Split Pea Soup with Pigtail

Traditional Belizean Split Pea Soup with pigtail is made with yellow split peas, and from what we know it’s only because green split peas were not available in Belize for a long time. If you know more, let us know in our comments section below! Green split peas and yellow split peas don’t taste very different from each other and are shaped the same… the only real difference is the color!

We love Belizean Split Pea Soup with Pigtail… it’s a warm, comforting food. It’s also a very simple recipe, and fills your kitchen with a great aroma!

Some people say this recipe was brought to Belize as food for slaves and servants. We don’t know the exact history of this recipe but we can say it is delicious. The rich soup and umami brought to the recipe by the pigtail make for a delicious combo that can’t be recreated with a salted pigtail. In the United States, the pigtail (sometimes called pork tail) is easily found smoked but is less commonly fresh or salted in brine. We’ve adapted this recipe with smoked pigtails by using fewer pigtails. The heavy smoke flavor can become overpowering with too many tails in the soup. There’s nothing like the fat and salt intensity of a pigtail to warm your day and fill your belly.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb yellow split peas, washed and sorted
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 2 potatoes, diced
• 6-8 pigtails, cut into 2-4 inch pieces (use 3 if using salted or smoked pigtails)
• 1-2 tbsp oregano
• Cracked black pepper, to taste
• Salt, to taste (optional)

Instructions for Belizean Split Pea Soup with Pork Tails:

1. In a heavy soup pot (Amazon), heat oil over medium heat. Sauté onion and garlic until translucent.
2. Add pigtail and brown.
3. Add yellow split peas, oregano, pepper, and 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Add diced vegetables and simmer for an hour, or until split peas have completely fallen apart into a uniform soup.
5. Serve hot and enjoy!

Notes:

• Soak split peas for 6-12 hours to speed up cooking time.
• Cut pigtails down to smaller sizes, if needed.
• Some people prefer to blanch the pigtails to remove excess salt.
• Be sure to watch the heat to avoid scorching the soup.
• Split peas can be soaked for 6-12 hours to speed up cooking time. Depending on your pigtail you may want to cut them down to smaller sizes. Typically, we would make them 2 to 4 inches long. Some people like to blanch the pigtails to remove some of the salt. We prefer simply not to add any more salt to the soup. Sometimes a quick rinse under cold water does the trick to remove some excess salt. 
• As the soup is simmering just make sure you watch the heat. If the soup gets too hot it may scorch to the bottom of the pan. 

Alternative options:

• For a vegan version, omit the pigtails and use vegetable broth instead of water.
• For a gluten-free version, make sure your ingredients are certified gluten-free.

Serving suggestions:

• Serve with freshly baked bread or corn tortillas.
• Pair with a cold Belikin beer or tropical fruit juice.

Nutritional information:

• Serving size: 1 cup
• Calories: 300
• Total fat: 12g
• Total carbohydrates: 32g
• Dietary fiber: 9g
• Protein: 18g

We hope you enjoy this delicious Belizean yellow split pea soup recipe! Let us know in the comments if you have any modifications or suggestions.

Check out this YouTube. You’ll notice this Garifuna cook blanches the pigtails before adding them to the peas.

Did you enjoy this recipe? Checkout our other traditional Belizean soups:

• Relleno Soup
• Picadillo Soup
• Chirmole Soup
• Escabeche Soup
• Beef Soup