Shock It
Collard greens with a kick
Bright green, smoky and laced with white pepper, these aren’t your customary collard greens. Robert Carter, the executive chef and owner of Carter’s Kitchen in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, detours from low-and-slow cooking by first quickly cooking the collards, then shocking the greens in ice water to keep their verdant color intact. A short pork-stock bath and the addition of white pepper and hot sauce give the side dish depth of flavor and a pleasant kick. It’s an ideal complement for a slew of summer mains.
Peppered Collard Greens
Yield: Serves 4 as a side dish
Cook Time:
5 minutes
- INGREDIENTS
4 strips thick-cut smoked bacon
2 cups chicken broth
Ice and cold water
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1½ large bunches collard greens (about 3 pounds)--stems removed and leaves stacked, rolled into a long cylinder and thinly sliced crosswise into ⅛-inch-wide strips
1 small shallot, finely chopped
Rounded ¼ teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons pepper vinegar (from a jar of pickled peppers) or hot sauce (preferably Cholula)
About The Chef
Formerly the executive chef at The Inn at Blackberry Farm in Tennessee, Robert Carter worked at Café Marquesa in Key West, Florida, and was the executive chef of Peninsula Grill in Charleston, South Carolina, before Carter’s Kitchen opened in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, in February 2012.
Carter’s Kitchen, 148 Civitas St., Mount Pleasant, SC; 843-284-0840 or carterskitchenion.com
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