I just made yellow split pea soup, using ham hocks.

[RockRaven]

2. I've found high variability in salt burden between brand/source...

Bought them at the chain supermarket, bought them at the non chain supermarket, bought them at the local bougie butcher, no rhyme or reason I could tell why some were fine and some made it nearly inedible. (also I don't make it very often so I can't remember from one time to the next which was good and which was bad, so it's always a shot in the dark)

We had a bone-in ham for Christmas dinner this year, and later used that bone and scraps to make a batch of green split pea soup and it was delicious.