Split Pea Soup

[snowangel]

But one could still do so many other things.

Like eat steak.

[Kerouac1964]

Food mills are nice, but passing the mixture thru 2 successively smaller strainers should do the the trick to break down that "mealy" feel.

[porkpa]

The very best split pea soup I have ever have is at Smith and Wollensky's in NYC. I don't know if their branches in other cities have it. It is quite exceptional.

[richw]

I'm with you on this one.  Me too.  And since Paul hates it (for the texture), I MUST order it when we're out.

Instead of a food mill, try using a burr mixer (wand blender) or purée in in the regular blender.  Food mill leaves too much texture.

Do you add anything when you serve it?  Croutons?  Frankfurter slices?  Mmmmmmmmmm.

I've tried a wand blender as well. I have made it vegan style with some Indian spices, southern style with smoked ham hocks and jewish-style with Flanken. I am convinced that in order to get that smooth texture, I need to get my hands on some type of dehydrated and processed pea powder that restaurants use. BTW, croutons rule over the top!!

[Sandra Levine]

Sandra, even so. It's split pea soup.

My point, exactly.

[richw]

I'll have to think about that. I've made a lot of pea soups. What do you mean by "mealy?" It is, traditionally, a bit mealy, but I can see that it could be too mealy. Above all, a good pea soup is hearty, at least in the north. And it's always best when it sits in the woodshed over night in the colder months. Down there it would be the fridge.

But, that wouldn't (I don't think) make it any smoother, lighter,  to the palette.

Pounding this around in what little mind I have left, I think we need southern pea soup cooks to weigh in here. A northern soup would be too heavy for south FL, if that makes any sense.

I would think that the 'general' pea soup is stock-based and that the thickness is pretty much the same in the South and the North. We're talking about good, old pea soup; Not pea foam or fresh pea puree. What I mean by mealy is that even after cooking the peas long enough to break them down, they still seem almost dry even thought they been fully hydrated. Tough to describe.

[Jinmyo]

Rich, might the peas have been too old?

[richw]

Rich, might the peas have been too old?

It's a possibility, but in an effort to dispel that myh I've even bought Streit's brand pea soup mix. The reason I did this is because the peas in the soup mix package look like they have been put through a buffalo chopper and are in much smaller pieces. Like crushed split peas. Still no success.

[Nick]

Rich, might the peas have been too old?

I think Jin's onto it.

Rich, when you say,"What I mean by mealy is that even after cooking the peas long enough to break them down, they still seem almost dry even thought they been fully hydrated." - you're describing old peas/beans. You can cook them 'til hell freezes over and it won't do any good.

Okay Jaymes, I hear ya. But, I can see you cranking that A/C for all it's worth and sitting there with a good hot bowl of hearty pea soup.

Dave, you know how to shame a dude. Now I'll have to come clean.

Only thing is, now I'm going to have to make a pea soup and keep notes. I just do it. Don't have anything written down.

[Jaymes]

Okay Jaymes, I hear ya. But, I can see you cranking that A/C for all it's worth and sitting there with a good hot bowl of hearty pea soup. 

Believe me, at 44 degrees and raining, I don't have the AC cranked up.

And finally, we get the truth. You don't know what you do!! So, this will be good for everyone. You make soup. You make notes about what you do. You tell us. Everyone gets soup.

And, you've got it written down for "Posterity."

Just pretend that's my name.

[kitwilliams]

Since Nickn doesn't have his recipe written down I thought I'd post mine in the meantime in case anyone wants a simple, classic, split pea soup recipe. I assure you it is comforting and delicious in its simplicity.

Split Pea Soup

8 cups water

2 cups split peas

ham hock(s) or ham bone with plenty of meat remaining

1 clove garlic, finely minced

1 med. onion, finely chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

2 carrots, finely chopped

Wash and sort peas. Heat all ingredients to boiling. Reduce to simmer for 1-1/2 hours. Remove hocks or bones and shred or chop meat and return to pot. Taste for seasoning.

I add lots of pepper. Amount of salt depends on the ham, of course. Needs no pureeing. Gets very thick upon cooling but thins (a bit) when reheated.

