Hearty Pea Soup Recipe
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Category: |
Category: |
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Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 2 cups or 16oz bag died split Peas,
2 cups or 16oz bag baby or 3 large Carrots diced,
2 cups or 3 large stalks of Celery diced,
2 cups or 1 large or 2 small Onions diced,
2 cups or 1 large can Chicken broth (if not cooking a pork shoulder),
6 cups Water,
2-3 lbs uncooked Smoked Pork Shoulder (boneless or bone-in),
3 tbsp. (I make mine heaping) minced Garlic,
1 large Bay Leaf,
2 tsp. Black Pepper
1/2 tsp. normal (1 tsp. med-hot) ground Cayenne pepper,
1 tsp. crushed or ground Marjoram,
½ tsp. Ground cloves,
Salt to taste,
1 loaf Sheppard’s or French Bread (optional)
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Directions: |
Directions:This is a very hearty, meaty pea soup. It is comfort food for a cold winter afternoon or evening.
Thaw pork shoulder if frozen. If using an uncooked pork shoulder, preheat oven to 325oF. Place shoulder face down in roasting pan and cover tightly with foil. Bake for 25 min per pound.
While pork shoulder is baking, bring water to a boil in med-large soup pot preferably with a thick bottom. Prepare and add all other ingredients to the boiling water. Return to a boil then cover and turn heat way down until it “barely” maintains a boil. Simmer at this heat for 1 to 2 hours stirring at regular intervals as necessary (I use a timer set at 10-15 minutes) to avoid any sticking or burning on the bottom of the pan. During this time you will be adding the ham. The key to avoiding burning your soup is using the “lowest heat possible” that still just “barely” maintains a “very slight” boil. If in doubt, work your temperature setting up slowly from being too cool, rather than risk being to hot. Even a few rising bubbles is sufficient. Anything more will risk burning the soup and ruining the flavor.
When the pork shoulder is done baking, remove it from oven and pan and allow it to cool. Do NOT throw out the stock/juices remaining in pan. If you plan to eat soon, wrap your Sheppard’s bread or French bread in foil and place it in the oven. Turn the oven off.
Once the stock has cooled slightly, pour into a gravy separator (if you have one) and allow a few minutes to separate. Then pour off 2 cups of broth (from under the oils) and add this to the soup pot. Set aside the remaining broth. If you do not have a gravy separator, pour the stock into the tallest narrowest vessel you have and allow juices to separate. Then slowly pour off the oils from the top and add 2 cups of the broth (that remains) to the pot of soup. Set aside the remaining broth.
When the pork shoulder cooled enough to handle, cut off any fat and discard and cut the bone out. Don’t worry about the amount of meat still on the bone. Place the bone in the soup. Coarsely cut up at 2 lbs of the cooked ham (3 cups of 3/4 in cubes) and put in soup. The large cubes add to the hearty taste. You can cut any remaining ham into slices, pour the remaining broth over it and freeze it for pizza, sandwiches or a ham dinner later. Do not increase the heat setting on the soup. Allow it to return to a boil gradually. When the peas are fully reduced and the vegetables soft, remove the bone from the soup. Clean any remaining meat from the bone and return the meat to the pot. Discard the bone.
Serve this hearty soup hot with warm French or Sheppard’s Bread. Enjoy. Freeze the leftovers. |
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Number Of
Servings: |
Number Of
Servings:A bunch |
Preparation
Time: |
Preparation
Time:3 hrs |
Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: I hated pea soup as a kid, but as an adult it grew and grew on me. So I kept experimenting and reading new recipes until I came up with this, a conglomeration of several I liked. The trick to this thick soup is in cooking it for 2 hours without burning it. Follow the directions closely and it works every time.
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