1 large onion (base)

1 smoked turkey leg or 2 wings per 2 lbs of collards. Turkey necks have too much fat for my taste but any smoked turkey bone-in will do.

1.5 additional onion per lb of collards. (1 lb of collards serves 5)

This recipe is based n 2lbs of collards.

3 large onions

1/2 head garlic or 5-6 cloves

2-3 tsp red pepper flakes (depending on spice level preference)

1/2 cup water or chicken broth (add 1/4 cup water more IF needed)

2 tbs apple cider vinegar

3 tbs seasoned salt

2 tbs accent

5 tbs olive oil

2 tbs garlic powder

4 tbs pepper

Instructions:

Chop onions and peel garlic leaving whole

Add LARGE pot to stove on medium heat.

Add oil to hot pot

add chopped veggies and 1/4 red pepper flakes to hot pot

mix until oil coats ingredients

cook on medium low for 1 hour until mostly dissolved

add smoked turkey whole and cover

allow moisture to build and the water from the ingredients to make a soup. Add broth or water in 1/4 cup increments if needed. do not over water.

let simmer for 30 minutes before adding any water

then add seasonings and 2/4 red paper flakes

spoon soup over turkey

Cover and let cook for 2.5 hours, stirring every 30 min and flipping the turkey about halfway

Cook turkey until tender to fork

While turkey is cooking prep your greens. Depending on what type of greens you have and how much stem you like you will need to clean and cut your greens differently. Traditional store-bought (and even farers marker greens Ive gotten) are cleaned prior to packaging and selling. To clean at home remove any wrapping and damaged greens. For ease of cutting later, separate by size layering the leaves largest on the bottom to smallest at the top. Transfer manageable bunches of 15-20 leaves to a large bowl and rinse them in the sink. Be as thorough as you need to after close inspection of the front AND back of each leaf.

After all your leaves are clean, it is time to cut.

In stacked, manageable bunches, line up the stems. With kitchen shears or scissors, cut the majority of the stems off to your liking. (if you don’t like any chunks in your greens this method is different: leave the stem on and use it to anchor and pull most of the spine out of the leaf.).

Next grip the edge of your layered bunch from the side and roll tightly like a burrito. Hold down Rolled bunch with one hand, FAR WAY FROM THE KNIFE, and use knife to cut 1 inch strips at a slight angle. Use veins in the leaves as guides.

Transfer strips to large bowl and set aside until turkey is tender. Discard any damaged or yellow strips.

When turkey is tender to a fork stab, add half of the greens. Coat the greens in the soup moving turkey around. Let sit for 1 minute. Add remaining greens and repeat process moving turkey to top of pile of greens.

Cover and cook on Medium low for 3-4 hours. Add remaining seasonings to taste halfway through cooking. Check color and broth, stirring every 30 minutes. Taste every hour for texture and flavor. Lastly add the acv, stirring slightly and turning the heat off. Greens age well and are really best 1-3 days after cooking. Freezing is good too, in an airtight container up to 3 months.

For color youre looking for deep forest green on the leaves.

Texture - tender veggie, onions have dissolved completely

Flavor - Mainly looking for the bitterness to be cut from greens and that theve taken on the flavor of the broth, the tang from acv to come through and the Spice to be layered with not too much heat up front.