
Yay, split pea soup. I had bought a bag of dried split peas & some ham hocks – the weather has been turning colder & thought that this would be a nice hot soup to curl up with on a chilly nite.
Ham hocks remind me of growing up – mom or dad used them every once in a while in different kinds of stews & soups. My grandpa was a butcher, so we only had the best pork knuckle – if there is such a thing. I can take just about anything (I’ll gut a kangaroo as needed), but cutting thru all that fat/bone stuff is difficult. Hungry?
Ingredients:
- 16oz dried green split peas, rinsed
- 2 medium carrots, peeled & cut
- 2 medium celery stalks, diced
- 64 oz chicken broth (or veggie broth)
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced (thin as possible)
- 2 md garlic cloves, minced
- 2 bay leaves (remove before serving)
- 2 ham hocks
- 64oz low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 tblsp ground black pepper

Cook it:
- Put ham hocks in crock
- Add all other ingredients
- Cook on LOW for 8hrs (ham hocks should fall apart when done)
Wow, this one smelled fantastic & somewhat let me down. As mentioned before, you win some & you lose some – will still post the losers (the difference between me & Alton Brown). If we were in communist Russian during Stalin’s reign, this would have been a god send, but my refined palette wants more. (After reflection – I did come to conclusion – I didn’t add a bunch of salt. Most canned beans are packed in some juice & a bunch of salt. When you cook with dried beans – keep in mind there is no sodium added.)
Upside – had a nice consistency & the hocks provided a bit of salt/fat. Sadly, as mentioned, needed tons of salt – if you are on a low sodium or whatnot diet, this would be great.
There you go – did kinda like the soup, but was expecting a lot more from the smell.
Done & done.
Don’t forget the uber important tags of “pig knuckles” “ham hock” “trotters”. Also, you might not need the salt if you use more robust seasonings or stock. Sliced leeks, spinach, sherry, cayenne, tarragon, MSG.