Follow our complete, step-by-step, recipe to learn how to make this delicious Potato and Ham Bone Soup.
A delicious soup made with potatoes and a leftover ham bone. Perfect for a cold winters night supper and easy to make.
It’s the middle of January (2020) and the weather here in the heart of North Carolina has been on a roller coaster for the past week or so. Interesting start to the New Year as far as the weather is concerned that’s for sure.
We’ve seen days in the mid 70’s, warm enough for t-shirts and shorts. Then, the next day we’re down in the 50’s with temps at night dropping below freezing. It’s hard to know how to dress and prepare.
But, this week is going to be cold all week, so it was the perfect time to use up that leftover ham bone I’ve had wrapped in aluminum foil in the refrigerator. I recently cooked another ham shank and saved some meat on the bone so I could use it to make this soup.
We’ve already posted a recipe for Potato Soup, and one for Ham Bone Soup, here on Taste of Southern. You might want to check those out as well.
Soup is perfect for a cold night in Carolina. And, this old Southern boy loves his potatoes, so what better way to make soup than with potatoes? I hope you’ll give our recipe a try and that you’ll leave us a Comment in the section at the end of this recipe to let me know how it turns out for you.
I enjoyed a bowl or two right after I made it. The rest is in the freezer for later. Smile
Ready to give our recipe a try? Alright then, let’s head on out to the kitchen, and… Let’s Get Cooking!
Potato and Ham Bone Soup Recipe – You’ll need these ingredients.
I cooked another Baked Ham Shank with Brown Sugar Glaze over the holidays and I saved the bone. When I start slicing off the meat, I always leave a small amount of meat on the bone because I know I’ll be using the bone later in some type of recipe.
Let’s get started by dicing the carrot and the stalks of celery.
And then, dice the onion.
You’ll need about a 5-quart heavy stock pot. Place it over Medium heat on your stove top. Once it gets warm, add the 3 Tablespoons of Butter.
Add the diced celery, carrots and onions.
Stirring often, cook the vegetables until they are tender. This will take about 8-10 minutes usually.
Add the ham bone to the pot.
If your ham bone has been frozen, you need to thaw it out in the refrigerator a day or so ahead of time before making your soup.
Add the 8 cups of water, which should cover, or nearly cover, the ham bone.
Increase the heat to Medium-High and bring the water to a boil. REDUCE the heat back to just below Medium.
SIMMER THE BONE FOR ONE HOUR
After one hour, remove the ham bone from the water and place it on a plate to cool.
Let the broth continue to simmer while you prepare the potatoes.
I leave the peel on the potatoes but you can peel yours if you prefer. Wash the potatoes then slice them in half, then slice each half again. Cut across the potato to cut it into about half inch or one inch cubes.
Just mark it up to getting older, but I’ve about stopped peeling potatoes when making most recipes. Even my mashed potatoes. It makes life much more simple. Smile. Besides, they add more flavor.
Place the potatoes in the pot of broth. Let this cook until the potatoes are fork tender. About 15 minutes. Stir it occasionally as it cooks.
Pull the meat from the ham bone once it’s cooled enough to handle. You can leave this in chunks or dice it up smaller. Your choice.
When the potatoes are done, use a slotted spoon to remove about half of them from the pot. Don’t worry about getting any carrot or onions along with the potatoes. We’re going to add this all back in shortly.
Use an Immersion Blender to cut up the vegetables left in the pot.
If you don’t have a blender, you could also use a potato masher to mash the potatoes.
Add the can of evaporated milk.
Place the vegetables you removed back in the pot.
Add the meat from the ham bone to the pot.
Stir everything together and let it heat back up. The canned milk will cool it down some so warm it back up but don’t let it get back to a simmer. Remove from heat. Taste the soup and add salt and pepper as needed if desired.
Enjoy!
Serve the soup while it’s good and warm.
