Photograph by Eric Wolfinger and Demetrius Smith

Serves: 6 to eight 

Prep time: half-hour

Complete time: 3 hours

INGREDIENTS

12 quarts|11 liters water 

2 smoked ham hocks

1 cup|160 grams chicken bouillon powder

2 banana peppers 

½ cup|80 grams finely chopped yellow onion 

12 garlic cloves

10 bunches collard greens, or 5 (32-ounce|907-gram) baggage pre-cut collard greens

1 tablespoon seasoning salt, or as wanted 

1 tablespoon red pepper flakes, or as wanted 

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS

1. In a big stockpot over excessive warmth, mix the water, ham hocks, bouillon powder, banana peppers, onion, and garlic and convey to a rolling boil. Flip the warmth to a low boil, cowl, and cook dinner till the ham hocks are absolutely tender, about 2 hours. 
2. In the meantime, if utilizing bunches of collard greens, strip the leaves from their stems and discard the stems. Working in batches, stack a number of of the leaves on a chopping board. Seize one fringe of the stack, roll it up tightly, after which minimize the roll crosswise at 1-inch intervals. You must find yourself with considerably lengthy, 1-inch-wide slices. Repeat till all the greens are sliced. Skip this step if utilizing precut greens. 
3. Fill a big pot or bowl or your sink with water and submerge the greens within the water. Elevate the greens from the water, discard the water, after which submerge the greens in two extra modifications of fresh water. Put aside. 
4. As soon as the ham hocks are tender, add the seasoning salt, then style for seasoning and modify if wanted. Add the greens and high with the crimson pepper flakes and vegetable oil. Simmer till the greens are tender however not overcooked, about 45 minutes.
5. When the greens are prepared, pull the ham hocks from the pot, minimize or break off the meat, return the meat to the pot, and discard the bones. 
6. Serve the greens, sizzling, with a few of the meat and broth. (Leftover collards will hold in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 5 days. Watch out to not overcook the greens or scale back the liquid when reheating.)

Reprinted with permission from “Bludso’s BBQ Cookbook: A Family Affair in Smoke and Soul.” Copyright © 2022 by Kevin Bludso. Images Copyright © 2022 by Eric Wolfinger. Revealed by Ten Velocity Press, an imprint of Penguin Random Home.

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