The Secret Ingredient for the Best Smoky Collard Greens—and No, It's Not Bacon!

In this rendition of braised collard greens, we replace bacon with another deeply savory ingredient: smoked turkey.

By
Niki Achitoff-Gray
Niki Achitoff-Gray
Niki Achitoff-Gray
Niki Achitoff-Gray is the former editor-in-chief at Serious Eats and a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She's pretty big into oysters, offal, and most edible things.
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Published November 11, 2024
Braised collard greens with smoked turkey.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Why It Works

  • Smoked turkey provides a similar meaty, savory quality as the bacon commonly included in braised collards.
  • The addition of butter adds the rich, mouth-coating quality that pork belly typically provides.

Smoked turkey may not be as fatty or rich as bacon, but it does share that trademark campfire flavor, which is why we thought it would be the perfect partner for an otherwise traditional bowl of braised collard greens. 

If you're feeling especially ambitious, you can braise the greens in a homemade smoked turkey stock; otherwise, store-bought chicken stock (or even water) will do just fine. It's a low-maintenance dish that's almost impossible to mess up. This rendition also happens to be nice and garlicky, spiced up with red chile flakes, and finished with a bite of acidity from cider vinegar and lemon juice. And, since the turkey's pretty lean, we opted to finish it off with some butter to give the pleasantly bitter, tender greens the rich, mouth-coating quality that pork belly typically provides.

Have more smoked turkey leftovers? Try these barbecue smoked turkey sandwiches or red beans and rice with smoked turkey. 

November 2014

Recipe Details

The Secret Ingredient for the Best Smoky Collard Greens—and No, It's Not Bacon!

Prep 5 mins
Cook 35 mins
Total 40 mins
Serves 2 to 4 servings
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

  • 1 large bunch collard greens (1 1/2 to 2 pounds)

  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) extra-virgin olive oil

  • 5 medium cloves garlic (25g), thinly sliced

  • 1 cup smoked turkey stock (see notes)

  • 2 teaspoons cider vinegar

  • 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, plus more to taste; for table salt, use half as much by volume

  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

  • 1 pinch red pepper flakes

  • 3 ounces (85g) smoked turkey, preferably dark meat, shredded or chopped into bite-size pieces

  • 1 tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter

  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice

Directions

  1. Remove the ribs from collards and rinse leaves thoroughly. Line up leaves and roll them lengthwise like a cigar. Slice them into 1-inch ribbons.

  2. In a deep pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant but not browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Add collards in large handfuls, stirring until each addition is wilted before adding the next. Add stock, cider vinegar, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer, cover pot, and reduce heat to low. Simmer collards until tender, about 30 minutes.

  3. Remove lid and raise heat to medium-high. Add smoked turkey and butter, stirring until the butter is fully melted and the turkey is heated through. Remove from heat, add lemon juice, season to taste with salt and pepper, toss well, and serve.

Notes

To make smoked turkey stock, add one pound of bones from a smoked turkey carcass to a large pot. Add a roughly chopped onion, carrot, and celery stalk, along with two bay leaves. Cover with water and simmer for two hours. Strain and discard solids. Homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock can be used in place of the smoked turkey stock.

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
187Calories
9gFat
19gCarbs
11gProtein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 2 to 4
Amount per serving
Calories187
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 9g12%
Saturated Fat 3g13%
Cholesterol 21mg7%
Sodium 557mg24%
Total Carbohydrate 19g7%
Dietary Fiber 9g33%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 11g
Vitamin C 46mg229%
Calcium 339mg26%
Iron 3mg18%
Potassium 437mg9%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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