I purchased these beauties at the Raleigh Farmers Market. If you've never made collards before, it's pretty easy to do. For those who have been making collards for years, skip this post, yours probably taste fantastic and you don't need to do anything different.
Start by washing your collards. They are usually really clean when you purchase them, I remember when my grandmother had to wash them several times with plenty of changes of water because they were so sandy. Even if they are clean give them a good rinse, if you are buying them already pre-chopped and bagged from the grocery store you can skip this and the next few steps.
Remove the stem and spine from each leaf.
Stack several leaves and roll tightly from the stem end
Slice the roll and you will get collard ribbons, it is quicker to just chop them but this is how I grew up eating them and I prefer them this way. I think they look pretty this way and have a better mouth feel and texture when eating.
Melt a couple of tablespoons of fat in a stock pot, I've used bacon grease, olive oil in a pinch and coconut oil. Here I'm using coconut oil, my grandmother used fat back, I have no problem with the idea, I've just never cooked with fat back before and am not sure how to go about it.
Slice a large onion and sauté until tender.
Place your collards on top of the onions and add your seasonings. This is one large bundle of greens, it filled 3/4 of the pot. Add sea salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and garlic powder. Include 4 cups of water. I do not like to add too much water, my grandmother used much more but I prefer for them to steam more than boil.
Once the water is boiling, place the lid on and lower the heat to medium, cook for 40 min until the greens are tender.
