Appearance has always had a big influence on our appreciation of food.

And as food preparation has transformed into a full-blown leisure activity, we have begun to focus more and more on the way food looks.

This not good news for collard greens.

My favorite recipe for this undeniably ugly but delicious and nutritious meal comes from a colleague. Rather than flavor these typically southern greens with the traditional ham hocks, Rich uses often-overlooked smoked turkey legs to impart the expected richness and complexity to the greens. They deliver all of the flavor without any of that porky funk.

He also cooks his in the slow cooker, which I love, rather than on the more common stove top.

Smoked turkey legs are available year-round in the meat case in most groceries, usually with the other smoked products rather than with the fresh poultry. They're inexpensive — I recently picked up a package at the Big Y in Groton for $2.99 a pound — and with this recipe, you'll only discard the bones and all those weird, plastic-like tendons. The meat gets served with the greens, and the skin gets turned into salty, crispy cracklings that make a great garnish — if you can stop yourself from eating them all beforehand.

Rich recommends using frozen collards, and I agree. Fresh ones can be found locally almost year-round, but I'm not sure the added work — removing the stems, thoroughly cleaning the greens, rolling the big leaves and chopping them into ribbons — would make a difference here.

Even with the stove-top method, this recipe takes some time, a couple hours minimum. In the slow cooker, it's a marathon. In the first step, you let the legs cook in the chicken broth, imparting that smoky flavor to the broth, for six hours or until the meat is tender and falling off the bone. I start this step at night, just before I go to bed. In the morning, I remove the fully cooked legs, add the onion, garlic and greens and let it cook all day.

When I get home that night, I return the meat to the cooker and add the seasons, and dinner is ready in about half an hour.

Given the unattractiveness of the final result, it's hard to believe how delish and soul-enriching a bowl of this seaweed-looking stuff is. Despite all that cooking, the greens retain their texture as they become sweet and tangy, smoky and spicy. The meat remains moist, tender and flavorful, and the cracklings are the crowning glory. With a side of cornbread, you've got a meal fit for a king — although you may have to blindfold him to get him to eat it.

Enjoy!

Jill Blanchette is the multiplatform production editor at The Day. Share comments and recipes with her at j.blanchette@theday.com. 

Rich's Slow-Cooker Collards

6 cups chicken broth

2 pounds smoked turkey drumsticks (about 2 big drumsticks)

2 pounds frozen chopped collard greens

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 to 3 tablespoons Frank's Red Hot sauce (I used about 2 tablespoons of sriracha)

1 tablespoon sugar

Salt and pepper 

Pour the chicken broth into the slow cooker and add the smoked turkey legs. Cover and set to cook on high for 6 hours till the meat is falling off the bone. 

Remove the turkey legs and set them aside to cool. Add the onion, garlic and collards to the slow cooker and set it cook on low for 8 to 12 hours.

When the legs are cool enough to handle, remove the skin from the meat and the meat from the bones. Package the skin and refrigerate it separately from the meat. Chop the meat into ½-inch chunks and refrigerate until the collards done. Discard the bones.

When the collards are done, add the meat back into the slow cooker along with the balsamic vinegar, hot sauce and sugar. Cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes to let flavors blend.

In the meantime, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Chop the skin into ¼-inch pieces and place the pieces onto a small baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cracklings are deeply browned and crisped. When they're done, remove them from oven and set them on a paper towel to drain. Sprinkle them with a bit of salt and pepper.

Taste the greens and add salt and pepper to your liking. Ladle the hot greens and broth into bowls and garnish each with a sprinkling of the cracklings. Serve with a side of corn bread.

Rich's notes: The cracklings are optional. Make sure you cook them well — discard any fatty bits that don't get fully browned. The hot sauce should be added according to your liking — 1 tablespoon will add a nice tang, 2 will make you sweat a little. He uses 3 tablespoons.

Original recipe from Rich Swanson.