Soul Food · Authentic-ish Soul Food
Collard Greens with Smoked Turkey
178 kcal a serving, against 210 for the traditional version. That is 32 kcal off, or 15%, with 26.4g of protein. Serves 6. 1 hour 30 minutes.
What the traditional version is
Traditionally, collard greens are simmered for hours with a hefty smoked ham hock or slab of salt pork, onion, plenty of garlic, a little vinegar and sometimes a pinch of sugar or chilli. The pork renders into the broth, turning it silky and rich, and you eat the greens and meat together with a good splash of the pot liquor.
What changed, and what each change costs
Smoked ham hock or salt pork for smoked turkey leg, skin removed
The pork is all about that smoky depth, but it's also almost entirely fat and skin. Switching to a smoked turkey leg gives a similar hit of smoke and salt for a fraction of the fat, and it brings a load more lean meat to the party.
What it costs you. What you lose is that famously sticky pot liquor - the pork fat is what gives it body. With turkey, the liquor is thinner and clearer. If you live for that slick finish, you'll notice straight away, but for a Tuesday bowl it's a swap worth making.
Leaving the pork in to eat for taking the turkey out, pulling the meat and discarding the skin and all visible fat
Most of the calories end up in the skin and fatty rim of the hock. Remove the turkey, strip off all the skin and any visible fat, and add just the lean pulled meat back in. That way you keep the flavour but not the thickener.
What it costs you. You'll miss the sensation of spreading soft pork skin on a hunk of cornbread. But you do get big chunks of smoky meat in your greens, which isn't exactly a hardship.
Reducing the sugar by half and skipping the optional extra fat sometimes added at the end
A lot of cooks throw in a spoonful of sugar or even a knob of lard or butter for shine right at the end. Here, I cut the sugar and leave out the fat. The greens themselves have plenty of flavour if you've simmered them long enough.
What it costs you. It's slightly less glossy, and the sweetness is more background than headline, but honestly, you won't pine for it unless you're after dessert.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 210 | 178 |
| Protein | 28.3g | 26.4g |
| Fat | 4.3g | 2.6g |
| Saturated fat | 1.1g | 0.4g |
| Carbohydrate | 16.9g | 16.2g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 13.5g | 14.8g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Soul Food prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
Allergens. gluten, sulphites.
The method is in the book
This is one of those swaps where the everyday version really can stand shoulder to shoulder with the original. The mouthfeel's a bit lighter, and I won't lie, the pot liquor doesn't coat your lips the way it does with a full pork knuckle. But the smoky, savoury greens are all there, and you get chunks of meat instead of a mountain of pork skin. It's the second most obvious win in soul food - after, of course, not deep-frying everything in sight.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Soul Food, along with 52 more. It is not out yet. The swap kit is free in the meantime.