Ham Steak Cabbage Soup

This is the soup your aunt made on laundry day: a pantry dump that somehow ends up tasting like it simmered all afternoon (because it did). Diced ham steak trades out for expensive stew meat and still delivers smoky, porky depth, while a full pound of cabbage soaks up the tomato broth and turns silky in the pot.

Buzzing the V-8 with celery in the blender is an underrated trick. It breaks down the celery into a near-puree that thickens the broth and gives the soup more body than chunks of celery floating around.

The onion soup mix is the MSG-driven shortcut that builds deep savor without a hand-built stock. Some cooks scoff; your soup pot doesn’t care.

Low and slow is the only way. Two full hours of gentle simmering is what makes the cabbage tender and the ham flavor diffuse through the broth. Turning up the heat to speed things along makes cabbage fibrous.

The leftover ham steak is the whole point of the recipe. Its saltiness seasons the broth better than any bouillon cube, and pre-cooked ham means no browning step.

Kitchen Tips

• Use smoked ham steak for the most flavor. Unsmoked ham makes the soup taste flat.
• Skip added salt until the end. Between the ham, V-8, onion soup mix, and canned tomatoes, there’s plenty.
• Leftover cabbage slaw cabbage works too; just adjust quantities by weight.
• This soup freezes well. Portion into quart containers after fully cooling.

Variations

• Add a can of rinsed white beans or chickpeas during the last 30 minutes for a heartier bowl.
• Stir in a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce for deeper umami.
• Throw in a Parmesan rind while simmering and fish it out before serving for extra savoriness.