Instructions

1. On January 30th, sort and wash peas, then in a large pot, add 6 cups of water to let them soak overnight. DO NOT add salt. Don’t you dare add salt until I tell you it’s OK. You’ll also need to make sure that your ham bone is thawing. It’s not critical that it’s thawed before the 31st, but it will speed things up a little. Check that the peas are still covered with water throughout the evening and first thing in the morning. If not, add water until they’re just covered.
2. On the 31st, no later than 2pm carve big chunks off the ham bone and then add the ham, bone, garlic and onion and put the pot on to boil. I usually go low and slow for a while, and then crank up the heat to medium to reduce it. You’ll need at least 3-4 hours. Just make sure to stir occasionally to break up the ham.
3. When the peas are extremely tender and already delicious, the ham has totally fallen off the bone and a spoonful of the stuff stands proud and convex on a spoon, add salt and pepper to taste and simmer another half hour or so to let the spices have time to mingle with the whole party.
4. (Optional) After things have been cooking for about three hours and all of the meat has fallen off the ham bone(s), you can pull pieces of ham out with a spoon or a pasta scooper, put them in a bowl and ‘pull’ them by smashing them with something handy.
5. You can remove the bones before serving, I just like to leave them in for as long as possible to get the most stuff out of them. Just to be on the safe side, I make sure to eat a bowl on the 31st AND on the 1st. I suggest you do the same.
6. IF you, like me, find yourself with too much water, just crank the heat to medium and boil