Rubaboo Split Pea Soup Recipe (Voyageurs National Park)

Rubaboo split pea soup recipe inspired by: Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota.

If you’re looking for a hearty, energy-dense meal inspired by the national parks, the classic rubaboo recipe is absolutely a great option.

This traditional porridge or stew was a staple in the limited diet of the voyageurs (legendary French-Canadian canoeists), coureurs des bois (literally: runners of the forest) and Métis people (of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry) of what is now southern Canada and the northern United States.

It’s an amazing dish to cook while camping, whether it’s at a frontcountry site or deep in the backcountry.

You could, of course, also prepare rubaboo in your own kitchen at home. It’s a great fall and winter recipe inspired by Voyageurs National Park.

What Is Rubaboo?

A thick stew made with whatever ingredients were available, although some ingredients, such as peas and corn, were almost always used, rubaboo fueled these hardy fur traders and native people on their travels and day-to-day activities. In a way, it’s one of the most historic survival foods.

The word “rubaboo” is a blend of the French word “roux”, a type of thickener for sauces and gravies, and the Algonquian word “aboo”, meaning soup. So, essentially, rubaboo is a thick soup—a stew.

Common ingredients used in many historic rubaboo recipes are split peas, corn, a thickener like bread or flour, and some kind of grease, often bear or pork.

Traditionally, pemmican—a calorie-rich snack that used to be an important part of certain Indigenous cuisines in North America—would also be added to the stew for more flavor, nutrition and depth.

Sometimes, when few ingredients were available, voyageurs would make rubaboo with just pemmican and water.

In my own rubaboo recipe, however, I’ve used some more ingredients to make it a delicious, filling and well-rounded meal. Perfect for chilly nights around the campfire!

Voyageurs Rubaboo Recipe

• Prep time: 20 minutes (more if you also want/need to make pemmican to add)
• Cook time: 40 minutes
• Total time: 1 hour
• Servings: 4

Read on to see my Voyageurs National Park-inspired rubaboo recipe. Depending on which meat you use, of if you use any at all, the ingredients for this national park dish could last weeks, if not months.

After all, the voyageurs and coureurs des bois had to take much of their food with them on their arduous and often-very-long journeys in the wilderness. This is a recipe made to last.

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Necessary Cooking Tools

• Cast-iron pot with cover
• Can opener
• Wooden spoon
• Ladle
• Cutting board
• Chef’s knife
• Tablespoon
• Measuring cups

Voyageurs Rubaboo Ingredients

• 1 cup dried split peas, rinsed
• 1 can of corn, drained and rinsed
• 2 medium carrots
• 1 medium onion
• 2 rosemary sprigs
• 1/2 lbs. bacon, chopped into small pieces
• 4 cups beef broth (or chicken or vegetable broth)
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 balls or sticks of pemmican
• Parsley for garnish, chopped
• Salt and pepper as needed

Note 1: I used bacon in this rubaboo recipe, but you can use any kind of meat you want. Just like the voyageurs did, use what’s available. Popular alternatives are pork butt, chicken or rabbit, all of which the voyageurs themselves would occasionally have added to their own rubaboo, too.

Note 2: The same goes for the veggies. My recipe calls for carrots and onions, but don’t be afraid to use other ingredients like mushrooms, potatoes, wild rice, parsnips and/or asparagus. The main vegetarian ingredients in rubaboo are split peas and corn—all the rest is optional or additional. This is the perfect recipe to experiment with. There’s no right or wrong here!

Instructions

Making this rubaboo recipe is super-easy. You don’t need any advanced cooking skills for this in any way. Just follow these steps and you’ll end up with a nutritious, energy-packed stew filled with flavor.

1. Heat the cast-iron pot over medium heat until hot.
2. Add the bacon and cook, stirring, until almost crispy. (You can use some of the bacon grease to make pemmican; alternatively, pour out any amount of grease you think is excessive.)
3. Add split peas, corn, carrots, onion, rosemary sprigs, pemmican and broth.
4. Bring to a boil.
5. Cover and let simmer for about 30 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, mix the flour with some water in a cup, stirring until smooth.
7. Pour the water-and-flour mixture into the rubaboo, stirring until thickened.
8. Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking.
9. Ladle rubaboo into bowls, top with parsley.
10. Enjoy!

If you want to go super-traditional, serve your rubaboo with classic bannock. This traditional yeast-free bread originated from Scotland, but was introduced to and used by Native Americans and First Nations people as well.

Together with pemmican and rubaboo, bannock is one of three main foods that sustained the Indigenous people, travelers and fur traders around the Great Lakes. See the recipe for pemmican here and bannock here.

In case you want to keep things simple, however, that’s totally possible, too. Serve the rubaboo with a toasted baguette or other type of French bread.

Tip: If you keep your leftover rubaboo in the fridge overnight, it’ll thicken and make for a delicious porridge-like meal the next day. Thickened rubaboo re-served later on was known among voyageurs as “rowschow” (from French re-chaud, or re-heating).

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If You Decide to Make This Hearty and Delicious Rubaboo Recipe at Home, Feel Free to Tell Everyone About It Below! Happy Cooking!

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More National Park Soup and Chowder Recipes

• Three Sisters Soup Recipe (Cuyahoga Valley National Park)
• Ground Turkey Taco Soup Recipe (Petrified Forest National Park)
• Turkey and Wild Rice Soup Recipe (Voyageurs National Park)
• Paganens Algonquin Hazelnut Soup Recipe (Isle Royale National Park)
• New England Cod Chowder Recipe (Cape Cod National Seashore)
• Wild Salmon and Potato Chowder Recipe (Olympic National Park)
• U.S. Senate Bean Soup Recipe (National Mall and Memorial Parks)