Collard Greens and Pot Likker

Ingredients

• 1 (about 900 g) smoked ham hock, or smoked turkey leg, or bacon
• 2 litres water, or stock
• 1.2 kg collard greens, thick central stems stripped and discarded, leaves washed three times minimum, stacked, rolled, and sliced into ribbons
• 2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground; added at the end
• ¼ tsp cayenne, adjusted to taste at the end
• 2 tbsp cider vinegar, added in the last 15 minutes
• At the table
• to taste salt, taste before adding; smoked pork provides significant salt
• to taste cider vinegar or pepper vinegar, cruet of hot-pepper-steeped vinegar alongside

Method

1. 1
   Fill a sink with cold water. Submerge the collard leaves, agitate thoroughly, then lift them out — do not pour them out, which returns the grit to the leaves. Drain the sink, repeat twice more. After the final wash, hold a leaf to the light; if any particles are visible, wash again. Strip each leaf from its thick central stem by folding the leaf in half lengthwise and pulling the stem away. Stack the stripped leaves, roll them into a tight cylinder, and slice across into ribbons approximately 2 cm wide. Set aside.
2. 2
   Place the smoked ham hock in a large, heavy pot with the water or stock. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer uncovered for 30 to 60 minutes, giving the collagen time to begin dissolving and the smoke to infuse the liquid. The broth should be faintly cloudy and carry a clear smoke flavour.
3. 3
   Add the collard ribbons to the pot in batches if necessary, pressing them down as they wilt. When all the greens are submerged, set the lid on the pot and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer — the surface should shiver, not roll. This is where the dish lives or dies: the greens must braise low and slow for 2 to 3 hours. At 1 hour they are good; at 2 hours they are better; at 3 hours, with the hock falling from the bone and the pot likker thick with dissolved collagen, they reach the standard to which all others aspire. Do not rush this.
4. 4
   In the final 15 minutes, stir in the cider vinegar. Taste the pot likker and adjust with black pepper, cayenne, and salt — cautiously, as the smoked pork has already provided significant salt. The vinegar brightens the pot likker and cuts the richness of the pork fat; the pot likker should taste like the concentrated essence of the entire pot.
5. 5
   Lift the ham hock from the pot. Pull the meat from the bone in rough pieces, discarding the bone and any excess fat, and return the meat to the pot. The greens should be silky-soft, yielding to a fork without resistance, deeply coloured, and seasoned throughout with smoke and pork. Serve the greens with a generous ladling of pot likker. The pot likker may be drunk from a cup or sopped with cornbread. Vinegar and hot sauce on the table.