We asked our readers on social media for their advice to anyone making a traditional cooked dinner for the first time. We’ve included some of the best tips here, beginning with this sage advice from Robin Tetford: “Biggest tip is relax and enjoy the process! Cooked dinner is meant to be enjoyed and bring back old memories while creating new ones. If you are making it for the first time because your partner is a Newfie and wants it, it’s about love. If you live away and have no one to cook it for you, it’s about home. If it’s your first time doing it for family, it’s about love and pride of your roots. If the salt beef is too salty, you will have the memory. If the veggies are too hard, they will still taste good! If the peas in the pease pudding are a little too hard, add a little butter and a little pot liquor and mash away! Just enjoy the process and the results!”
Pease Pudding
1 pkg yellow split peas
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Soak peas in water overnight. Drain peas and fill pease pudding bag about half full. Tie tightly and place in a pot of boiling water, turn heat back and let it slow boil for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. (Put it in the pot with your salt meat and you can cook them both at once.) Remove the bag from the pot and gently squeeze the water out; dump peas into a bowl, mash with butter, and season with salt and pepper.
Reader tips:
“I use a mason jar for my pease pudding! Fill your jar ( I use small, 1 cup jar for just two of us) halfway with peas. Put several slits/holes in the lid and screw it on. Throw (not literally, haha) it in the pot with watered salt meat. Jar will fill with water. When salt meat is cooked, so is pease pudding! Size of jar is dependent on how many are eating. I have put two large ones in the pot for a big crowd!” – Nikki Froude
“My best tip is to add a half of a diced onion in with the pease pudding, then mash it with butter when it’s done. Best peas pudding ever, and you can use leftovers for pea soup.” – Julie Hyde
“When adding your peas in the bag, my dad always added a dash of garlic, salt and pepper. Cook it in boiling water with your salt beef, then add your cabbage, veggies and potatoes last. When you take out your pease pudding bag, remove pease in a bowl, add butter and serve. Absolutely delicious!” – Kimberly Erin Snow
“Wet the bag first with cold water so peas won’t stick.” – Karen Noftle-King
“When you tie off your pudding bag, make the string a little longer and tie it to the handle of the pot outside, so the bag doesn’t go to the bottom and end up sticking and burning to the bottom of your pot!” – Paula Welsh Webster
“Make sure you use a pease pudding bag! Years ago (when I first moved out on my own) I used a clean, black nylon stocking as a replacement and the whole dinner turned black! Even the salt beef! Had to throw it all out.” – Jackie Pope
Check out the December 2023 issue of Downhome to get recipes and tips for every part of a cooked dinner – from Turkey to Blueberry Pudding – and give it a go!
