Lots of people do a Christmas honey baked ham. This year my family did one for Thanksgiving, so I asked if I could take the bone (with some meat on it). Why? Because I’m making split pea soup today, and I am making my own ham stock. First, I trimmed off some fat and meat (parents left more than I asked for, too nice), and seared it on high heat on all sides so it browned a little. I did this in a large pot. I then turned off the heat, and added a whole onion, cut into quarters (outside skin as well), tops of fennel (only because I had them), a whole head of garlic (cut in half), a whole head of celery, 2 large carrots, and some sage. Fill the pot up with just enough water to cover everything. Crank the heat till it starts to boil, then turn it down and let simmer for 1-2 hours (I went about 2 hours) with the lid cracked a little. Stir every once in a while. When finished, put the lid completely on, and wait till everything cools enough to handle. Strain the stock into another pot so you are left with just the liquid. Pick all the meat off the bone. Whenever you are ready for the actual soup (you’ll need 30-45 minutes), bring stock up to a boil, add half an onion, 1-2 carrots, 1-2 celery stalks (all diced), ham meat, and 1 pound of split peas. Reduce to simmer for 30-45 minutes. You’ll know when its ready because the peas will fall apart and thicken the liquid. This lasted me 3 meals! If 3 days of soup is too much, freeze some for a quick go-to meal.
SAVE TIME: If you are short on time, you can buy the stock of your choice and add some country ham or maybe even some bacon to give it that porky, smokey flavor.
TIPS: If you make your own stock, experiment with adding other vegetable scraps. Ends of veggies you throw away or mushrooms stems are good candidates. Stock starts as water. More scraps/ingredients = more flavor…