Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Collard Greens

My row of collard greens was ready for picking this weekend, so I made one of my favorite dishes: slow-cooked collard greens.

Here are the ingredients:

1 smoked turkey leg

3-4 large bunches of collard greens

Maybe 3 quarts of water (?)

I package of Wiley's "Healthy Southern Classics" Greens Seasoning

1 tablespoon of Penzey's Cajun Seasoning

Lots of cracked black pepper

Kosher salt to taste

Dashes of Louisiana hot sauce

I picked up some "greens seasoning" at a store a while back, and I thought I'd give it a whirl.

I started by putting the turkey leg in, covering it with the water, and simmering it for about an hour. Then I chopped my collard greens (make sure you cut out the stems) in one to one and a half inch ribbons, dropped them into the pot, and added a bit of water and the greens seasoning.

After about an hour of simmering, I check the potlikker, and it was okay. My skepticism about the store-bought seasoning was realized. To compensate, I dropped in some cajun seasoning, salt, pepper, and hot sauce.

After about another hour, I cut the heat, served the greens, and enjoyed them. Next time, I'll just go back to using basic seasoning (Cajun seasoning, kosher salt, pepper, hot sauce) and maybe add some smoked paprika. I'm wary of greens seasoning with ingredients I have a hard time pronouncing or spelling. Also, "Uncle Wiley's Company" is based in Fairfield, Connecticut--not exactly ground zero for collard greens.