Southern Collard Greens Recipe with Smoked Turkey
This is the best collard greens recipe with smoked turkey legs and a blend of savory spices. Simmered to perfection, these Southern style collard greens are tender, full of flavor, and sure to be on regular rotation for Sunday soul food supper.
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 537kcal
Ingredients
- 2 smoked turkey legs or smoked turkey wings or turkey necks
- ½ yellow onion finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon seasoned salt or as needed
- 2 chicken bouillon cubes
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoons Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt start with less and adjust to taste if using any other type of salt
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon granulated onion or onion powder
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 bunches of fresh collard greens trimmed, chopped, and washed
Instructions
- Place smoked turkey legs in a large pot over medium heat.
- Pour water over them, ensuring it's 2 inches above the turkey legs.
- Stir in chopped onion, seasoned salt, chicken bouillon, black pepper, kosher salt, granulated garlic, granulated onion, and red pepper flakes.
- Pour in Worcestershire sauce and apple cider vinegar.
- Bring to a boil, then simmer for 45 minutes until turkey legs are tender.
- While the broth simmers, cut and wash collard greens, ensuring they're clean.
- After turkey legs are tender, remove them from the broth.
- Optional: Shred turkey meat and return to the pot. Discard bones.
- Carefully add collard greens to the pot, ensuring they're submerged.
- Cover the pot and lower heat to medium-low.
- Simmer collard greens in the broth for about an hour until tender.
- Adjust seasoning if needed.
- Serve hot and enjoy!
Notes
- Pick Fresh Collard Greens: Choose collard greens that are a bright green color and have crisp leaves.
- Clean Them Well: Collard greens can be a little gritty, so wash them well under cold water. You can also soak them in a big bowl of water to loosen up any dirt, then rinse them again to make sure they’re clean.
- Take Off the Tough Stems: The stems of collard greens are thick and tough, so they’re not fun to eat. To remove them, fold each leaf in half and cut along the center to separate the leaves from the stem.
- Cut into Bite-Sized Pieces: To help them cook evenly, chop the collard greens into bite-sized pieces about 1 to 2 inches long.
- Season to Taste: Taste the broth before adding the collard greens and adjust the seasoning as you like. You can add more salt, pepper, or any other spices to make it taste just right.
- Cook Low and Slow: For the best flavor and texture, cook the collard greens slowly on low heat. This lets all the flavors mix and helps the greens get tender without turning mushy.
- Make Them Ahead: Leftover collard greens often taste even better the next day since the flavors have had more time to blend. You can make them ahead and just heat them up when you're ready to eat.
Nutrition
Calories: 537kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 70g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 241mg | Sodium: 3063mg | Potassium: 1223mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 4864IU | Vitamin C: 35mg | Calcium: 298mg | Iron: 7mg
