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    Home » Southern Classics » How to Cut and Clean Collard Greens

    Published: Sep 6, 2022 · Modified: Aug 31, 2022 by Pam

    How to Cut and Clean Collard Greens

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    pin image for how to cut and clean collard greens.

    Here you’ll find a few tips on how to cut and clean collard greens. Good preparation is key to ending up with delicious greens every time!

    watering can sprinkling collard greens.

    Collard Greens have been a staple around here forever. But in lots of circles, they are just now becoming popular. These days you’ll even find them in high end restaurants.

    Here’s why we decided to write this tutorial on how to clean and trim them: Too many times we have been served collards that would have been perfect with good preparation. It only takes a few minutes and makes all the difference in the world!

    First you clean

    This is a crucial step! No one wants to bite into grit in their collards, right?

    A 10 minute soak in the sink in cold water is the way to start. This gives time for any dirt that has dried to get wet and come off the leaves.

    Drain the sink and rinse it.

    Then use the spray nozzle in your sink to rinse the front and back of each leaf individually. As you finish stack them up on paper towels on the counter.

    Now trim the stems

    Y’all! This is where even those upscale restaurants can mess up. This is, after all, collard greens – not collard stems!

    one collard leaf on board and woman cutting with knife.

    Lay each individual leaf on a cutting board. Using a sharp knife cut first down one side of the stem.

    You don’t have to go all the way to the end. As the stem gets thinner it will cook up nice and tender just like the greens.

    collard green leaf on board being trimmed with knife.

    Now cut across the stem and back down the other side. After you’ve done this a few times you’ll be able to do it quickly.

    Stem being cut from collard leaf with knife.

    The stem will come out and you can just toss it aside. You’ll be left with a beautiful collard green leaf with no tough stem to mess up your recipe.

    collard leaf with stem removed.

    Final step: The best way to cut collard greens

    First you’ll stack a few leaves on top of each other – 5 or 6 should be just about right.

    woman cutting collard greens.

    Fold the stack of leaves in half and “slice” into pieces about 1 inch wide.

    If the leaves are extra big you may need to make one cut vertically through the stack. You don’t want to end up with collard green “strings”!

    That’s it! You’re now ready to cook your greens. Rest assured that they are going to be delicious because you took a few minutes to prepare them properly.

    Collard Green Recipes

    If you’re here you must love them like we do. Here are a few places to get started with recipes:

    • Italian Sausage Soup with Veggies takes on a southern twist by including collards.
    • Collard Green Dip is a go-to of ours every New Years. Think of spinach dip, but with collards instead.
    • For a full collection of southern classic recipes plus new and inventive ones you’ll want to check this out.
    watering can sprinkling collard greens.
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    5 from 8 votes

    How to Cut and Clean Collard Greens

    Here you'll find a few tips on how to cut and clean collard greens. Good preparation is key to ending up with delicious greens every time!
    Course: Side Dish
    Cuisine: Southern
    Keyword: collard greens, how to
    Author: Pam

    Equipment

    • sharp knife
    • cutting board

    Instructions

    • Cover collard greens with cold water in sink and let sit for about 10 minutes.
    • Drain water, remove collard leaves from sink and rinse the sink.
    • Rinse each leaf individually by spraying with spray nozzle in sink. Be sure to spray off both sides.
    • Lay the collard green leaves on a cutting board one at a time and trim out stem. Using a sharp knife cut down one side of the stem until the point where the stem gets smaller. Cut across the stem and back down the other side.
    • Remove and discard the stems.
    • Stack 5-6 leaves together and fold in half lengthwise. If leaves are very large make 1-2 vertical cuts, then cut horizontally into 1 inch pieces.
    basket of fresh collard greens.

    Categories: Christmas Recipes Tags: collard greens, side dish

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Claudia Lamascolo says

      September 16, 2022 at 5:06 pm

      5 stars
      I love the easy of instructions, I would have never known all of the process great info thanks!

      Reply
    2. Sharon says

      September 16, 2022 at 5:37 pm

      5 stars
      I love these leafy greens but always needed help on how to prepare them properly. Wonderful and informative post.

      Reply
    3. Janessa says

      September 16, 2022 at 6:05 pm

      5 stars
      So many helpful tips! I will be putting these into practice the next time that I make collard greens.

      Reply
    4. Kathleen says

      September 16, 2022 at 6:08 pm

      5 stars
      Very informative and helpful. Glad you have pictures too. Thank you.

      Reply
    5. Emily says

      September 16, 2022 at 7:05 pm

      5 stars
      Great tips! The step by step instructions were so helpful. It makes such a difference to soak first!

      Reply

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