Collard Greens & Cabbage with Smoke Neck Bones
Serves 8 to 10
3 pieces smoked pork neck bone (or smoked turkey wings)
1 small bunch collard greens, picked over (remove any dead leaves), destemmed, and cut into 2 or 3 pieces
1 large sweet onion, diced
1 small cabbage, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
Fill a large pot half full of water, add the smoked neck bones, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 25 to 30 minutes, then drain off the water and return the meat to the pot, along with 3 cups hot water, and bring to a boil again. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes.
While the meat is cooking, wash the collard leaves several times in warm water, and drain in a colander.
When the meat is almost tender, add the collards and the onion. Season with salt and pepper, decrease the heat to medium, cover, and simmer, stirring on occasion, for 1 hour. Next add the cabbage and more water if needed, and cook for 30 to 45 minutes, until the cabbage is as tender as you like it.
Keep warm over low heat until ready to serve. Serve with the cooking liquid, or potlikker.
From Sallie Ann Robinson’s Kitchen: Food and Family Lore from the Lowcountry by Sallie Ann Robinson. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, September 2019. Reprinted with permission.
Photo by Deborah Whitlaw Llewellyn