Pork Neck Bones and Collards

Pork neck bones and collards is a very old, southern U.S.  recipe.  It probably originated as a slave food.   Slave owners used to give leftover food to their slaves who came up with ingenious ways of preparing it. During Reconstruction,  most everyone in the south learned to prepare and love the foods that were formerly fed to slaves.

Collards are an edible green in the same family as broccoli and cabbage. Their leaves are kind of leathery and tough until cooked and they have a different taste than other edible greens like turnip or spinach.

Pork neck bones are pretty cheap in the grocery store.  You’ll need about 2 pounds of those and about one good “mess” of collards. A “Mess” translates to how ever much will serve the number of people you are cooking for. So if you are cooking for 4 people, you might need about 12-15 large leaves of collards.

First, heat your oven to 425*F. Place the neck bones on a big roasting pan, the kind that comes with most ovens, you’ll need to bottom, not the slotted top rack.  Sprinkle the bones with salt and black pepper. Place in the oven and let brown, turning over once during cooking. It will take about 20 minutes or so.  You can slice an onion and add it to the browning meat if you like.

While the meat is cooking, wash the collards. They usually have sand and dirt on them. Place the collards in a big bowl of water and let them  sit for a few minutes, swish them around now and then. Drain, then do it again.

 
Now tear the leaves of the collards off the big, fleshy stems. You can leave some stems, just not the really big, tough ones.  Then tear the leaves in smaller pieces. It won’t hurt to wash them one more time. Set them aside til the meat is done.

Once the meat is brown, it doesn’t have to be done all the way, take it out of the oven and put it in a big, heavy pot. Cover with water. Add the collards and a sliced onion if you didn’t put on in the roasting pan. Add some salt and pepper. You can add some red pepper flakes if desired.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and allow to simmer til the collards are tender. This will take about anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half. You want to make sure the pork is tender and falling off the bones.  The time depends on the temperature, the age of the collards and how hungry you are.

You can add water as needed if it boils away.

Serve pork neck bones with a baked sweet potato slathered in butter, southern corn bread and a big glass of sweet tea.