Two greens, one chicken, minus backbone

On the right in the picture above, you have a collard leaf. On the left? A Brussels sprout leaf. A notable difference between the two is that the latter is rarely eaten; most people go for the tightly bundled sprouts themselves, discarding the leaves along with the stems. This is a mistake, as Brussels greens¹ can be prepared in the same fashion as collard greens, kale, chard, and the like. I put this to the test a week ago, and the results were quite tasty.

Six cups of cut-up collard and Brussels sprout leaves (1/2-inch wide strips)
One pound raw pork neck bones
Four diced garlic cloves
One diced shallot
Two tablespoons olive oil
Two cans low-sodium chicken broth
Pinch of kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
~One half-teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

In a Dutch oven, I heated the olive oil over a medium-high flame and browned the neck bones on all sides along with the aromatics (garlic and shallots), about ten minutes. In went the greens, tossed in the hot oil for a minute or two. I then added the chicken broth, salt, a few grinds of black pepper, and the red pepper flakes. I brought all to a boil, then set it to simmer over lower heat for forty minutes.

That’s it. A simple and effective recipe. The greens were delicious, their savory flavor punctuated by the heat of the red pepper flakes.

The greens were accompanied by two chicken halves sprayed with olive oil, salted and peppered, and baked at 450°. I had intended to spatchcock the 3 1/2 pound bird, but decided against it. I didn’t feel like clipping off the wing tips (I like those), and the notion of tucking the drumstick ends into slit pockets below the breast seemed faintly silly. Instead, I just split the chicken in two and removed the breastbone and ribs.

There are some procedures in cooking that provide an odd kind of enjoyment; for me, one of these is removing the backbone of a chicken with kitchen shears. I can’t explain why I like doing this so much. I just do.

Fun! Of a sort, anyway.