards once per year and freeze them.  Use two large pots at the same time.  Last year I cooked 50lbs of collards and 50lbs of turnip salad in two days.  My house smelled a bit.

[gypsyman]

Well, just to let everybody know how this turned out. I fried about 7-8 pieces of bacon down, didn't drain off the fat. Added some vinegar and sugar to the pan. Cleaned up the collard greens, and wilted them down. Kinda tough. So, had some collard greens left, put everything into a kettle, added a big ham hock, and ham, little bit of water, and let it cook down. We ate off that for 3 days.(At least I did, after 2 dinners and take some for lunch, my wife had enough) My greens are still looking good in the garden, so will have it again. gypsyman

[AtlLaw]

put everything into a kettle, added a big ham hock, and ham, little bit of water, and let it cook down.

Told ya!     Next time boil some smoked hog jowls until temder before you add the collards.   

[mcwoodduck]

Now why in the world would anyone want to ruin good smoked pork products with greens!
Bean or rice would be much better.
And if it is fiber or other that your after.
Apples have fiber and apple pie is a lot better than greens.

[greg916]

Gypsyman, you pretty much cooked the greens the way we do it. Sometimes we season with pigs feet instead of ham hocks or jowls. They are good like that, but I prefer to brown some side meat in a cast iron pan then take the cooked greens and fry them in the drippings just before serving.

[Oldshooter]

Now i can get into a big bait of collards or turnip or mustard greens! and a big hamhock cooked down to tender in greens or beans is good!

But feeding them to rabbits and eaten em is ok by me too!