Chili-Spiced Pork & Collards
Collards are my favorite winter greens, although kale is a close second. It’s probably not a coincidence that the two are closely related. (They’re also related to cabbage and broccoli.) The textured wavy/curly nature of kale makes for better chips, but the flatter, thicker collards are easier to chop and then steam, simmer, or sautée. Both kale and collards are at their best during the winter months — they don’t grow well under hot conditions, plus the heat tranforms their sweet nature into a slightly bitter-tasting one — and both will last a week in the fridge if you loosely wrap them in a paper towel and then tuck them into a loose, open-ended plastic bag.
For this dish, I opted to sautée and then steam the collards in the pork drippings. I used pastured pork, which is naturally leaner than conventional meats are, so my collards weren’t swimming in drippings. If you’re using conventional pork and wind up with more drippings than you’d like, feel free to drain some off before cooking your collards.
Note: all pastured meats are leaner than conventional ones. This is because animals that are exercising and eating the foods they’ve evolved to eat are going to be leaner and healthier than animals kept inside and fed a diet of cheap starches laced with just enough protein to keep them going. Think of the difference between a human who eats a variety of non-processed foods and exercises on a regular basis vs. a human who is chained to the couch and fed nothing but cheap starches and the occasional protein shake. We’re all what we eat, non-human animals included.
Chili-Spiced Pork & Collards
Serves 4 for lunch or 2 or 3 for a hearty dinner.
1 lb. ground pork, preferably pastured
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 T. chili powder (I adore Spice Hunter’s blend)
Dash of sea salt
About 12 collard leaves, chopped
Cook pork and onion in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring often, for about 4 minutes or until the pork is mostly opaque. Add garlic, chili powder, and salt and continue to cook for another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until pork is cooked through and garlic is soft and fragrant. Use a slotted spoon or spatula to remove pork to a plate.
Add the chopped collards to the skillet and stir well to coat the greens with the pork drippings. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Steam for 8 minutes or until collards have reached a nice texture. (I like mine a bit chewy.) Lift the lid and stir the collards at the five-minute mark to make sure they’re cooking evenly and to see if they’re getting near your desired texture. If you’d like to spice the collards as well as the pork, feel free to add a tablespoon of chili powder to the collards.
Serve the pork atop a bed of collards. Leftover pork and collards can be refrigerated — separately or together — for up to 4 days.
Enjoy!
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Tags: chili powder, collard greens, dark leafy greens, kale, mexican, onion, pastured meat, pork
