Split Pea Soup

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JMediger

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So I made a crock pot of split pea soup yesterday, or at least I tried. I did what I always do ... Chop one onion, 2 handfuls of baby carrots, and 1 ham steak, place in crock pot with one, one pound bag of rinsed, split green peas and 8 cups chicken stock. I set it on the 10 hour setting and left for work. Got home, the house smelled wonderful but when I went to stir it, I found the peas were still solid, little pieces! Normally, after 10 hours they are just mush when I stir it, just how we like it. I set it out in garage overnight (a balmy 33 degrees) and plugged it back in today to no avail. It's grainy and just tastes like overcooked ham. :ermm:

What do you think? Did I get bad peas? Anyone else have this happen?
 
If you were using split peas, I'm not sure what the problem was. Nothing in your recipe would have even caused beans to stay hard. The only thing I can suggest is to place the soup into a large sauce pan and gently boil for about 45 minutes. The peas should absorb water and soften. If your crock pot setting was incorrect (too low) then the peas wouldn't cook.

I always cook my pea soup on the stove top as it only takes about an hour, maybe a bit more from start to finish, and the peas are completely cooked. When I stir it, everything becomes homogeneous, except for the meat of course. And my soup is thick enough that I don't have to add roux as a binder.

Hope this helps.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
 
Thank you for your quick responses! I actually always do it in the slow cooker. Sometimes I set it for 8 hours, other times 10. I am thinking I may have to stick with the 8 hours ... Although, it was bubbling pretty good when I got home and it still had an hour left. It's so perplexing. I make this at least once a month and have never had a problem.
 
Actually I'm surprised you ever got it to work in a crock pot. Even when cooking split peas on the stove top, they need stirring, or they won't all get softened.
 
yes a blender will do the trick, or a food processor. If you got an old bag of peas they are longer to soften, but...

I made pea soup yesterday too. Love it!
 
Pea and lentil soup are so fast on the stove.

But anyway, your peas might have been old. Old dry legumes sometimes never soften no matter what you do to them.
 
Pea and lentil soup are so fast on the stove.

But anyway, your peas might have been old. Old dry legumes sometimes never soften no matter what you do to them.

Jenny just beat me too it. I bet I've made a hundred pots of split pea soup in my lifetime, and once they never did soften. :mad: I think they were old.
 
Uh-oh... I had better get my butt in gear and make the split pea soup I bought the peas for several months ago. I didn't realize they could go bad and not soften.
 
It could be that your crock pot is losing some of its heating ability and isn't getting to the desired temperature, or that something has changed regarding the inner humidity (ie: maybe the lining of the lid isn't as tight - so the moisture is escaping?)

I recently had to replace my crockpot - it was my mothers, and just wasn't cooking properly anymore. Perhaps something similar is the problem! I hope it can be resolved! :]
 
Noticing the ingredients you all use, I notice one thing missing. My mom used to take the left over Easter ham bone with some meat on it and include that. Maybe it was the thing that set her off to make it. She would only make split pea soup if she had that ingredient. She didn't use a crock pot, so maybe having a large ham bone in one would take up too much space?
 
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Noticing the ingredients you all use, I notice one thing missing. My mom used to take the left over Easter ham bone with some meat on it and include that. Maybe it was the thing that set her off to make it. She would only make split pea soup if she had that ingredient. She didn't use a crock pot, so maybe having a large ham bone in one would take up too much space?

I save my pork roast bones and pork butt bones with some extra meat for any kind of beans. If I have used them up, I buy smoked turkey neck bones for a wonderful flavor. Or smoked ham hocks. YUM.

I have a feeling most people do, but just don't mention it.
 
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I don't think that pureeing them is going to help. It wouldn't cook them any more. You would just end up with smaller hard little bits.
 
Uh-oh... I had better get my butt in gear and make the split pea soup I bought the peas for several months ago. I didn't realize they could go bad and not soften.

Pacanis, my guess is that the peas that don't soften are "years" old, either stuck at the back of a grocery shelf, or stuck at the back of pantry shelf. Never fear with a bag "several months old". Just the same, get those ham hocks ready Bud! ;)

As Z mentioned, I don't think you can make a good pot of pea soup without bones, my favorite being a meaty ham bone or ham hocks.
 
I've got a bone all lined up. My sister asked me if I wanted the bone from their Christmas ham and stuck it in the freezer for me. It will be my first time making split pea soup.
 
I've got a bone all lined up. My sister asked me if I wanted the bone from their Christmas ham and stuck it in the freezer for me. It will be my first time making split pea soup.

Let us know when you're ready and we'll give you some tricks and tips. It's got a couple of tricky issues.:chef:
 
Pea Soup, A Primer

Pea soup comes in thee main forms, Split Pea Soup, Pea Soup, and Yellow Pea Soup.

Split pea soup is a rich, and savory soup made from split peas, onion, salt and water. Other flavors that make it better include smoky pork, as in ham, ham bone, and ham hocks or shanks. onion, and grated carrot. The following is just one example of split pea soup. It's the way we like it in our house.
Ingredients:
2 cups cubed, smoky ham
1 ham bone
1 lb. split peas
1 large, sweet onion, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
water
2 tbs. butter

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and carrot and saute until soft. Add 2 cups of water and the split peas. Stir to keep the peas from clumping and bring to a light boil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the carrot, ham, and ham bone, and enough water to cover everything by 2 inches. Cover and simmer over a medium flame for 30 minutes more. Remove the lid and taste the broth. If required, correct the seasoning to taste with salt and garlic powder. Remove the bone and stir. The peas should start to disintegrate now. Stir every 10 minutes or so until the peas are completely incorporatged into the soup.Turn off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes. If the solids sing to the bottom, you will need to bind the soup.

Binding the soup: Melt three tbs. butter or cooking oil in a clean frying pan. Add three heaping tbs. of flour to the oil and heat until bubbling. Stir to make sue all of the flour is coated with the cooking oil. This is called a roux. When the roux is bubbling, ladle a half cup of soup broth into the roux, while stirring. When the two are blended, a thick paste will have formed. Stir in more broth to thin it out. Add the binding liquid back into the soup and bring to a rolling boil, stirring to avoid scorching the soup. Remove from heat and serve with pepper and good bread.

Yellow split pea soup
Similar to the green split pea soup, but generally isn't as thick, and has pepper added to the soup.

Ingredients:

Ingredients:
2 cups diced, smoky ham
1 lb. split peas
1 large, sweet onion, chopped
2 cups water
2 tbs. butter
Again, sweat teh onions in butter, then add the yellow split peas and ham. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Stir gently as you don't want to create the same thick soup as above. This soup has more broth. Add the ham and an extra 2 tbs. butter to enhance the soup flavor.

Pea soup:
Follow ingredients and directions as for green split pea soup, except use whole dried peas in place of the split peas.

Various herbs such as curry, nutmeg, and coriander can be successfully added to the soup. Enjoy.

Seeeeya; Goodweed of the North
 
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