Extra Light and Healthy Paleo Greens and Ham Hocks

This ham hock recipe may remind you of a good old-fashioned Southern Comfort food, especially since it includes collard greens, and it is also a pork-heavy recipe, what with its ham hock, bacon, and bacon-fat ingredients. There aren’t a lot of ingredients that go into this recipe, making it a fairly simple one to make, though it does take a while to cook, so you may want to make this the day before and heat it up in the microwave at work.

This also makes a decent amount of food at eight servings, so you can choose to save it for lunch over the course of the week, or make it for dinner and share with the family.

If you are looking for a way to add more greens to your diet, then this recipe may be the one for you. The ham hock adds a smoky flavor to the greens, and the meat makes an otherwise light dish more…well…meaty. (That is to say that it’s way more filling than a simple salad!)

Paleo Greens and Ham Hocks ingredients ● 1 large smoked ham hock ● 3 large bunches collard greens, stems and center stems removed ● 6 slices bacon ● 1 tbsp. bacon fat ● 1 small sweet onion, finely chopped ● 6 cloves of garlic ● 1 tsp. sea salt ● ¾ tsp. pepper

make it

1. Place seven cups of water and the ham hock in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil.
2. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for one hour. Remove any scum from the top of the water and discard. Remove ham hock (don't dump out the contents) and set the saucepan with the ham hock broth aside.
3. Dice the ham hock meat, discarding the skin and bones.
4. Cook bacon in a large stockpot over medium heat until crisp. Remove the bacon and set aside.
5. Drain the bacon fat from the pan, leaving about 3 tbsp. in the pan.
6. Add the onion and saute for about three minutes.
7. Add the garlic and ham hock and saute for another minute.
8. Measure 3 ½ cups of the ham hock broth, add to stockpot and bring to a boil. You can choose to save the rest of the broth for another recipe.
9. Reduce heat to low, add salt and pepper, and allow the collards to cook for 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally.
10. Crumble the bacon and add it to the pot. Cook for another 30 minutes.
11. Taste and season with additional sea salt and pepper, if needed.