I had a spiral ham bone saved and frozen for making split pea soup. Yesterday I simmered it on the stove in water all day. In the evening I put on the lid and placed it outdoors on the wrought iron table. I used a shoe string to tie the lid down just in case a critter stopped by to check out the aroma. (Couldn't find a bungie cord.) This morning I removed all of the hardened fat from the top of the jelled broth and heated the broth on the stove. After washing the split peas, I put them in the broth with some chopped onions and simmered it for 4 1/2 hours, stirring often until the peas turned to mush. (There is a little packet of ham seasoning in the bag with the peas but I threw it out.)
We had a bowlful for lunch and the rest is jarred for the freezer with space for expansion. The little amount of top fluid is broth, not fat. The mushy peas sink. It was very tasty and a bit salty, though I never added even a small sprinkle. It was also somewhat labor intensive. I wonder if commercially canned split pea soup is as good. At least I know what's in mine.
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What?? You say you don't care for split pea soup? All the more for me.
On fact, we had split pea soup for lunch (one of our favorites). I make it from scratch but never use ham bone. Today, tho, it was progresso.
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