Pretty self explanitory title (which, oddly, Google has no interest in answering for me).
I have a big ol’ Honeybaked hambone with some meat on it wrapped up in my freezer. I just remembered this and have decided to make some sort of delightful soup in my slow cooker this week. My questions are:
1: Do I need to defrost the bone and meat before throwing it in the slow cooker? I’ve always heard you can throw frozen things in the slow cooker, but I’d rather be safe than sorry (sorry in the sense that I’ll have crappy, subpar soup).
2: What kind of delightful soup should I make? I was thinking split pea (which I love), but I’m open to your suggestions. Heck, even if you just have an epic pea soup recipe, that’s good, too! The healthier and heartier the better!
I, too, have a honeybaked hambone and am planning on cooking it this weekend (hopefully with black-eyed peas).
Someone I know suggested that, prior to adding it to my dish, I should roast the ham and bone in a 425 degree oven for about 45 minutes. Supposedly, it brings out the flavor in the bone by “loosing it up” for a richer flavor. Apparently, no need to worry about drying it out since the soup broth will re-hydrate it.
I think that if you’ll be making a soup that will allow the bone + meat to be in a safe temperature for a sufficient amount of time to kill any baddies, not thawing should be fine. Personally, I don’t think you’ll need to thaw it, but I usually cook long enough to allow the soup/stew to boil for a good while.
I think split pea, or lentil, or a nice hearty beans&rice would be delightful
When I was making stock from poultry I looked it up as well. their recomendations were to cook the bones and meat for a couple of reasons:
by cooking with a high heat method (searing, baking, frying, w/e) you can caramelize some of the sugars, and give that tasty meaty taste you just can’t do with other preparations.
it helped tenderize the bone to allow it to leak it’s goodness into the soup easier.
marrow contains ingredients that are used in making gelatin as well, so it can help provide a thickening agent and enhance the viscosity and texture of the finished meal.
Those are as I remember reading in the ago time on the interweb, so take it with a grain of salt.
Soup is really a forgiving dish. I think you’ll end up with super soup if you just throw the bone in the crock pot along with the beans, onions, plenty of pepper and maybe a can of diced tomatoes and cook for about eight hours.
I’d recommend navy or great northern beans to go along with the ham, though of course pea would do nicely too. They take longer to cook though. After cooking split peas, I always take four or five ladle fulls out of the pot and puree them in the blender or food processor, then add back to the soup. It makes for definitely creamier soup. Top with plain yogurt when serving.
(which, oddly, Google has no interest in answering for me).