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Friday, July 19, 2013

Fresh Greens with Smoked Pork

Finally, our local farm market is open!


Ambrose Farm Market has the best fresh veggies at great prices.  Their butter and sugar corn is the best by far.  No more store bought produce for a few months and we are looking forward to the treat.

Last year, I passed on fresh greens, thinking that I would get them the following week.  Big mistake.  I did not make that mistake this year.  So, I give you Fresh Greens with Smoked Pork.

The green of choice this week was fresh kale.  I rinsed, then trimmed to remove the leafy part from the tough stalks.  Then, I made a coarse chop and rinsed again.






I ended up with about 8-10 cups of chopped kale from this one bunch.  Just enough for the recipe I found.  Here is the recipe that I used: Southern Style Collard Greens - SimplyRecipes.com

I used a collard recipe because I was looking for that great flavor that I love in cooked collards.  I did make a few changes.  Remember those flaps from the spare ribs I trimmed?  Well, I seasoned them with granulated onion and garlic, salt and pepper, smoked until done, and froze just for this occasion.  I pulled them from the freezer and thawed for this pot of leafy goodness.  This was a substitute for the salt pork in the recipe.


Sauteed my sweet onion.  I substituted 2 Tbsp of olive oil instead of the lard or bacon fat.


Added fresh garlic, seasonings, my pork, and chicken broth and brought to a boil, then simmered for 1 hour.  I only used 1 cup of water.


Then, I added the kale, brought back to a simmer, and cooked for 30 minutes.



Then, I pulled the pork out and separated from the cartilage and dumped it back in the pot, along with 3 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar.


When I served, I put on a few splashes of hot sauce.

How was it?  Perfect.  Just like I remember how my southern friends made them.  Tart and spicy, with a great fresh green taste.  The smoked pork added a nice flavor component to the mix.  Hopefully, Ambrose will have some collards next week...

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

2 comments:

  1. I will make this next time I grow some kale. Kale is easy to grow around here.
    Farmers markets are great. We are spoiled with year round markets.

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  2. Well, we have "year round' markets. But, in the off season, it is now better than going to the grocery store. I imagine yours are fresh and local all year round.

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