Corned Beef Pea Soup

On occasion, my wife and I would find ourselves near Livingston New Jersey. When those occasions occurred near lunch time we would sometimes visit a cool strip mall restaurant called Irving’s Delicatessen. What a wonderful place! Sort of a cross between a classic NY style Jewish deli and a NJ sub shop with iconic hot and cold food glass-cases for take-out ordering and available wait service at the hardtop tables along the side wall and in the center of the dine-in area. We loved everything about the place.

One early afternoon we stopped in and the waiter suggested we try the green split pea soup which he promised would be the best we had ever had and also that we would not believe that it was made without any ham. Even with the waiter’s heavy build up of expectations we were not disappointed. The soup was thick, rich and creamy with a healthy measure of….could it be a smoky saltiness? It was delicious. I could not see one bit of ham and although not seeing is not proof of absence, I’m pretty sure Irving would not jeopardize his Kosher chops and his business over a silly soup trick. I was convinced.

Chef Hacker, my alter ego, could not stop puzzling over how that soup might have been made. First I tried smoking an eggplant, some carrots and an onion and then using them for my pea soup mire poix. It was pretty good but it definitely could not punch above it’s weight the way that Irv’s could. I resolved to let this hamless mystery roll around in my head for awhile and give it another try at some unspecified future time.

A short time later I happened to simmer a corned beef brisket. As I prepared to discard the cooking liquor, as I typically do, with that familiar unhappy feeling of pouring intense flavor down my sink drain, I froze. I thought, “What is the difference between this liquid and a rich ham stock?”. What is the difference between that liquid and any other broth or stock, for that matter? Then I thought back to Irving’s Ham-free pea soup and realized that when the waiter said, “no ham”, I misinterpreted it as “no meat”. These two things are very different and just like that Chef Hacker had his latest hack and you, dear readers have your latest hacked recipe – Corned Beef Pea Soup.

Shalom Irving’s

Unfortunately, Irving’s is no more. I recently passed by and found that the building now houses a Mediterranean restaurant. All that is left of Irving’s is the old sign and the fond memories of corned beef and pastrami sandwiches, egg creams and of course, Corned Beef Pea Soup.

So get yourself a corned beef and use the cooking liquid to give this recipe a try. Or, if you prefer a more traditional version, substitute ham stock in place of the corned beef cooking liquid. Either way, use the “Leave A Reply” section below to let us know how it turns out. Or tell us about any other cool tricks you have for taking whatever it is you like to cook, and making it your own. We’d love to hear from you!