Chef Trevor Stockton’s tried-and-true collard recipe is worth the two hours you’ll spend making it.
![Collard greens from the RT Lodge restaurant. I received the recipe for that dish.](https://www.insidehook.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/rt-lodge-collard-greens-recipe.jpg?fit=1500%2C1000)
RT Lodge’s collard greens capture the spirit of the Smokies.
consumed frequently January 1 Due to their resemblance to America’s green currency, collard greens are slow-cooked with smoked turkey, pork neck bones, or other types of meat to make a flavorful pot licker to bring good luck in the new year. is often made. Easy meals and salty side dishes. Collards, a member of the cruciferous family that includes other nutritious vegetables such as kale and broccoli, are often cooked for hours, with the common belief that the longer they cook, the better they taste.
trevor stockton He grew up eating vegetables harvested from the garden of his grandparents’ 180-acre farm in Jackson County, middle Tennessee, and now works as an executive chef at a restaurant. RT Lodge Restaurants He co-signed the logic on the campus of Maryville University, about 20 miles south of Knoxville.
“With collards, we found that if you really focused on the process, the end product was much better,” Stockton tells InsideHook. “You can give all the same ingredients to 10 different people, but it’s the process of cooking them that will give you the best final product. Collards are a great example of getting a specific flavor out of something.”
One technique Stockton employs to maximize the flavor of vegetables is to simmer them with the following ingredients: hickory smoked benton bacon before adding ingredients like caramelized onions, freshly sliced garlic, tomatoes, pepper, and white vinegar to the mix.
Collard greens taste better when made in cast iron.
RT Lodge
“Bacon is very smoky, but collard greens have a very earthy flavor, so it’s one of the few things that can stand up to that flavor,” he says. “One of the reasons I use bacon instead of ham is because you can start without any oil or butter. Once you have enough fat and it’s rendered, you’ll have some bacon fat in the pan and add the onions. Collards can handle all of that smoke.”
Thanks to Stockton’s informed ingredient choices and thoughtful cooking process, his collards avoid the bitterness sometimes present in hearty vegetables like turnips and mustard greens.
“When you eat beets raw, they taste like earth,” he says. “But roasting for four hours brings out the natural sugars and sweetness, which are two completely different things. When you cook collard greens correctly, the balance of flavors is really perfect. Otherwise, they… It can be very bitter and overpowering. I’ve never had collard greens anywhere else that uses tomatoes, but the tomatoes really help balance out the acidity and sweetness.”
In addition to Benton’s use of bacon and tomatoes, Stockton’s third tip for making good vegetables involves the collards themselves.
“If you get fresh collards from a local farm, you’ll get a better end product,” he says. “You can make any collard tastier by adding a variety of things to it, but the higher quality vegetables you start with, the better the product you’ll end up with. The fresher they are, the more tender they will be.” It’s not as chewy or fibrous as the one that’s been left out for two weeks.”
Whether you’re already a fan or want to give collard greens another try, check out Stockton’s recipe.
RT Lodge Collard Greens
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours
total time: 2 hours 15 minutes
material
- 4 bunches fresh collards (remove thick ribs, wash, and cut into 1-inch by 2-3-inch pieces; it doesn’t have to be exact, but make sure the pieces aren’t too large).
- 1/2 pound bacon, preferably benton bacon (cut into small lardons about 1/4 inch x 1/4 inch x 1 inch)
- 2 yellow onions (peeled and cut into strips)
- 1 fresh garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 pound can diced tomatoes or 1 pound fresh diced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon crushed red chili pepper
- 2 tbsp.salt
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 2 cups white vinegar
direction
Heat a heavy-bottomed stock pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Add the bacon and fry until almost crisp.
Add onion, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper. Cook until onions begin to brown.
Add the sliced garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and stir until the tomatoes start to stick to the bottom of the pan.
Add collard greens, vinegar, and enough water to cover.
Simmer for another 2 hours on medium-low heat.
After 2 hours, check the progress and serve or continue cooking a little longer. The final product should be moist, but not swimming in liquid.
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