In Memory Of Karen Nicole Smith, 1972 - 2016

A Classic Caribbean Split Peas And Salted Pigtail Soup.


This is a take on a basic but extraordinary soup my grandmother would make with simple ingredients like yellow split peas, herbs, salted cod instead of salted pig tail and tons of dumplings. She lived her entire 99 years without ever touching pork. However I love pork on my fork, so in my version I’ll be using pieces of salted pig’s tail for added flavor and that true Caribbean vibe in the pot.

 

You’ll Need…

2 cups yellow split peas
2 lbs salted pig tails
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 scotch bonnet pepper
1 tablespoon veg oil
1 large onion
4 sprigs thyme
4 large potatoes
3-4 cups coconut milk
6-8 cups water
2 scallions
4 cloves garlic
1 cup flour + water for dumplings

 

Note: If you don’t dine with the swine, you can easily use salted beef or bits of salted cod for the same flavor base. Additionally, you can make this split peas soup fully vegetarian and leave out the pork. Just add about 2/3 teaspoon salt in cooking.

Have your butcher cut the salted pig tail into one to 1.5 inch pieces for you or use a heavy Chinese clever to do so. Anything else and you’ll ruin your good knives. Rinse with cool water, place in a deep pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Turn it down to a simmer and let it go for about 45 minutes. The goal is to remove most of the salt the pork was cured in and to help tenderize it so when cooked in the soup it will be falling off the bones.  Then drain and set aside.

As the vegetable oil heats on a medium flame in a deep soup pot, prep the ingredients. Dice the garlic, onion and scallions and peel and cut the potato into quarters.

The oil should be hot now, so toss in the garlic, onion, scallion and thyme and reduce the heat to low. After about 3-4 minutes, go in with the black pepper and then toss in the pre-cooked pieces of salted pig tail. Raise the heat to medium and give it a good stir. Wash and drain the split peas (place in a strainer and run cool water while running your fingers though the grains), then add it to the pot.

It’s now time to add the water, coconut milk and potato to the pot and bring to a boil. Then lower to a simmer and drop in the scotch bonnet pepper ‘whole’! This will give us a ton of flavor but not the raw heat. Near the end you can remove the springs from the thyme as well as the whole scotch bonnet pepper. Or if you want that Caribbean sunshine, you can burst it for real fyah!

After about 50 minutes of simmering (remember to keep stirring) the pieces of pigs tail should be tender and the split peas should start to dissolve. A sign that it’s time to add the flour dumplings. In a bowl place the flour and enough water to make a soft but firm dough (tip – add a pinch of sugar to the dough) , then work with a fork then go in with your hands to make the dough ball. Let it rest for about 5 minutes, then start pinching small pieces off and shape into a sort of cigarette shape (spinners). Add to the pot and cook for another 8 minutes.

Now taste for salt (adjust accordingly) as we didn’t add any salt with the hopes that the remaining salt from the salted pig tail would be enough to season the pot accordingly, remove the pepper if you so desire and don’t forget to also get rid of the springs from the thyme.

IMPORTANT!  This split peas soup will thicken drastically as it cools so be sure to add more water if needed.

Turn off the heat and serve HOT! You can always add carrots, green bananas and ground provisions to the pot if you desire, but I find that it’s not really necessary! However our grandmother would always include yam if it was in season. Also bear in mind that this is not like a North American soup, but more like a thick stew and it will (no matter how hard you try) turn out to be a very large pot of soup.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. Oh yea! Leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.

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A Classic Caribbean Split Peas And Salted Pigtail Soup.
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3.51star1star1star1stargray Based on 26 Review(s)
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22 Comments

  1. Mark
    January 30, 2023 / 5:45 pm

    Soup is wonderful, but I made too much so we have soup for days now

  2. Fran
    February 9, 2019 / 5:13 pm

    Can you use unsalted pigtail?

    • admin
      February 10, 2019 / 9:12 am

      no sorry.. no flavor

  3. Tamara
    August 20, 2017 / 10:19 am

    Your website is my go to site whenever I need to cook something I never cooked before. Thanks for the recipes and videos on youtube.

  4. pat
    January 6, 2017 / 3:08 pm

    I love this receipe. My mum who was a Trini used to cook this for us english kids, we loved it and now I cook it for my kids.

  5. Penny
    December 12, 2016 / 9:35 am

    My SIL is Trini Tobago and she has made this on occasion and it was sooooo good. The coconut milk really is an option, however, leave it out and you miss out on the wonderful flavor it brings. I also love making Trini Dal pooi however I use the leftover bouillion from ham. What a surprise!
    Love this site!

  6. June 24, 2016 / 1:19 pm

    Awesome, i enjoyed it, thanks! That’s a new one for me.

  7. LATICE
    February 12, 2016 / 2:50 pm

    OMG THIS RECIPE IS SO GOOD! I USED TURKEY WINGS INSTEAD.

  8. Annie
    June 4, 2015 / 1:10 pm

    Love your recipies – this soup is da boss!!!

  9. rene'
    January 3, 2015 / 7:38 pm

    will be doing this maybe more peppers though

  10. Jennifer
    December 11, 2014 / 3:03 pm

    My husband is Grenadian I made this for him Tuesday night for dinner and he loved it. Since he’s a vegetarian I substituted the pig tail for shrimp. Needless to say it was finger licking good. Thank you so much I appreciate it.

  11. cw
    November 21, 2014 / 7:15 pm

    Hi

    I enjoyed your recipe. It is very much like the’classic’ soups I ate as a child in Barbados and prepare as an adult when I find the time. However, putting coconut milk in soup with split peas was new to me. Is that a Trini and Jamaican thing?

    • Samantha
      November 25, 2014 / 3:19 am

      Hi CW I am from Grenada and we put coconut milk in split pea soup as well…. Actually when I think about it we put coconut milk in all soups except chicken and seafood broths…. It depends on the tastes of the person preparing the soup of course as other starches like yams are also added to split pea soup too

      • Kian
        May 1, 2015 / 12:28 pm

        Hey, I’m Trini, Tobagonian actually.First I heard of the coconut milk. The split peas alone normally leaves the soup very thick.

        • Mya
          May 10, 2015 / 2:56 am

          Trini as well, my mum would put coconut milk in corn soup but no others. i’m going to try it though, see what it’s like 🙂

  12. August 4, 2014 / 7:32 pm

    Chris, sometimes I really don’t know what meal to make for my family. Therefore I look at your meals then I make them, especially the pigtail receipts. Gonna make this soup for tomorrow dinner.

  13. Shelley
    July 3, 2014 / 4:35 pm

    Very goooood

  14. Shelley
    July 3, 2014 / 4:34 pm

    It was very good enjoy

  15. June 4, 2014 / 2:19 pm

    tried it and love it

  16. March 19, 2014 / 7:52 pm

    Man I replaced the pigtail with oxtail and cowheel ……hmmmmmm good!!!! food for days ……

  17. Arouca
    March 11, 2014 / 11:36 am

    Hello, I was wondering if you could post how many persons each recipe feeds so that I could adapt it to suit my family (2 persons). That way I won’t have a ton of leftovers.

  18. Sondra
    March 9, 2014 / 8:02 pm

    Oh my word! That looks so good! I am definitely going to try this month end!

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