It is so good that I always double the amount.

I imagine it would be even better if I had a woodshed for it to cool in!

[snowangel]

I imagine it would be even better if I had a woodshed for it to cool in!

A back stoop or garage in Minnesota works just as well.

Am I the only person who cooks it with whole black peppercorns?

[Jaymes]

Am I the only person who cooks it with whole black peppercorns?

I don't cook it with whole black peppercorns -- but after I've ladled it into individual soup bowls (as I said way back on page 1), it does get a sprinkle of red-pepper flakes. Along with a dollop of EVOO and a dusting of grated P.Reggiano.

[Jinmyo]

I've done the whole peppercorn trick. I like the explosions in the mouth. But other people like it much less. So I just grate lots of pepper.

Jaymes, I like your chile and EVOO deal. I've always gone with fresh bread and cold butter to go with but treating it this way allows for crostini and other components.

[Jaymes]

Jaymes, I like your chile and EVOO deal. I've always gone with fresh bread and cold butter to go with but treating it this way allows for crostini and other components.

Jin - Floating a little really nice EVOO on top gives it a whole different flavor - kinda Italian - ditto the crushed red pepper & parmesan. You should try it. It's just so nice and mellow, as compared to the "brighter" (for lack of a better word) flavor of butter.

[Nick]

kitwilliams recipe is pretty close to mine. I use more garlic and cut the celery (if I put it in) and carrots coarsely. Whole slices from large carrots.

I bought a ham end yesterday and was going to take a pic of what a ham end ought to look like for a pea soup. As it turned out, I got the wrong ham end. I'm going, "Fulton, is that all you've got for ham ends?" So he went out back and got another one. Same thing. There was just something that looked wrong, but I didn't realize what it was til I got home. Had a small bone. Lots of meat, but small bone. I'll try again next week. The right ham end has the bone in the center, not offset all the way to one side. It's bigger and you want a good flexible boning knife.

I'll try again later, but in the meantime Kit's recipe is about the same as mine. Nothin' fancy.

[RMR]

richw, since you are experimenting another possibility (remote) is the hardness of the water. It can effect the softening of beans, but since split peas don’t have seed coats it may not matter a bit.

I too suspect it’s age though (the peas not yours) so buy where there is high turnover. Old beans make good pie weights. Store cool, dry & air tight, not in the refrig.

Have you tried straining after using a reg. blender or food processor? Last resort, ask the diner.

I don’t puree although a couple jabs jab with a potato masher is an easy way to incorporate the vegetables (carrots, onion, celery & potato if one needs using up). Always ham, bay leaf, little thyme and use water, lots of pepper & topped croutons. Early winter in New Eng means the split pea soup season started early. Working on a second batch.

[stagis]

The very grossest I ever made was out of the VitaMix cookbook - grind 'em up dry, then make your soup. If you're not familiar, the VitaMix's claim to fame (for ad copy, anyway) is to cook stuff via friction. The recipe was something like "Grind 'em up dry, add your seasonings and water and turn 'er on!" It was godawful. So, I then threw it on the cooktop to simmer for a while. That was more acceptable. Ate some, fridged the rest - but when I pulled it out of the fridge (with the memory of the first percolating internally), it jiggled. That was enough for me - into the trash it went.

[Really Nice!]

As this is response number 44, I'm sure it'll get lost, but here it goes.

I made two gallons of pea soup yesterday. Here's my recipe:

SPLIT PEA SOUP

2 lbs dried split peas

1-1/2 gallons cold water

1/2 gallon veal stock

1 ham bone (with ham)

1 lb bacon, minced

1 lb mirepoix (8oz onion, 4oz carrot, 4oz celery)

parsley, minced

Place all ingredients together in a stock pot. Bring water slowly to simmer (should take an hour to reach this; any sooner and you won't get the gelatin out of the bone). Simmer 4 hours until peas are tender and ham is falling from bone. Liquid will be partially cooked down; add more liquid if consistency if too thick. Skim off excess fat. Remove bone and cut up large chunks of ham.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

This recipe is from the Laverty Family Cookbook. Copyright © 1998. Distribute freely without alteration.

A couple of points to mention.

