Collard Greens with Smoked Pork and Pot Likker
Collard greens melted down for an hour in smoked pork broth, slightly bitter and deeply savory. Served with their cooking juice, the pot likker, sopped up with cornbread.
Collard greens melted down for an hour in smoked pork broth, slightly bitter and deeply savory. Served with their cooking juice, the pot likker, sopped up with cornbread.
Back home in Ohio, my mother would make the pot sing all afternoon. You'd take the leaves one by one, strip out the thick rib, roll them up and cut them into ribbons — patiently, never in a hurry. The piece of smoked pork gave its smoke and sweetness to all the water, and that juice, that pot likker, was never thrown away: you dipped your cornbread in it, because we had learned, from the South, that no goodness from the pot should be lost.
- •Collard greens — one large bunch (main vegetable)
- •Smoked pork hock or fatback — one piece (flavor meat)
- •Onion — one (aromatic)
- •Apple cider vinegar — a splash (acidity)
- •Salt, pepper, pinch of sugar — to taste (seasoning)
Collard Greens with Smoked Pork and Pot Likker
Collard greens melted down for an hour in smoked pork broth, slightly bitter and deeply savory. Served with their cooking juice, the pot likker, sopped up with cornbread.
Why this dish? Toni Morrison's parents, George Wofford (Georgia) and Ramah Willis (Alabama), brought Southern cooking to Lorain. Long-simmered greens were the economical, nourishing heart of the working-class family table, the dish that perfumed the whole house.
Back home in Ohio, my mother would make the pot sing all afternoon. You'd take the leaves one by one, strip out the thick rib, roll them up and cut them into ribbons — patiently, never in a hurry. The piece of smoked pork gave its smoke and sweetness to all the water, and that juice, that pot likker, was never thrown away: you dipped your cornbread in it, because we had learned, from the South, that no goodness from the pot should be lost.
Ingredients (period version)
- Collard greens — one large bunch (main vegetable)
- Smoked pork hock or fatback — one piece (flavor meat)
- Onion — one (aromatic)
- Apple cider vinegar — a splash (acidity)
- Salt, pepper, pinch of sugar — to taste (seasoning)
Ingredients
- Collard greens (or kale if unavailable) — 800 g (main vegetable)
- Smoked pork hock or smoked turkey leg — 300 g (flavor meat)
- Sliced onion — 1 large (aromatic)
- Garlic — 2 cloves (aromatic)
- Apple cider vinegar — 1 tbsp (acidity)
- Broth or water — 1 liter (cooking liquid)
- Salt, pepper, 1 pinch sugar, red pepper flakes — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Sauté onion and garlic, add smoked meat and broth, bring to a simmer for 30 minutes to make a flavorful base.
- Wash leaves thoroughly, remove thick ribs, roll and slice into ribbons.
- Add leaves to the pot, cover, and simmer gently 45 minutes to 1 hour until tender.
- Shred meat from the hock and return to the greens, season, add vinegar.
- Serve juicy, with pot likker in the plate.
How it was made : Born in the slave kitchens of the South, the dish made the most of a cheap cut of pork and sturdy greens. The broth (pot likker) was drunk for its vitamins — a survival knowledge that became a treasured taste passed down through generations during the Great Migration northward.
The contemporary twist : Serve the pot likker separately in a small cup, like a smoky consommé to sip before a bite of cornbread.
Sources : Adrian Miller, Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time (2013) · Jessica B. Harris, High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America (2011)
Toni Morrison · Charactorium