Read all instructions before starting!

Clean your greens well, fresh greens sometimes still have little aphids or other bugs on them holding on to dear leaf!

Get your stock pot ready on the stove. Crisp your bacon either in the oven or on the stove. Crumble and set aside.

Mince your garlic, chop your onion, bell pepper and set aside

In Stock pot, heat oil med high,2-3 mins

Add garlic to pot and heat until aromatic, then add onions and cook until opaque (translucent).

Add bell pepper and cook 2-3 mins, turn heat down to med. Add greens. The greens may overflow the pot but don't worry it will cook down quite a bit. Just push them down for now.

Mix the pot well and allow the natural water from the greens and vegetables to release. About 5 mins.

Season the pot with salt and pepper. Not too much, remember the bacon has salt in it too.

Add enough water to just cover the greens. Turn the heat back up to med-high. Cook for about 10 mins.

Add sugar, vinegar and bacon, stir well. Allow pot to boil and then turn heat down to a simmer. Taste the broth and season as needed

Once seasoning is to your liking, cover pot with a lid and allow to simmer for about 20-25 mins. Taste greens for doneness, they should be all dente(to the bite: still has firmness but not completely soft) or a little past

If they are not done, cook a little longer, checking greens every 10 mins, don't over cook the greens or else you will have collard mush!

If using ham hock*: add ham hock into pot with greens and continue to follow instructions in step 8. Omit bacon, once greens are done take the hock out of the pot and shred the meat from the bone via fork, knife, hands, whatever you are comfortable with. It doesn't have to be pretty! Add the meat back into the pot and mix together. You can add the bone back in as well just for added flavor while the greens sit in the pot.