12 Bones Smokehouse Collard Greens Recipe
12 Bones Smokehouse Collard Greens are a rich, smoky and tender Southern side dish, slow-cooked with bold flavors like bacon, vinegar and spices, embodying the restaurant’s signature balance of tangy, savory and soulful goodness.
Make our 12 Bones Smokehouse Collard Greens Recipe at home. With our Secret Restaurant Recipe your Collard Greens will taste just like 12 Bones Smokehouse.

Photo by Alaina Browne
12 Bones Smokehouse Collard Greens
A 12 Bones Smokehouse Copycat Recipe
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12 Bones Smokehouse
12 Bones Smokehouse is a renowned barbecue restaurant located in Asheville, North Carolina. Founded in 2005 by Bryan and Angela King, it quickly gained a reputation for its mouthwatering smoked meats and distinctive flavor profiles. The restaurant’s name, “12 Bones,” pays homage to the 12 bones in a full rack of ribs. It started as a small, unassuming establishment but grew in popularity due to its delectable menu.
12 Bones Smokehouse is known for its diverse and inventive barbecue offerings, including smoked pulled pork, tender ribs, succulent brisket, and unique sauce options like blueberry chipotle. The restaurant’s commitment to using high-quality, locally sourced ingredients adds to its appeal.
Over the years, 12 Bones has become a beloved institution in the Asheville area, drawing locals and tourists alike. The rustic atmosphere and friendly staff contribute to its welcoming ambiance. It has won numerous awards and continues to be a must-visit destination for barbecue enthusiasts, contributing to Asheville’s reputation as a culinary hotspot.
Collard Greens
Collard Greens, a soul-stirring staple of Southern cuisine, are more than just a side dish—they’re a symbol of tradition, resilience, and deeply rooted culinary heritage. With their broad, dark green leaves and earthy flavor, collards have been cultivated for thousands of years, tracing their origins to ancient Greece and Africa before making their way to the American South through the transatlantic slave trade. Enslaved Africans brought their knowledge of slow-cooked greens, merging their culinary traditions with the ingredients of the New World. Over time, collard greens became an essential dish in Black Southern kitchens and beyond, representing not just sustenance but survival and celebration.
Typically slow-simmered with smoked meats like ham hocks or bacon, collards absorb deep, smoky richness while mellowing into tender perfection. A splash of vinegar or hot sauce at the end brightens the greens, cutting through the richness and adding a piquant bite. They are a staple at Sunday suppers, soul food feasts, and New Year’s Day meals, where they symbolize prosperity and good fortune.
While collards reign supreme, they share their culinary lineage with mustard greens, turnip greens, and kale, each offering its own peppery or slightly bitter twist on the tradition. Some of the best collards can be found in legendary barbecue joints like 12 Bones Smokehouse, where they are infused with smoky, tangy depth. Whether spooned onto a plate of cornbread and brisket or served alongside fried chicken, collard greens remain a defining comfort food, a testament to history, flavor, and the enduring soul of the South.
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12 Bones Smokehouse Collard Greens Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 slices thick-cut Bacon diced
- 1 small Onion finely chopped
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 2 pounds fresh Collard Greens stems removed and leaves chopped
- 4 cups Chicken Broth
- 1 cup Water
- 1/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
Instructions
- Place a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat.
- Add diced bacon. Cook until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the rendered fat in the pot.
- Add chopped onion. Sauté until softened, about 3 - 4 minutes.
- Stir in minced garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add chopped collard greens to the pot, tossing to coat in the bacon fat.
- Pour in chicken broth, water and apple cider vinegar. Mix well.
- Stir in brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, black pepper, salt and cayenne.
- Bring mixture to a gentle simmer. Then reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the greens are tender and infused with flavor.
- Stir crispy bacon back into the greens just before serving.
- Taste and adjust seasoning, if needed.
- Serve hot as the ultimate smoky, tangy barbecue side.
12 Bones Smokehouse Collard Greens
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Photo of “12 Bones: plate with all the fixin’s” is by Alaina Browne and is used by permission under the Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic Creative Commons License. Read the Full License Here – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/legalcode.en. Photo of “12 Bones Smokehouse in Arden, NC” is by Allison H. and is used by permission under the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic Creative Commons License. Read the Full License Here – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/legalcode.en. Thank you, Alaina and Allison. Great Pictures. Photos may be “representative” of the recipe and not the actual finished dish. All photo licenses listed were correct at the time of the posting of the page. Recipe is original to Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes. Recipe is original to Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes. Recipe created by Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes based on information from the restaurant and other sources on the internet – many courtesy of the Wayback Machine. Additional Information is from original research done by Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes and/or courtesy of Wikipedia and is used by permission. Additional Information is from original research done by Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes and/or courtesy of Wikipedia and is used by permission.
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