What's your best ham & split pea soup recipe?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
PF's Ham and Split Pea Soup

1 Lb smoked pork necks or ham hocks
1 cup diced onion
2 quarts water

put into pan big enough, bring to boil, lower heat cover and simmer until meat is tender and falling off the bones. Reserve liquid, allow the meat to cool and chop. Set aside.

Reserved liquid plus enough water to bring it up to 2 quarts.
2 TBS olive oil (liquid fat of your choice)
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced carrot
1 Lb split peas

In large pot saute onion, celery and carrot in olive oil until translucent, add in reserved liquid and peas. Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer (no lid) until peas are soft. Add in chopped meat. Salt and pepper to taste. Makes about 4 hearty servings.
 
I'm not big on recipes. But pea soup is one of the things I like to cook with ham hocks. The problem is, in my opinion, it takes several hours at a simmer to break down the collagen in hocks, necks, tails, or feet. On the other hand, split peas, greens, and black-eyed peas take much less time to cook.

So the solution is to treat it as two separate processes. First, make the stock, then make soup. And if you're gonna do that, might as well use the reserved pork fat from the cooled stock to saute the onion and whichever other aromatics you're using in the pea soup.

I think Fiona is saying the same thing more concisely than I am, but most of the recipes I see online don't do that.
 
Last edited:
So the solution is to treat it as two separate processes. First, make the stock, then make soup. I think Fiona is saying the same thing but most of the recipes I see online don't do that.

Exactly how I do it, always make sure my stock is made and the meat chopped before I get any peas wet. If I'm lucky enough to have a meaty ham bone, the process is the same. I may cheat by using the pressure cooker for the bones.
 
ANDY’S SPLIT PEA SOUP

¼ Lb Pancetta
2 Tb Oil
2 Large Leeks
3-4 Garlic, rough chopped
1 C Carrots, rough chopped
1 C Celery, rough chopped
1 Lb Dry Split Peas
1 Tb Marjoram (dry)
10 C Chicken Stock
1 Ea Ham Bone with ham OR
1 Smoked Pork Hock AND
1 Lb Baked Ham - diced
1 Tb Pepper


The flavor of this dish is tied to the quality of ham and bone in the soup. The remains of a spiral cut baked ham will make terrific soup. Store bought smoked pork hocks or ham hocks have virtually no meat but will provide flavor. Add baked ham chunks separately if needed.

But first:

Dice the Pancetta. Bring a 7-quart saucepan to temp and add the oil and the pancetta and sauté to render the fat and brown the lean.

Cut the green off the leeks; halve them lengthwise then slice into ¼” slices across the length. Wash thoroughly in a colander to remove the dirt between the layers. Pat dry with paper towels.

Add the leeks, garlic, carrots and celery to the pan and sauté over medium heat to release the flavors, about 20 minutes.

Rinse and pick over the peas and add them to the pan along with the marjoram, stock, and bone. Bring to a boil. Simmer, covered, for 2 hours.

Remove the bone. Puree the soup in a blender in small batches or using a stick blender in the pot. Remove any meat from the bone, dice it and add it to the soup along with any additional ham. Simmer for another 30 minutes. If the soup is too thick, add more broth to adjust.

An Andy M. Original
 
I usually use one pound of green split peas, a large onion (very coarsely chopped), several bay leaves, along with about a pound or so of smoked ham hocks or smoked turkey legs. Add enough water to cover and let it all get "happy" for several hours. I don't add salt until near the end because some of the ham hocks and turkey legs may have some salt.

Follow up with some homemade cornbread and you're in split pea heaven!
 
Store bought smoked pork hocks or ham hocks have virtually no meat but will provide flavor.

Tain't necessarily so. When the markets I shop at just carry those low on the bone hocks with virtually no meat, I complain to both the meat manager and the store manager. They can get hocks with a lot of meat. My complaints have so far been effective even if they need to be repeated occasionally.

Edit to add:
And the best of them contain a joint. There is quite a lot of wonderful meat contained within it but it takes a very long, very slow simmer to get at it.
 
Last edited:
Rinse 1 lb split peas and check for stones, never found any but there's always hope.

Add 1-2 smoked ham shanks, about 1 1/2-2 lbs
Add 2 boxes chicken broth and more water as needed. Bring to boil. Skim.
Now add 1 large onion chopped, 2 ribs celery, diced herbs to taste (thyme, marjoram, savory, whole Thai pepper, black pepper, bay leafs. Your preference). Return to boil, then lower temp to simmer.
Simmer 2-3 hours, partially covered stirring periodically until peas are tender, mostly disintegrated.
Remove ham bones and allow to cool until easily handled.
Add 2 large potatoes, diced and 3-5 diced carrots. While veggies start to cook, remove meat from ham bone and fat. Dice to size. Add meat to soup.
When veggies are tender @20minutes, taste for salt, shouldn't need any.Add more pepper. Remove visible bay leaves, thyme stems, etc Serve.
 
Am I the only one who makes ham stock first and then finishes the soup the next day?

If I'm going to slowly simmer the stock for several hours, then cool to remove the fat, it almost has to be a two-day process.

