BBQ Slowcooker Chicken Thighs with Collards Greens and Cheddar Grits

Hi guys, my parents came to visit me this week at school and brought along a bundle of collard greens and some other produce from a local farmers market so I figured I would make a whole southern themed meal with it. This is in multiple parts so make whatever you would like to and let me know how it goes! This is what it looked like in total:

BBQ Chicken

OK this is stupid easy. There are only 3 ingredients

Ingredients

• Chicken Thighs
• BBQ sauce of your choice.
• Water

So all you need to do is place a layer of thighs into a slowcooker and cover with the sauce.

If you slowcooker is big enough to do two layers, do that and cover again in sauce. Then add water roughly 3/2 of the way up. Set for 4 hours and leave it alone.

Bacon Collard Greens

I have never made collards before, but I have to say this recipe is delish and super quick to do. More traditional takes usually involve boiling, but this revamped one is done in a frying pan and has that exact same delicious outcome, buttery tender leaves, and an even quicker cooking time. If you have ever wilted a green in a pan its the same procedure. This has quite a few ingredients, but they are all common fare in a kitchen (or at least aught to be in my eyes).

Ingredients

• 2 lbs of whole collard greens
• Bacon (I used about 5 pieces roughly chopped because bacon is worth it)
• 1 small onion
• garlic (1-2 cloves. I geuss-timated something in between with prechopped garlic which is more pungent)
• 2 TBSP of brown sugar (I would recommend dark, but I had light on hand)
• 1/4 cup+ apple cider vinegar (more on that later)
• 1 cup chicken broth (can use water)
• hot sauce to tolerance
• S&P

Steps

• breaking down collards is a new thing for me but is super easy. Basically all you need to do is fold the leaves together, and take a leaf and cut the tough center rib out of the leaf.

• once that is over, cut the leaves into 2-3 inch wide ribbons and put in a bowl of water and clean

• chop the bacon roughly and toss into a hot pan. While it is cooking, clean the collard greens.
• once the bacon is rendered, add the chopped onion and cook until they are soft and sweated.

• add garlic and brown sugar. Cook until the garlic is fragrant (30 seconds ish)
• add vinegar and simmer mix to about 1/2 volume while scraping the wonderful fond from the bottom of the pan. WARNING: unless you have the burning urge know what the entirety of you nasal passages feels like after a napalm strike, do not take a whiff of hot vinegar steam.
• add the stock and then the collards after shaking off as much water as you can. It looks like a lot at first for sure, but just like spinach it wilts down to very little quite quickly.

• toss occasionally with tongs until the leaves go from their fresh green to more of a military OD green. Taste for texture (should have a hint of tooth, but shouldn't put up a fight). Season with S, P, and more vinegar and hot sauce if you are like me.

Cheddar Grits

This is another great dish you can pump out basically in your sleep. I do not have photos of this, as it is a 2 hands type deal, but you don't need any help nailing this every time.

Ingredients

• 1 part corn meal
• 4 parts water or stock (my cheese had enough salt, so I went with water to good effect)
• as much cheddar as one can reasonably put in this or be expected to shread
• some butter if you feel like it

Steps

• boil water
• whisk briskly while slowly pouring in the corn meal. Keep whisking until it thickens suddenly (about 2 minutes if you used a cup of corn meal)
• add the shredded cheese and whisk until melted.
• season to taste and add a pat of butter if ye dare.

Conclusion
This is a knockout on all fronts and I am very happy with it. The collards were standout with their robust an uniquely southern flavor profile. The only thing that fell short a bit was the grits. I wanted a neutral element for the meal, but I found that as compared to the heavy hitting flavors around it, it could have been a bit punchier. Perhaps a diced jalapeno in the mix would have been the ticket.
Anyhow as always, I'd love to get some opinions on this and see if anyone makes this and how it went! See you all in the next one.