Skillet Braised Collard Greens

Growing up a Southern girl, collard greens have always just been a way of life for me.  I remember when I was little watching my grandma fry up fatback and the cook down the greens until they were perfectly seasoned. Personally, I had never really done much collard green cooking and figured I’d learn how to make them at some point. The my hubby decided that they are his favorite veggie and I decided that I better figure out how to make them quickly. With some of my grandma’s best secrets, a few tips from my mom and a little creativity on my own, I’ve upped the ante and am so excited to share my recipe for Skillet Braised Collard Greens.

While I’ll fully admit that collard greens used to be a totally Southern thing, they are huge everywhere right now! When I travel I’m often surprised to see them on the menu at fancy restaurants but I guess everyone has discovered what us Southerners have always know….that collard greens are SO good! So let’s make them.

While I know you can make collard greens a number of ways, my Southern upbringing won’t let me go any way but Skillet Braised Collard Greens. My trusty skillet that was handed down from family has been seasoned over time and is the perfect vessel to hold this tasty dish. So, to start my dish I cut my bacon into small pieces and add them to my cast iron skillet.

I cooked my bacon in the skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes, just long enough to begin the cooking process without turning the bacon crisp. When my bacon was cooked, I added in my onions and garlic (without removing the grease) and continued to cook my mixture for an addition 2-3 minutes, until my onions began to look translucent.

Once my onions were translucent, I poured in my apple cider vinegar and then immediately added my collar greens.  After seasoning them with salt and pepper, I mixed everything together to ensure my collard greens were covered with my bacon and vinegar mixture. I continued to stir the mixture, cooking it on the stove top for about 2-3 minutes.

I then removed my cast iron skillet from the stove top and used foil to tent the top of it (simply draped foil loosely over the skillet and tuck the sides in).

I placed the foil tented skillet into my preheated oven and cooked it on 375 degrees for 40 minutes. When my oven time went off, I removed my Skillet Braised Collard Greens from the oven, stirred them and seasoned them with a pinch of additional salt and they were ready to serve.

These Skillet Braised Collard Greens are flavorful and slightly tangy and totally delicious.

With every bite, my family gets the saltiness of bacon, the tang of vinegar and the one-of-a-kind taste of collard greens served up in a way that’s totally delicious.

Whether you’ve got Southern roots or simply want to try something new, trust me when I tell you that these Skillet Braised Collard Greens won’t disappoint!