Pepper Pot Soup
A hearty soup from Revolutionary War days and annually celebrated each year on December 30. I modified a recipe from Ms. Filippone. Tripe, veal, and vegetables combine to make a thick, hearty soup traditionally known as pepper pot. Do not be deterred by the list of ingredients. This soup is quite easy to make. It does require about 2-1/2 hours of slow simmering, so plan ahead.
A hearty soup from Revolutionary War days and annually celebrated each year on December 30. I modified a recipe from Ms. Filippone. Tripe, veal, and vegetables combine to make a thick, hearty soup traditionally known as pepper pot. Do not be deterred by the list of ingredients. This soup is quite easy to make. It does require about 2-1/2 hours of slow simmering, so plan ahead.
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup butter
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 cup onions chopped
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 cups potatoes diced
- 1/2 cup red bell pepper chopped
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 pounds beef honeycomb tripe
- 1 pound leftover beef cubed
- 1 whole onion studded with 3 cloves
- 1 rib celery rough chopped
- 1 large carrot rough chopped
- 1 cup leek washed and sliced
- 1/2 cup green bell pepper chopped
- 1 veal or beef knuckle substitute soup bones
- 1/2 teaspoon ground smoked chipotle or chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons salt or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 cup cream
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1 tablespoon corn starch dissolved in 3 tblspoons water
- Carbohydrate 13.1322096773643 g
- Cholesterol 229.896900161888 mg
- Fat 32.4904618361005 g
- Fiber 1.98281857992813 g
- Protein 36.9642220484344 g
- Saturated Fat 17.318889001148 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (626g)
- Sodium 3369.62438904313 mg
- Sugar 11.1493910974362 g
- Trans Fat 3.7791626520116 g
- Calories 494 calories
Step-by-step
- Rinse tripe under cold water. Drain and place on a cutting board. Sprinkle with salt and rub into tripe to clean the crevices. Rinse again to remove salt.
- Place tripe in a 3-quart saucepan. Add enough water to cover by 2 inches, with the tablespoon of salt stirred in. Slowly bring to a boil and simmer 15 minutes. Drain tripe and let cool. Cut into 1/2-inch cubes and set aside.
- If you do not have tripe, or do not like tripe, substitute left over roast beef or other beef that is easily cut into small cubes.
- Heat a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons of butter, chopped onions, whole onion, celery, carrots, leeks, and bell pepper. Stir to coat the vegetables, cover, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened and translucent, about 10 minutes. Do not brown.
- Add broth and water to the pot, along with the veal knuckle, tripe/cubed beef, garlic, chile powder, bay leaf, oregano, basil, thyme, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 1-1/2 hours.
- Remove the veal knuckle and pick off the meat, cutting any large pieces down to bite size. if using soup bones, use a spoon to get the marrow from the bones into the soup. Discard the whole onion. Return the veal meat to the pot, along with potatoes, cream, and parsley. Simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Stir in cornstarch mixture and simmer 2 to 3 minutes until slightly thickened.
- Swirl butter into the hot soup until melted and immediately ladle into bowls to serve.
That catalog of proteins and aromatics provides no warning about how tripe behaves when introduced to heat without a preliminary blanch. Honeycomb tripe demands aggressive initial salting and a preliminary fifteen-minute boil to eliminate its natural rubberiness before it ever encounters the Dutch oven. Without this preliminary step, the lining remains tough and resistant to softening, no matter how long the subsequent simmer lasts. Historical accounts link this thick, vegetable-heavy potage to Revolutionary War encampments where camp cooks utilized cheap cuts and marrow bones to build heavy nourishment, transforming tough offal into a velvety winter broth.
Achieving the Proper Consistency
Building body in a soup containing both gelatinous knuckle bones and lean meats requires careful temperature management. Simmering the broth uncovered for ninety minutes allows collagen from the veal knuckle to break down into gelatin, which acts as the primary stabilizing agent before the final starch addition. When scraping marrow from the bones back into the pot, watch for bone fragments that can compromise the silky mouthfeel. Swirling cold butter into the finished soup just before ladling adds gloss, while the cornstarch slurry must bubble for exactly two to three minutes to cook out its raw taste and achieve a glossy sheen.
- Rinse tripe under cold water and rub with salt to clean the inner crevices thoroughly.
- Maintain a gentle simmer during the ninety-minute phase to prevent the meat from seizing.
- Cook the diced potatoes for fifteen to twenty minutes until a paring knife slides through cleanly without resistance.
