In order to keep them true to their southern heritage, I followed a recipe that has you prepare them with ham hocks. Ok, y'all. I had never even seen a ham hock and I have to tell you - it freaked me out! This is what I saw when I opened the package:
YES! That is p-i-g hair on that thing. Hell, I didn't know what to do so I threw it in the pot anyway. I was freaked but not deterred. The ham hock had to simmer in 3 quarts of water for an hour, along with some salt and pepper. Once that time had passed, I added these:
I washed them really well because someone told me they are covered in grit, then I removed the thick stalk that runs down the center of each leaf. After that I chopped the leaves and then added them to the hairy ham hock water. Mmmmmm. Doesn't that sound good? Here is what the greens looked like after cooking for one hour:
A lot like spinach really. They were ok but I think they were a touch too salty. My fault because I forgot I was using a scaled down version of a recipe.
In addition to the greens, I also made biscuits today and let me tell you...they were unfreakingbelievably delicious. Best I have ever made in fact.
Let me tell you something. If you're going to make biscuits, do yourself a favor and get White Lily Self Rising Flour. It is by far the best flour to use for making biscuits and you will not regret buying it. Even if you have to order it online because you can't get it in your area, do it. They are amazing! I snuggled them close to one another in the pan which helped them rise a little. God, I can't wait for breakfast so I can have one with some butter and cherry preserves!
Okay, I'm calm now. I didn't take a picture of dinner because, frankly it was very unattractive. I sauteed some chicken, cooked a Paula Deen version of Mac and Cheese, and ate some of the collards. Not exactly what I was going for but it was ok. We'll have leftover mac and cheese tomorrow along with a turkey meatloaf I'm going to make.
Have you ever fixed greens? If so, how did you do it? Did you use a hairy ham hock, too? LOL I have to know!!!
13 comments:
Yeah...I don't know if I could have dealt with the hair.
I don't really eat all those greens either. I taste them when someone else cooks them, but I've never cooked them myself. And after seeing that hair, I'm not so sure I ever will. I don't know if I'll ever be able to look at another spoonful of greens the same way again. Blech!
Those biscuits do look fantastic. I use the White Lily Self-Rising flour too. We have biscuits nearly every morning and I never have any problems using this flour. It really is the best.
Until I got married I had never had any greens besides spinach either! I need your biscuit recipe, those look so good. Mine always come out bad. That ham hock was scary. I've gotten them with hair on it but usually not quite that much. LOL
Girl, the hair was scary. I just didn't know what to do about it!
You have biscuits almost every morning? Man, I bet your house smells awesome! I love the smell of fresh from the oven biscuits. So glad to see that you also use White Lily. It cannot be beat!
evie
Hey! I just used the recipe on the back of the white lily package. The key is the amount of milk you use. usually I just dump it all in but this time I slowly poured it in until the dough looked sticky which ended up being about a half a cup.
The recipe is 2 cups of white lily self rising flour, 1/4 cup shortening, 2/3 to 3/4 cup of milk or buttermilk.
Cut the shortening into the flour until the mixture starts to look crumbly. Then slowly add the milk, too much will make it too sticky to roll out, too little will make a dry biscuit.
For high biscuits, put them close together in the pan and then bake them at 500 degrees for 8 minutes.
Then die and go to heaven when you take a bite. LOL
On the ham hock, I'm relieved to know that you had one with hair on it too even if it wasn't as hairy as mine! LOL
I've never seen a hairy ham hock before! Ick! Here's what a toothless guy at the farmer's market in Nashville told me to do for greens:
Buy a mix of turnip and collard greens and a ham hock (unhairy!!).
Saute some onion and green pepper in a little oil in the bottom of a big pot. Like you said, clean the greens very well--soaking them in the sink usually makes the grit go to the bottom. Add the greens and ham hock to the pot--add water until covered. Bring to a boil, pop a lid on, set to simmer, and let cook for a couple hours.
I usually salt mine once they're on the plate. It's hard to get it right in the pot. And some people like them saltier than others. And the ham gives it a good flavor.
Best of luck!!
I do make biscuits nearly every morning because Chloe loves them. But I am WAY too lazy to make them like you do.
I dump 2 cups of flour in a bowl, pour in about a cup of milk and 1/4 cup of canola oil, mix 'em up and spoon those babies onto a pan. I cook them at 475 for about 10 minutes. Of course mine aren't nearly as pretty as yours but they work.
Dude you are a better person that me. After seeing that ham hock, I would have said screw it, I'm making something else. No way I would have used that hairy thing.
Jessie,
Any advice from a toothless dude has street cred. You know he knows was he's doing! I like that recipe and if I ever decide to make collards again, that's the one I'm going with.
Carri,
My mom used to make drop biscuits all the time, too. Rolling them out is exactly why I don't make them more often!
evie
Man, where did you get that Ham Hock? My first thought would have been do I put it in a pot of water, or do i shampoo and condition it first... I give you props for sticking with it!
Jeff,
I laughed out loud at the shampoo and condition comment. I was concerned when I saw it for sure and still get a little queasy when I think about it. The ham hock was Smithfield brand and I bought it at Lowes Foods. IF I ever do that again, I may try and find a local pork breeder for my ham hock supply or I will just try and use a hambone instead.
It has definitely put me off of fixing greens for a while! LOL
Evie, The combo of turnip and collard is really the way to go. Gives it an interesting flavor.
I cracked up at the shampoo and condition comment!! Definitely find someone local, farmer's market or elsewhere.
The boys and I got the flour when we went to the store today. We took everybody's advice on the White Lily Self-Rising Flour so I'm going to be attempting this again. I'll let you know how it goes!
Just use the recipe on the back and you'll be all good. Just be sure to add the milk in increments because it may take less than you think.
Can't wait to hear how they turn out!
Oh and I totally used Crisco for mine. If I can get my hands on some lard from the local breeder, I'm going to use that next time.
Post a Comment