Maybe braising. Not a recipe I've tried but I have used a similar one for collards.

Southern-Braised Greens with Bacon
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2004
Prep Time:20 minInactive Prep Time: -- Cook Time:2 hr 0 min

8 servings

Ingredients

3/4 pound sliced bacon
3 cups sliced onions
8 cloves garlic, mashed
3 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon cayenne
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 quart water
1 (12-ounce) can beer
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
2 tablespoons molasses or cane syrup
5 pounds fresh greens, such as mustard greens, collard greens, turnip greens, or kale, rinsed well, picked over and tough stems removed

Directions

In a large, heavy pot cook the bacon until it has rendered most of its fat, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the onions, garlic, salt, cayenne, and black pepper and cook until the onions are wilted, about 4 minutes. Add 1 quart of water, the beer, vinegar, and molasses and bring to a boil. Begin adding the greens in batches, pressing down with a wooden spoon to submerge them in the hot liquid and adding more as they wilt. When all of the greens have been added, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the greens, partially covered and stirring occasionally, for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until tender.

Here is a link that might be useful: Recipe.

If you have a pressure cooker, you can soften them up really easily.

It ain't rocket science, but here's a rough guide:

Take about 6 slices of bacon and dice them. In the bottom of the pressure cooker, cook the bacon. Remove and reserve the bacon bits but leave the grease in the bottom of the cooker.

While the bacon is cooking, trim and rinse the greens. I prefer collards, and I trim out the center stem and discard it. Cut up the greens. Rinse well, but don't drain thoroughly; allow the rinse water to adhere to the greens (the water adhering to the leaves, along with any juices liberated while cooking, should be sufficient to cook the greens). Put the greens in the cooker --it'll hiss and spit when the greens hit the hot bacon grease, that's okay (here's one instance where you can fill the cooker nearly to the top--they're gonna shrink like crazy), put the pressure lid and bring up to high pressure. Adjust the heat to just keep it at high for 4 to 5 minutes, a few minutes longer if the greens are older and tougher, or if you've bought a bag of greens already cut up and it includes the stems. Turn off the heat, vent the cooker and when the pressure is completely off, remove the lid. Toss the bacon bits in with the greens and pot juices (known in some parts as 'pot likker'--wonderfully nutritious stuff). Serve with pepper vinegar or hot sauce; a freshly made savory (as opposed to sweet) cornbread goes great with this.

Have you ever had one of those days you should have stayed out of the kitchen, well that was my day yesterday with the butter beans and greens. I somewhat over cooked the beans. Nothing burned, but just over cooked. I FINALLY got the greens done, but not until late last night. A friend's husband had brought me the greens and I didn't realize how many there were in those bags. I ended up using my 18 qt roaster FILLED to over flowing and still had more. I was bad and ended up putting about 1/4 of them down the disposal but I tried to make sure it was the larger tougher ones. Once I FINALLY got them done they were good, but needed a little more salt. Thanks everyone for the advice, but I think from now on it's going to be canned greens in this house. Maybe things would have gone better if I hadn't other things that needed doing but I was stuck messing with greens.

Oh, bryansda, I'm sorry to hear about the beans and greens. I love both beans and greens.

How I prepare greens depends in part on what type they are, but if they are bigger and a bit tougher I usually end up cooking them for a long time with some bacon or smoked pork hock.

Canned greens are good too, but I really like the fresh ones best. My current favorite is kale, that grew well here and I'll definitely plant it next year.

I don't think I'd cook an 18 quart roaster full, though, that's a bit too much of a good thing!

Annie

Thanks Annie. It was a long day for sure, but could have been worse, I didn't burn anything.....LOL. I'll put some of the greens in the freezer and know they will taste really good in the middle of the winter. And the best part is I won't have to cook them again, just heat them up and be done with them....LOL. I was so tired and put out with it all, I didn't even bother to eat any of the beans or greens other than to taste for doneness. Couldn't bring myself to have any today either, but I'll have some tomorrow.

Hubby is not too fond of greens so, since we invested in a vitamix, I add them to fruit smoothies. The greens taste is disguised by the fruit and whatever liquids you use, and you still get all the nutrients. I've used kale, spinach, collards, and chard. Something to consider if you have a good blender and too many greens. :o)