Sugar shack style split pea soup
- Preparation 15 min
- Refrigeration 36 h
- Cooking 1 h 40 min
- Servings 8 to 10
- Freezing Absolutely
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🍁 The Quebec soup that has comforted forever
This sugar shack style split pea soup is the kind of dish that takes you straight back to winter Sundays with family, smoky sugar shacks and meals that nourish both body and soul. Yellow peas soaked for 36 hours that become creamy, a smoked ham bone and rind that release their flavors during long cooking, finely cut vegetables that melt into the broth, and that touch of maple syrup that reminds where this recipe comes from. It’s rich, it’s creamy, it’s absolutely delicious. The kind of soup you prepare in a big batch to feed a crowd or fill the freezer for rushed evenings. Served piping hot with crusty bread, this soup instantly becomes the highlight of the meal.
🔥 A traditional recipe with a modern touch
The beauty of this soup is that it respects tradition while adding a contemporary touch with IPA bringing subtle bitterness and hoppy notes that balance the smoked ham’s richness. The 36-hour soaking of peas guarantees ultra-creamy texture without added flour or cream. Slow cooking allows flavors to fully develop and peas to transform into silky puree. Passed through an immersion blender, this soup reaches that velvety consistency characteristic of the best sugar shack pea soups.
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🔪 Respect 36-hour soaking
This extended soaking completely softens peas and considerably reduces cooking time. Insufficiently soaked peas remain hard and grainy even after 2 hours of simmering. Long soaking guarantees that creamy texture characteristic of the best pea soups without needing to add cream or flour.
🌡️ Keep bone and rind during entire cooking
Ham bone and rind release their smoky flavors and gelatin during long cooking, creating incomparable depth of flavor and natural silky texture. Removing these elements too early gives bland and watery soup. Rind’s collagen transforms into gelatin that naturally thickens soup.
⏱️ Simmer over low heat for minimum 1h30
Slow cooking allows peas to completely break down and flavors to blend harmoniously. Too high heat makes peas burst too quickly and creates grainy rather than creamy texture. Gentle simmering transforms peas into velvety puree that coats the palate.
❄️ Freeze without ham cubes
Soup freezes remarkably well up to 3 months. For optimal texture, freeze soup before adding ham cubes, then add fresh ham when reheating. Frozen ham becomes rubbery and loses its characteristic tender texture.
🔥 Pass through immersion blender for smooth texture
Blending soup after removing bone and rind creates that uniform velvety consistency typical of sugar shacks. Not blending gives soup with whole pea pieces less pleasant in mouth. A few pulses of blender are enough to obtain perfect creamy texture.
Ingrédients
- 1 ½ cups (375 ml) dried yellow split peas
- 1 cooked smoked ham shank with bone (about 1.5 kg / 3.3 lb)
- 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 nantes carrots, grated
- 3 celery stalks, thinly sliced
- Olive oil
- 1 cup (250 ml) Ciboire IPA beer from Archibald microbrewery (or another light IPA)
- 6 cups (1.5 L) chicken broth
- 1 cup (250 ml) water
- 2 bay leaves
- ¼ cup (60 ml) maple syrup
- Salt and pepper from the mill
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Preparation
- Put peas in a large bowl and cover with water. Let soak for 36 hours. Rinse and drain. Reserve.
- Separate rind from ham and reserve. Remove bone. Cut about 2 cups (500 ml) of meat into cubes and reserve for finishing.
- In a large pot heated over medium heat, add onion, garlic, carrots and celery, then drizzle with a good stream of olive oil. Salt and pepper generously and mix. Cook 5 minutes stirring.
- Add peas, bone, rind and remaining ingredients, except ham cubes. Salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce to low heat. Cover and simmer 1 hour 30 minutes or until peas are tender.
- Remove bay leaves, bone and rind and pass soup through immersion blender to obtain beautiful creamy texture.
- Add reserved ham cubes and simmer 5 minutes stirring. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve piping hot.
Quick soaking (boil 2 minutes then let stand 1 hour) works but gives less creamy texture. The 36-hour soaking softens peas deeply and guarantees that creaminess characteristic of the best pea soups.
No. Smoked ham brings salt naturally, so salt sparingly at first and adjust at end. Taste before adding ham cubes to check seasoning and adjust as needed.
Yes, but bone brings irreplaceable smoky depth of flavor. Double rind amount or add 2 tbsp concentrated ham broth to compensate. Result will be good but will lack that traditional richness.
IPA brings subtle bitterness and hoppy notes that balance ham’s richness and maple syrup’s sweetness. Too bitter beer crushes flavors, light IPA creates perfect balance.
Yes. Replace IPA with 1 cup (250 ml) additional chicken broth and add 1 tbsp cider vinegar or lemon juice to recreate acidity and bitterness that beer brought. IPA gives subtle bitterness and hoppy notes that balance ham’s richness and maple syrup’s sweetness, but this alternative works very well.
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