I seem to be more sensitive to this issue than most here, but if you want to control the calories of a finished dish made with ham hocks, you really want to prevent boiling and the emulsification of fat that goes with it.
 
1 Lb smoked pork necks or ham hocks
1 cup diced onion
2 quarts water

put into pan big enough, bring to boil, lower heat cover and simmer until meat is tender and falling off the bones. Reserve liquid, allow the meat to cool and chop. Set aside.

Reserved liquid plus enough water to bring it up to 2 quarts.
2 TBS olive oil (liquid fat of your choice)
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced carrot
1 Lb split peas

In large pot saute onion, celery and carrot in olive oil until translucent, add in reserved liquid and peas. Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer (no lid) until peas are soft. Add in chopped meat. Salt and pepper to taste. Makes about 4 hearty servings.


You said it perfectly PF.

I do mine exactly the same way and it's simply perfect every single time.

The extra thing I can add is to be sure you have a bag of split peas that don't have an expired date on them. They will never soften if they are old, nor will any other old beans. To keep a happy home, we take Beano tablets before eating. ;)
I think it's time for some Split Pea soup in this house. :yum:
 
I'm with PF but I never have a ham bone so I skip the stock and start with ham flavored bouillon from GOYA and a chunk of vacuum-packed ham steak in small dice.
 
Last edited:
My split pea soup is pretty much like thr others that have been posted, with just a bit of difference.

Ingredients:
1 ham bone (I save and freeze ham bones just for bean and pea soups)
1 smoked, meaty ham hock
1 lbs. Pork Jowl bacon, cubed
1 medium onion, diced
1 large carrot, shredded
1 medium russet potato, diced
1 ob. bag split green peas, sorted and washed, or split yellow peas
2 quarts water

Place the ham and bacon into a dry pressure cooker and brown. Add the ham hock, and ham bone, and cover all with water. Place the lid on and cook under pressure for 1 hour.. Release the pressure accordint to appliamce directions. Remove the ham bone, and ham hock to a bowl and let cool enough to handle. Add the remaining ingredients to the pot, and add water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a simmer and let cook. Remove the meat and collagen containing parts from the hock and bone. Add back into the pot of soup. Simmer until the peas disintegrate, stiring every ten minutes or so to prevent the pea solids from sticking to the pot bottom and burning.

When dine, the pea solids should remain suspended in the broth, and not settle to the pot bottom. If the soups is too thick, add a llittle butter and water until you get the texture you desire. If it's too thin, make a roux from 2 tbs. each butter and flour. Cook the roux until blonde. Use the excess liquid to thin the roux into a paste. Add this to the soup and stir to incorporate. This is called binding the soup. It will thicken it, and cause the pea solids to remain suspended in the broth. It won't change the soup flavor.
So, that's my take on Pea Soup, unless we're taking about French-Canadian Pea Soup, which is a whole other thing, but one that is absolutely yummy. You have to try it sometime.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
Am I the only one who makes ham stock first and then finishes the soup the next day?

nope. I'm in the three day camp.

simmer the ham hock 3-4 hours, let it cool & refrigerate overnight.

then re-heat/re-simmer 2-3 hours before stripping the meat.

second day soak the peas
third day add the meat and cook the peas.

the cooling+reheating dissolves a lot more connective tissue. there's some "change" when it is heated-then-cooled that makes a difference.
also works with beef - double braise a chunk of top round - it comes apart like 15 hr bbq beef....

I've also found the supermarket ham hocks to be quite wimpy - I get mine from the local butcher. scale: those are 10" dinner plates....
IMG_0821.jpg
 
If I'm going to slowly simmer the stock for several hours, then cool to remove the fat, it almost has to be a two-day process.

I seem to be more sensitive to this issue than most here, but if you want to control the calories of a finished dish made with ham hocks, you really want to prevent boiling and the emulsification of fat that goes with it.
I roast all my stock in the oven low and slow overnight. And yes, it is a 2-day process.
 
Since I am Keto, I need the fat. I've lost 30 pounds since this time last year.

Don't let me interfere with what is working for you Fiona.

But for folks who might think lots of fat is necessary for weight loss I present this chart.
Weight Loss 2020-02-21 193658 FirstEdit.jpg
The early spring 2018 low point was when I got run over by a car on the sidewalk. Temporarily curtailed exercise and ████-blocked progress for about 15 months.

Since about June 2019 I've been trying, among other things, to keep fat grams under 50 per day.
 
Last edited:
There are different ways to lose weight. It's all about find what is comfortable for you. I am doing intermittent fasting. I don't restrict fat or carbs. I have lost 10 kg (22 lbs) since July. It seems to be helping with stiffness and I seem to be losing visceral fat. I started doing it for the health benefits. The weight loss is a welcome bonus.
 
There are different ways to lose weight. It's all about find what is comfortable for you. I am doing intermittent fasting. I don't restrict fat or carbs. I have lost 10 kg (22 lbs) since July. It seems to be helping with stiffness and I seem to be losing visceral fat. I started doing it for the health benefits. The weight loss is a welcome bonus.

I agree completely.
 
Back
Top Bottom