Whats to be Done With Them Ham Bones? Recipe: Braised Collard Greens with Country Ham

Making a country ham takes time. It is a labor of love and must be cherished. A whole country ham will yield many nights of porky deliciousness. Alas as with all things, the ham shall come to an end. All that will remain of the southern delicacy will be the bone, and whatever scrims of meat you were unable to extract. To cast the bone aside would be a dishonor to the pig, the craftsperson who cured the ham and all the culinary heritage which made the ham possible. The bone still has much love to give. You can forge a stunning dish with only some simple ingredients and all the flavor locked up inside the ham bone. Braised collard greens is the best example of such a dish.

If you are not the sort of person who has purchased an entire country ham and eaten it down to the bone, this is a great way to use any small quantity of country ham. Smoked ham hock is also a terrific stand-in for the country ham bone.

Braised Collard Greens With Country Ham

Mise en Place

50g lard or bacon fat

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 liters of good, unsalted chicken stock

the bone from a country ham or two smoked pork hocks

1000g Collard greens, coarsely chopped

2g red pepper flakes

salt to taste

vinegar to taste, like apple cider vinegar

Tools

Dutch oven

What to do:

Melt the lard or bacon fat over low heat. Sweat the onions and garlic in the fat until soft.

Add the stock, red pepper flakes and ham bones or hocks and bring to a simmer. Cook the ham bone for 30 minutes. The stock should have become incredibly flavorful from the bone. (You could just stop here, strain everything and be left with an amazing broth.) Add the collard greens and simmer for 2 hours, low and slow. Add some water to the pot if too much of the stock evaporates and the collards are not submerged.

After 2 hours, remove the ham bone or hocks and pick off any meat. Add the meat back to the pot and season the collard greens with salt and vinegar to your taste. The collards should be soft, savory and swimming in rich, thick liquid. This is called the potlikker and it is so amazing. Dunk cornbread or biscuits in this, or save some for later as an amazing broth.