Dutch Oven Split Pea Soup
Dry split peas, dried vegetables, and shelf-stable ham. Two hours over low coals and it feeds a patrol.
- calories
- 420
- weight
- 5 oz
- cal / oz
- 84
- protein
- 26 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 120 min
- total time
- 130 min
- water
- 2000 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Winter / snow
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dry split peas | 1 lb | green or yellow, both work |
|---|---|---|
| Water | 2 quarts | plus more as it thickens |
| Shelf-stable ham | 3/4 lb | canned or a vacuum-sealed chunk, diced |
| Dried diced potatoes | 1 cup | |
| Dried carrot | 1/2 cup | |
| Dried minced onion | 3 tbsp | one small onion's worth |
| Dried celery flakes | 1 tbsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1 tsp | |
| Cayenne pepper | 1/2 tsp | |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | add more at the end, the ham is already salty |
| Black pepper | 1/4 tsp |
Method
- Build a fire and let it burn down. You want coals, not flame, for the next two hours.
- Pour 2 quarts of water into the dutch oven and set it over the coals. Bring it to a boil.
- Dump in the split peas, the dried vegetables, the ham, and all the seasoning. Stir once.
- Pull most of the coals out from under the oven and put the lid on. You are aiming for a bare simmer, not a boil.
- Stir every 15 minutes, scraping the bottom. As it thickens it will scorch if you ignore it.
- Add water whenever it stops moving under the spoon. Two hours total, until the peas have collapsed.
- Taste for salt at the end and eat straight from the pot.
Split peas do not need soaking, but they do need time, which makes this a car-camping or basecamp meal rather than a trail dinner. The payoff is that everything in the pot is dry and cheap, and one pound of peas turns into six real servings.
The fresh vegetables and refrigerated ham from the original are the parts that do not travel. Dried potato, carrot, onion, and celery rehydrate in the same two hours the peas need, so nothing is lost by swapping them in. Canned or vacuum-sealed ham handles the heat without a cooler. Watch the bottom of the oven near the end: the soup thickens fast once the peas break down, and a scorched dutch oven is the usual way this goes wrong.
Packing
Peas, dried vegetables, and spices go in one gallon bag at home. The ham rides separately. Nothing here needs a cooler, so the whole meal is one bag plus one can.
Variations
- Skip the ham and add a tablespoon of smoked paprika. It goes vegan and loses about 12 g of protein.
- Crumbled bacon bar or a foil pouch of chicken stands in for the ham.
- On a canister stove, soak the peas all afternoon in cold water first and cut the simmer to 45 minutes.
https://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/recipe/split_pea_soup-2432.asp