A thick and hearty soup made the old fashioned way with a meaty ham bone. It’s naturally thickened with split yellow peas so it’s even gluten free. Good broth takes time but if you’re patient, you’ll be rewarded with this delicious Ham and Split Pea Soup. It’s worth the wait.
Roasted bone in ham is a pretty economical meal but what’s even better is making home made soup with the leftover bone. You might have to hide the leftovers from snackers so you have enough meat left on the bone. You can make it right away or freeze the bone for later. Wrap it tightly in foil then seal in a freezer bag or a few layers of plastic bags. Make sure to label it so when you find it in the back of the freezer you’ll remember what it’s for.
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How to make Ham and Split Pea Soup
Start with cold water in a big pot with a ham bone and once the water boils, turn it down to a simmer. The water might not completely cover the bone. That’s ok. Start with about 10 – 12 cups of cold water and toss in a bay leaf or two. Skip the salt because the ham is already salty. You can add some later if required.
As the ham bone simmers away the liquid will evaporate quite a bit but don’t top it off because you’ll water down the broth. Unless it’s getting really low. You want about 6 cups of ham broth. Now watch the magic happen. The meat literally falls off the bone after about 3 hours. Take the bone and any meat out of the pot. What you’re left with is rich and flavourful ham stock. Once it cools you’ll see how it gels because of the collagen from the connective tissue. Have you heard about people taking collagen for health benefits? Well you can save yourself some money by making homemade soup with bones!
Put the strained ham stock (or broth, I use these terms interchangeably) in the fridge, or outside if you live in the great white north and it’s cold enough. For safety reasons it should be a maximum of 5 degrees outside and make sure the pot is out of the sun. And nowhere racoons can find it. Tricky little buggers.
When the meat is cool enough to handle while your broth is chilling, pick all the good stuff off and chop it up. It’s pretty easy to get lots of meat from a bone once it’s been cooked this long. And you’ll be amazed how much you find. Toss the meat in the refrigerator until you’re ready to complete the soup.
Once the broth is cooled you’ll be able to remove the fat off the top. You can literally scrape it or lift it off with a spoon. When you see how much fat floats to the top you’ll understand why this extra step of cooling is so important. You’ll be ready to make Ham and Split Pea Soup later in the day or the next day. Since your ham broth will have really reduced, you may need to add some chicken broth. You want to have about 8 cups of liquid in total. Why chicken broth? Well, it’s a very neutral broth so it won’t make your soup taste like chicken. You could also use vegetable broth but I don’t recommend beef. You may not even need to add any broth if you have enough liquid.
Next, dice some onion, carrot and celery. This is the flavour base for most soups and stews. It’s called a mirepoix. Add to the broth and bring to a simmer. Toss in the cooked chopped ham. And a few sprigs of fresh thyme and simmer for about 20 minutes. Taste the broth and if it doesn’t have a lot of flavour you can add a cube or package of chicken bouillon if you like. Save the salt and pepper for the end.
How to cook dried split peas
Rinse your dried split peas and drain. The package advises you to check for dirt or foreign material. I’m happy to report I have never found anything suspicious in a package of split peas. Add them to the pot and leave them to simmer for about an hour. Split peas are actually legumes which are high in protein and fibre. They’re also low in fat. They break down after about an hour of cooking and thicken the soup. You might think you should add more than the amount in the recipe but they really expand and absorb the liquid.
Yikes, my peas aren’t getting soft!
Here are a few reasons your peas might not soften completely. It happened to me once so I did the research to save you from having the same disappointing results.
- Old peas. Yes, in spite of split peas and other dried legumes having a long shelf life, they can get old. You can add more water, boil and boil but they will never get completely soft.
- Salting the water too soon. For some scientific reason I don’t completely understand, adding salt at the beginning of the cooking process may interfere with their ability to absorb liquid. It sounds fishy to me because the ham broth is usually salty to start with but who am I to argue with science? But just in case, I’ve revised this recipe to have salt added at the end.
- Hard water. Like above, sounds like a bit of a stretch but the minerals in some water may also interfere with absorption.
So, keep these things in mind when making Ham and Split Pea Soup so you will end up with a thick, meaty delicious soup. Serve with more fresh thyme if desired and some fresh cracked black pepper.
If you make Ham and Split Pea Soup, consider leaving a comment or rating below. Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients
- 1 ham bone with at least some meat left on it
- 10-12 cups cold water
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 onion
- 4 carrots
- 2 stalks celery
- 2 cups chicken broth adjust amount to total 8 cups liquid
- 1 package chicken bouillon if desired for extra flavour
- 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme plus extra for garnish
- 1 ½ cups dried split yellow peas
- 1 tsp salt adjust to taste and don't add until end
- ½ tsp pepper
- ¼ C fresh chopped parsley if desired for garnish
Instructions
- Add cold water to ham bone in a large soup pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add 2 bay leaves and simmer at least 3 hours, until the meat is falling off the bone and the liquid is reduced by about half. Don't top up the water unless it's getting low.
- Remove bone and meat from pot. Remove bay leaves and refrigerate the stock to allow fat to rise after cooling.
- When ham is cooled enough to handle, remove as much meat as possible and chop into pieces. Refrigerate.
- Once stock is cooled, remove as much fat as possible from the top. Place pot on stovetop and bring ham broth to a simmer. Add chicken broth, about 2 cups or enough to make about 8 cups liquid in total.
- Chop onion, carrots and celery. Add to pot along with chopped ham. Add thyme stems to soup. Simmer for about 20 minutes to soften vegetables and flavour broth.
- Rinse and drain split peas. Remove any debris. Add to soup. Simmer up to 1 hour until the peas are very soft and the soup is thickened. Taste and add salt if needed.
- Remove thyme stems before serving and garnish with chopped fresh parsley if desired. Add cracked black pepper before serving.
Will definitely try this soup the next time we have this type of ham,looks delicious ?
It’s so good and so easy to make!
This is my favourite soup of all time! Although, I’ve used green split peas too, but yellow are just as nice. I guess it depends what colour is your favourite. ?
I’m soup I made is too salty,what can I do..?
If you’ve added too much salt or your ham is very salty you can add more of all the ingredients, so if you double everything it will be half as salty. Make sense? You’ll have a lot of soup but it freezes well.
Can I use green split peas instead?
You can use green peas. They should work the same as the yellow, no soaking required, although I have read they have a stronger flavour than the milder, nuttier yellow peas. If you try it, please let me know how it works out?