From Rainbow Row to the Battery, from Waterfront Park to King Street, everyone in South Carolina’s most famous city knows about Charleston’s Finest Casserole. Buttery, tender vegetables and savory ham are mixed with leafy wilted collard greens and a creamy, tangy sauce loaded with plenty of Southern charm. On top… well, it wouldn’t be a Southern-style casserole without a buttery biscuit topping, would it? Charleston’s Finest Casserole shows everyone how The Holy City does its home cooking!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature, plus 2 tablespoons butter, melted, divided
- 2 pounds ham steak, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 bunch collards, chopped
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 1 1/2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more, to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper, plus more, to taste
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1/4 cup bacon grease, leftover
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
- 1 (8-ounce) can biscuits, torn
- hot sauce, optional, to taste, for garnish
Directions
Step 1 –Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 2 –Grease an 8–inch baking pan with cooking spray.
Step 3 –In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the room temperature butter.
Step 4 –Add the ham and cook until browned, about 4-5 minutes.
Step 5 –Add the collards, the onion, the tomatoes, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper to the ham and the butter and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
Step 6 –Transfer the ham mixture to the prepared casserole dish.
Step 7 –In a saucepan, heat the milk until warm.
Step 8 –In a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, add the bacon grease and heat until bubbly.
Step 9 –Add the flour and whisk until bubbly, about 1 minute.
Step 10 –Slowly add the warm milk to the flour mixture and bring the mixture to a boil.
Step 11 –Reduce the heat to a low-simmer and stir until a thick gravy forms, about 5 minutes.
Step 12 –Add the cream cheese to the gravy and stir to thoroughly combine.
Step 13 –Season the gravy with the extra salt and the extra pepper.
Step 14 –In a casserole dish, pour the gravy over the ham mixture.
Step 15 –Top the ham and gravy mixture with the torn biscuit pieces and brush them with the remaining melted butter.
Step 16 –Bake the casserole until browned, about 15-20 minutes.
Step 17 –Serve with the hot sauce.
