Beer and Cheese Soup With Potatoes

Submitted by Ripptide

"A thick and creamy cheese soup accented by potato chunks and a stout beer flavor. This recipe is highly adaptable and accepts variation well! I love to pair this soup with a hearty sandwich or a grilled chicken breast to stave off the cold of winter. Notes on the recipe: -If you have bacon grease or pork fat that you can fry the vegetables in that instead of butter and the taste will be amazing! The soup is far less healthy as a result, however. -You can use vegetable stock in lieu of chicken stock in this recipe, but the taste is usually very different and far more bitter. -I typically use 8oz of shredded sharp cheddar and 8oz shredded mild cheddar, I think that gives the soup a great flavor. But you really can use any cheese you want, I've yet to have this turn out "bad" no matter what I use. -I prefer Nacho Cheese in a can (typically found in the ethnic food aisle near the mexican foods) because it has a nice bite to it that complements the beer. but you're mainly adding it for color and consistency, so you could use any creamy-cheese in a jar or can and have the same effect, -I use the lightest beer I can find because I find that the flavor of very heavy, hoppy beers will overpower the rest of the ingredients. Miller lite or Bud Light are great. -If you use fresh thyme use several sprigs. If you're using dried thyme then might I recommend the "French Thyme" from penzey's spices? You'll only need a pinch and it has a really great flavor. -The dry ground mustard can be found in the spice aisle. Please don't add actual liquid mustard! It'll kill the flavor of the soup!"

 

• Ready In: 25mins
• Ingredients: 18
• Yields: 1 quart
• Serves: 8-10

ingredients

• 1 medium carrot
• 3 celery ribs
• 1 white onion
• 2 medium potatoes
• 59.14 ml flour
• 118.29 ml butter
• 236.59 ml heavy cream
• 473.18 ml whole milk
• 473.18 ml chicken stock
• 453.59 g cheese, shredded
• 226.79 g nacho cheese
• 453.59 g beer
• 2.46 ml dried thyme
• 2 large bay leaves
• 14.79 ml Worcestershire sauce
• 9.85 ml ground mustard
• 14.79 ml garlic salt
• 14.79 ml kosher salt

directions

1. Grate the celery, onion and carrot into a small bowl. You want this mixture to be as fine as possible.
2. Cube the potatoes into pieces about the size of a dime or smaller. Shape isn't important, but size is. So if you prefer rectangles to cubes knock yourself out!
3. Heat the butter in a large skillet and add the all the vegetables to it. Cover and let this cook on medium-low heat for about 8 minutes. You will need to stir this occasionally so that the potatoes cook through.
4. Add the salt, garlic salt and Worcestershire and let it cook for another 2 minutes over low heat.
5. Add the flour to the mixture slowly, and stir it in as you go. You want the mixture to thicken, but you don't want it to dry out. If it looks dry, add butter until it's liquid enough to move around the pan easily.
6. Move the mixture over to a stock pot or soup kettle and cook at low heat. Add the beer, cream, milk, mustard, bay leaves, thyme and chicken stock and whisk briefly to combine the items. The soup should now be a white-yellow color.
7. SLOWLY add the shredded cheese to the soup 1 handful at a time. Whisk constantly while you add the cheese and try to ensure the cheese stays off the sides and bottom of the pot. If you're using a yellow cheese the soup should begin to take on that color.
8. Add the nacho cheese to the soup and whisk vigorously until it's combined.
9. Cover and let the mixture heat for about 5 minutes on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. It's important to make sure the soup NEVER boils, or the ingredients will start to separate.
10. Serve with cracked pepper and bacon bits!