Ham Bone Split Pea Soup (2024)

FAQs

Can you use a ham bone twice to make soup? ›

To use your ham bone in this recipe, submerge it in the soup during the last 40 minutes of cooking. Depending how much meat comes off the bone, you may be able to reuse it if you refrigerate it between uses.

If the peas are very old and dried out, they won't soften.

Split Pea And Ham Soup (1 cup) contains 28.3g total carbs, 24g net carbs, 4.2g fat, 11.7g protein, and 195 calories.

A one-pound bag of split peas contains about 2 cups, enough to make two batches of this soup, and costs about $1.

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for at least 10-12 hours, or until reduced by 1/3 or 1/2, leaving you with 6-8 cups of bone broth. The more it reduces, the more intense the flavor becomes and the more collagen is extracted. We find 12 hours to be the perfect cook time.

Submerge bone in cold water and add leftover ham scraps. Bring to a rolling boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Skim any foam that appears on top during the first 30 minutes. Simmer for 3-4 hours or until ham that clings to the bone is limp and can be pulled off easily.

To Soak or Not to Soak

It's true, soaking peas overnight in water shortens their cooking time. But soaking isn't entirely necessary. Split peas cook relatively quickly. Unsoaked peas take from 1 to 2 hours of simmering; soaked peas take about 40 minutes.

Split peas and lentils tend to get overcooked. Once I figured out that they don't need to reach the State of Horrifyingly Mushy, my legume cookery horizons expanded dramatically. Actually, I find it pretty amazing that more people don't cook with dried peas and lentils.

If your split peas don't get soft, it's more likely they are old or were stored in a container that wasn't airtight. Even though they keep for quite a while, dried beans don't keep forever.

How to Thicken Split Pea Soup. The potato should make your split pea soup perfectly thick and creamy. However, if the soup is still too thin for your liking, you can thicken it up with full-fat cream (though it may alter the flavor a bit) or a cornstarch slurry.

Is split pea and ham soup good for weight loss? ›

YES! Green split peas are super nutritious and healthy addition to a balanced diet. The high fiber and protein content of this soup will keep you full and satisfied.

Using onions, garlic, and fresh spices like thyme will add flavor to the soup. The real trick to making a bland pea soup extra tasty is using a bone or ham hock in the soup during the cooking process. Chicken broth will also add flavor to the soup.

Add the split peas to a pot with your preferred cooking liquid—water, vegetable broth, and bone broth are all good options. Bring to a boil over high heat, stir, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer until the split peas are tender but not mushy and most of the liquid is absorbed. It should take about 20 minutes.

When the feast is done, don't toss the ham bone or give it to the dog (experts say that's not safe). Instead, freeze the ham bone so you can use it later to add flavor to a soup or make homemade ham broth or stock. A ham bone will keep in the freezer for at least a few months.

Generally, doing a third (or more) use of the bones for broth will extract very little flavor, mostly only giving you a bit of the remaining gelatin. Any flavor that does still exist will also become increasingly unbalanced.

Hocks (or pork knuckles) are the extreme shank end of bones in pig's legs and are smoked for that wonderful ham flavor. Even better, you can reuse the bone for an amazing stock for future bean recipes.

Now I routinely make three batches of broth from each set of bones–chicken or beef. I use the first and second batches for soup and the last batch to cook rice.