Biscuits are a great vehicle for any sandwich. But why not combine three of our favorite Southern ingredients for the ultimate Southern taste – collards, a fried egg and crispy prosciutto or bacon.
Easy Basic Collard Greens
Everybody has their own way of preparing this Southern staple. You can add onions, garlic, red pepper flakes or substitute bacon for ham. It’s your choice. This is just a simple, easy and tasty way to fix them.
- 1 bunch fresh collards
- 1/4 cup ham pieces
- 2 tblsps bacon drippings or olive oil
- 1 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Wash the collard green thoroughly. Remove the larger tough stems. Cut the leaves into 1″ wide strips then cut across to make long rectangular pieces. Place the collard greens in a pot and cover with cold water. Also add the salt & pepper, drippings (or oil) and the ham pieces.
Bring the collards to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook them until tender.
It generally takes about 2 hours, depending on how tender your fresh greens are.
Buttermilk Biscuits
- 3 cups AP flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup butter or vegetable shortening cut into pieces (we used butter)
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk (you can substitute whole milk, but why would you?)
Preheat oven to 450°F.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Cut in the butter or shortening until the flour is pea size.
Pour in the buttermilk, and stir together just until mixed. Don’t overwork it. That’s a sure way to wind up with tough biscuits.
If you don’t want to roll your dough out, you can pinch and roll and pat into a pan that has about 2 tablespoons of butter melted in it. But if you prefer to roll them out and cut them to be uniform, you will need to turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead just a few turns just until smooth. Roll the dough out to about 1/2-inch thick. You can use any size cutter you want, we used a 3″ round cutter to get larger biscuits. Space about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Bake about 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden.
Fry your eggs any way you like them. We like them over easy.
You can use proscuitto, fried crispy, or any good bacon of your choice. You can’t go wrong here.
To assemble the biscuits, split the biscuits in half, top with a spoonful of collards (drain them well), add the egg, and top with your choice of meat. Finish it off with a little hot sauce of your choice.
Surprise your friends and serve these at your next brunch or supper. No one will be expecting collards for breakfast!
