Cooking Greens The Southern Way

What you will need:

Your Choice of Fresh Greens:

• collard greens
• mustard greens
• turnip greens plus roots
• cabbage *see cooking cabbage note below*

 Your Choice of Salt Pork:
(I use fat back for cooking with greens in the water and bacon fried in pan to finish the cooking process.)

• fat back 
• pepper bacon
• streak of lean
• slab bacon
• bacon

Instructions:

1. Use a deep pot to cook in.  I use a 6 quart deep dutch oven.
2. Put water in pot  (about 1/4 of your pot)  Place Salt Pork/Fat Back 3-4 slices or thick cut slabs.
3. Cover with lid
4. Bring water to boil; turn down to medium high to medium, cover with lid.
5. Cook for 15 to 30 minutes while you are preparing your greens.

• Wash your greens thoroughly in 3 sinks fulls of water.  Tip if they are fresh out of the field pour a little salt into the first sink of water and let them sit for awhile. This will bring bugs to the top and stun them for easier washing. Drain them

• Roll greens and cut through crosswise to make littler pieces for easier cooking and eating later.
• Put your chopped/sliced greens into the hot water, a little at a time.  Your pot should be cooking pretty hard so turn up your burner if it is not (but not to boiling hard).  The greens will cook down quickly.  When they do keep adding until you have all of your greens that you can possibly fit into the pot.
• Turn down to medium place lid.  Check often take a large fork and turn the bottom greens over to the top. Stir often.
• Cook until dinner fork tender.  Not too hard and not too mushy.  You still have another step to finish them up and you don't want them too mushy...but tender.

While your greens are cooking in water fry some of the bacon in a large frying pan...you decide how many pieces.  You will only want to cover the bottom slightly so drain the excess bacon fat out of large frying pan.  Now you can eat the bacon like it is or leave in pot to cook with greens.

Options now:  You can serve as is or continue on as we do here in the South.  Some people put dumplings in pot this at this point... I don't...

• Drain your greens when tender.  Save some of your water/pot liquor (likker) for use later.

• Place your drained greens in the large frying pan with bacon/drippings.
• Cover pan and cook.  Stirring to prevent sticking and burning.
• You may have to add a little of your water/pot liquor if your greens are too dry.  You decide.
• When excess liquid has cooked out and greens have been heated in the drippings...maybe even browning a little...You're done! 

Turnip Green Tips:

• Cook your greens as directed above in the water for  10-15 minutes
• Add your cubed turnip roots in the pot
• Cook longer until all are tender/ greens and roots

 Proceed with the next step as directed above in frying pan.

Mustard Green Tips:

• Mustard Greens cook down a lot so you will need a little more of them than you would normally have say in collard greens.
• They take a little longer to become tender.
• They can but not always be a little bitter.  My Great Grandmother used to add a pinch of sugar to prevent too much bitterness.

Cooking Cabbage 

*cabbage doesn't take as long as the rest of the greens, you simply need to cook your bacon or salt pork in frying pan.  drain excess grease, slice cabbage after washing, place in covered pan and cook until tender 15 - 10 minutes*

 You can use a little olive oil if you'd rather and are cutting animal fats...