Chet > wrote:

>I have made split pea soup a few times, but cannot get the nice flavor
>that when I get it at the restaurants, not sure what I am missing in my
>recipe.
>
> this is my recipe in a crock pot
> 2 qts water
>1 lb dried split peas
>2 carrots chopped
>2 stalks celery chopped
>1 onion sliced
>some salt & pepper
>1 small ham hock
>1 bay leaf
>
>after 8hrs I remove the ham hock and take the meat off the bone, then I
>use a stick blender, let it cool and scoop off the layer of fat on the
>top of the soup and add the ham pcs it's not bad, but there is a smokey
>flavor missing.

Using mostly the same ingredients-
My instinct would be to use a quart of chicken stock in place of one
of those quarts of water.
I double the carrot volume. [about a pound of carrots] 4 stalks of
celery won't hurt. Unless it is a very large, yellow cooking onion
[not the sweet ones] I use 2.
3-4 bay leaves don't hurt anything, and I think they give soup
'depth'. [if Thyme strikes my fancy that day I might snip some and
add it]

In mine I usually use a leftover ham shank bone with a pound or two of
ham on it. [or a smoked turkey wing]

I simmer it in the soup/water an hour or two[or 4] before I'm ready
to start making soup. Then I cool the pot enough to skim a lot [not
all] of the fat out & separate meat and nasty bits from bone. the
cleaned meat and bone go back in the pot- and then I add the veggies.

I do not blend it. I like the texture. When it is done I give it
a few shots of Worcestershire sauce to taste.

Sometimes I give it some more Worcestershire sauce in the bowl-- other
times I use Frank's hot sauce at the table.

Jim