Greens

Mustard, Turnip, Collard, Kale or Any Kind of Greens

These mustard greens are so easy to grow. They volunteered from last year’s crop that were loaded with millions of tiny seeds. The seeds self-sowed outside the garden beds and I left them alone to grow this fall. They were not taken care of but still made abundant leaves that I gave away and still left a lot for us. I cooked a big pot of them and canned them for later use.

There are many ways to cook greens. Some use bacon bits, some use ham hocks or leftover ham pieces and some even use link sausages. In this particular one I used pieces of bacon and leftover ham rind that I froze for this use.

I don’t know how much fresh mustard greens I cooked but I made five pints of cooked greens that I processed to can.

Wash the greens in a sink full of water. Drain and change the water. Cut up the leaves and discard the tough stems.

Ingredients:

1 lb. (16 oz.) pkg. greens (mustard, turnip, collards, etc.)
1/2 cup cubed salt pork, bacon pieces or 1 cup ham pieces or combination of bacon and cooked ham rind
2 cloves garlic minced
1 small onion minced
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1 TBS. vinegar
1 tsp. sugar (optional)
1 packet or 1 cube Ham bouillon (optional)

Cut up the salt pork or bacon pieces in small cubes that will make about 1/2 cup. Put in a large skillet or a large pot to accommodate the greens, add 1/4 cup water and cook until the water is evaporated and the fat is rendered. Continue stirring and cooking until the fat is rendered.

Then add 2 to 3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced and 1 small onion, diced or minced. Sauté until the onions are soft. Add another 1/2 cup water, add salt (to taste), 1 tsp. sugar and 1 TBS. vinegar. Cover and let it simmer for a few minutes (about 3).

Add the mustard greens a layer at a time and continue adding as they wilt and the volume goes down. Stir occasionally to make the bottom get to top as you go. Heat to boiling and simmer for another 20 minutes or until desired tenderness.

If using smoked pork hocks, boil and simmer the hocks submerged in a pot of water. Simmer until the hocks are very tender, about 1 hour or more. Remove from the pot and debone, reserving the liquid in the pot. Cut up or shred the hocks.

Saute the garlic and onion in 1 TBS. oil in a large pot or dutch oven. Add 1/2 cup of the pork hock’s liquid and the cut up pork hocks. Boil, then add the greens as above and when the greens are wilted, add salt to taste, 1 tsp. sugar and 1 TBS. vinegar. Simmer covered until the greens are done.

If using ham pieces, proceed with the sauteing of the garlic and onions, then add the ham pieces when the onions are soft and continue to stir. Then proceed as above.

Use the same procedure when cooking turnip greens, collard greens, kale or any greens.

The photo above is mixed mustard greens and kale, cooked with the leftover skin from a whole baked ham. It was so delicious. This will go good with cornbread.