Philadelphia Pepper Pot (Pepper pot soup)

Overview

Philadelphia pepper pot is a thick, peppery American soup made with beef tripe. The tripe is cleaned and simmered for hours until tender, then cut into small pieces and cooked in beef stock with onion, celery, carrot, potato and herbs such as thyme and marjoram. A lot of cracked black pepper and a little hot pepper give the soup its name and its warming kick. Small dumplings or pieces of pasta are often added at the end, and the soup is thickened with a little flour and butter. It is hearty, filling and a little old-fashioned.

History

A popular legend says that pepper pot was first made in the hard winter of 1777 and 1778 for George Washington's army at Valley Forge, when cooks had only tripe and pepper, but historians doubt the story. The soup was sold in the streets of Philadelphia in the 18th and 19th centuries, often by Black women vendors, and the Campbell company sold a canned version until 2010.

Main ingredients

Beef tripe, beef, potatoes, onion and celery, black peppercorns, flour dumplings. The soup is built on beef stock and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; not usually gluten-free.

Explore: Beef soups · Tripe and offal soups · Potato soups · More soups from United States

Recipe

4Serves

3h 30m30 prep · 180 cook

~400kcal / serving

MediumDifficulty

Method

1. 1
   2 h

   Simmer the tripe in salted water for 2 hours, then cut it into small pieces.

2. 2
   30 min

   Brown the beef, then add the stock, tripe, herbs and pepper and simmer for 30 minutes.

3. 3
   20 min

   Add the vegetables and potatoes and cook for 20 minutes.

4. 4
   10 min

   Add the dumplings, thicken with the butter and flour and simmer for 10 minutes.

5. ✓

   Serve. About 3h 30m from start to bowl.

Sources

• Pepper pot soup (Wikipedia)

Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.