Collard greens with bacon

This is by no means anything original from me, If you search "collard greens with bacon" you're going to find this same recipe on many sites, and a lot of others that that are very close.  I think it's probably pretty "authentic", other styles use ham hocks or smoked turkey legs or wings.  I'm certainly no authority on southern cooking.  But those guys know what they're doing, this recipe is one of the best things ever.

Notes:

When I was growing up, my uncle would call all the little kids what I thought was "pot licker", as a funny thing to say all the time.  I have no idea why, probably something that came from an older relative of his when he was a kid.  Anyway, it wasn't until I was well into adulthood that I finally understood the term is really "pot liquor" or sometimes potlikker)". and it didn't have anything to do with licking pots.

The recipe calls for some sugar, not enough that I stress about it, but if you want to leave it out or cut the amount down it would probably still be great.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. collard greens.

• 1/2 lb. bacon, sliced crosswise into small (1/4 to 1/2 inch or so) pieces.

• 1 small or medium onion, finely chopped

• 2 big, or 5-6 small cloves garlic, minced.

• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

• 1 cup chicken broth (I often use Knorr bouillon+ water and it’s fine.)

• Kosher Salt to taste. (1 tsp?)

• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

• 2 tbsp sugar (see note above)

• Several dashes hot sauce to taste (I often use really hot sauce of course, or if I'm making this for normal people I also usually have Cholula on hand. Use whatever you like and adjust for the spice level you like.)

• Lately I’ve been also adding crushed red pepper flakes to taste (maybe 2 tsp or so for a subtle heat, more if you want more spice) in addition to, or in place of the hot sauce.

Directions:

• Wash/prepare the greens

Remove the stems, and cut the collard greens into roughly 1/2" ribbons.  Wash them well, fill a sink water, swirl the greens in there scrub any that are necessary and the dirt will fall to the bottom of the sink.  Do this 2-3 times to be sure they're clean.  I usually cut them up first and then wash them, maybe it would be easier to wash the big leaves and then cut them after?  Set aside while dealing with the rest.

• Prep the rest.

Chop up your bacon, onion, mince or press your garlic, and gather the rest of your ingredients.

• Put it together.

Fry the bacon in a large pot that will eventually hold everything until almost crispy over med to med-high heat.  (the greens cook down a lot, but to start with you need a large pot to hold them all.)  Some recipes tell you to drain most of the bacon fat or some such nonsense.  I don't.

Add the onions, and cook for a couple minutes until they're softened.  Add garlic, sugar, salt, black pepper, and hot sauce/pepper flakes.   Cook for another minute or two, stir constantly, don’t burn the garlic!

Add the vinegar, and reduce by about half, for maybe 2 or 3 minutes.

Stir in the greens and chicken broth, cover, reduce heat, and simmer until greens wilt down and become somewhat tender, stirring occasionally. You might have to put in part of the greens and cook them down for just a couple minutes in order to fit them all. Once they've wilted for a bit you'll be able to stir and combine everything easier.

I like them cooked on the longer side myself, some recipes say 2 hours and 45 minutes, some much less and in my opinion not enough.  I simmer mine covered, stirring occasionally for at least an hour and that seems like plenty, but they can go longer if you want.  Just taste them and see if they're done! They're are really hearty and don’t easily get overcooked.

Spoon some of the pot liquor spooned over top of the greens and serve.