One. Using a stock is key as it's a carrier to getting the flavor you want. My personal favorite is veal, but you can use chicken or pork stock if you want. I wouldn't use beef, duck, or lamb as their flavor profiles are too strong for this soup. The key to using a stock is you get that extra gelatin to carry the wonderful flavors of the soup to your taste buds; and gelatin sticks to your taste buds! You'll get some from the ham bone, but having a little extra makes a difference.

Two. Remove the meat and bone from the stock. Use a hand blender to smooth out the soup that's still in the pot. This will get the texture you want. Mince the meat and return to pot.

Three: The best way to deal with the bacon is to preheat the oven to 375°F. Place bacon slices in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 20-24 minutes; depending on how crisp you want it. Baking it this way prevents the bacon from curling and splattering. It's no-maintainence-cooking as you don't have to flip it in a skillet every five minutes. Try cooking it this way and you'll never cook bacon in a skillet again. Once the bacon is cooked, put it on paper towels to drain. Pour the bacon fat into the ramekin dish you store in the fridge for future dishes, you know, it's the one next to the ramekin with duck fat. When the bacon has crisped, mince it and add it to the stock pot after pureeing it.

Four: Start with cold water and stock. This helps extract more gelatin from the bone than if you start with warmer water. This will add thickening properties to your soup.

Good luck and enjoy!

[Nick]

I bought a ham end yesterday and was going to take a pic of what a ham end ought to look like for a pea soup. As it turned out, I got the wrong ham end.

Well, I stopped by Fulton's yesterday on my way back from town and got the "right" ham end. Maybe, maybe not. Just took some pics of each, before and after boning.

The end on the right is the one I got first - it's the shank end and has a smaller bone. But, now that I'm looking at things, it seems to be a better marrow bone. The one on the left is the rump end. It has a larger bone, but not so much marrow. Though it's clear that the meat from the rump end is better.

Hmm. Egullet is an educational experience. I never would have gotten into this kind of detail before getting here. Stop me before I become even more deranged!

The ends cost about $6 each with about 3# of meat. I used to use smoked hocks before the owners of Kohn's smokehouse retired. Hocks that weighed 2-3# and smoked in the European tradition.

[Jaymes]

Thanks Really Nice - great recipe. And Nickn - wow - great instruction. So all in all, now that I'm going to the store to get the stuff and make RN's recipe, which ham choice should I make??

[kitwilliams]

mmmmm. split pea soup. am eating a bowl as we speak. lovely ham flavor with lots of long, stringy bits of ham, creamy and not at all mealy, thick, lots of pepper, little bits of carrot (the celery and onion have melted away and just left flavor). we're having it with simple grilled cheese sandwiches (welsh farmhouse cheddar on (heaven forbid!) storebought bread (but it is Orowheat Honey Wheatberry which I love!) and, since it is my dad's birthday, for dessert: chocolate souffle with custard sauce.

there's plenty here...you're all welcome!

[Kim WB]

While I am not a contributor to the cooking thread, I am an AVID reader...and very often, I am a little green with envy at the apparant comfort you all have as home cooks. Also, I am often salivating at the descriptions...but really, Kits offer for that soup, after the protracted conversation and other descriptions, Nick#2's teasing...( those ham bones were nearly PORN!!) I was THIS CLOSE to checking expedia for rates to fly from Princeton NJ to Long Beach, CA...it sounded that good! And happy birthday, DAd!!!

[Nick]

Kit, I hadn't thought of grilled cheese but I bet it goes good with pea soup.

Jaymes - I don't know which ham end to recommend. The shank end seems to have a nice little bone and the rump end has better meat.

BTW, who wants to take 6# of good ham meat off my hands after this experiment?

Kim, those ham bones don't amount to porn. I bet if Tony B. wants to get in here he'll show us real bone porn.

Edited December 19, 2002 by Nickn (log)

[snowangel]

BTW, who wants to take 6# of good ham meat off my hands after this experiment? 

Moi! That "extra" ham is screaming frittata, or meat to accompany eggs (some sort of benedict variation), or an addition to fried rice, or fried crispy as a topping for some sort of potato or chowder or a bazillion brown bag lunches...