How can I impart bacon flavor into collard greens without losing crispness?
One way to do it is to render the fat from the bacon first. Once the bacon is crispy you can remove it and add the greens. Cook them down until finished and right before serving you can add the bacon crumbled. If it's served right away the bacon will be crispy. If you leave it out too long or go to re-heat the next day then they will be softened. There is no need to add anything to the bacon grease unless it's not enough to cook all the greens in. In this case just add a couple of tablespoons of butter. This is definitely not a low fat way of cooking greens, but it's the best way I know of getting that bacon flavor into the greens. Hope that helps!