BEER, BACON and Cheese Soup!!!

As with all cooking, quality of your ingredients matter.

I am lucky enough to have a home town brewer, Boulevard Brewing Company with a full range of annual, seasonal and specialty beers great for drinking and just as fantastic to cook with.

Most often when I want true beer taste to come through the rest of the ingredients I use their BULLY PORTER Beer... "A dark colored, medium-bodied beer with a prominent burnt, roasted malt aroma and flavor and an equally prominent hop aroma, flavor and bitterness."

When choosing a beer to cook with, try to avoid the Lite beers and even the big names and hunt down a specialty that compliments and makes your food shine!

Especially pick something that will stand up to a complex level of tastes like this recipe with sharp cheddar cheese, garlic, Cajun spices, Mustard and just to make this something really amazing I used some Honey Chipotle Glazed Bacon that I posted about the other day. Heat, Sweet, Salty and that unique bacon flavor.

Roll all this together and you have a beer lover's Soup.... And a Bacon Lover's Soup!

Thick, rich, complex flavors... Complex, but still the flavors of bacon, beer and cheese Shine!

OK... Here's what I did...

BEER, BACON and Cheese Soup!!!

Ingredients

• 1/2 Pound Bacon, cooked, reserve the bacon fat
• 4 TBS Butter
• 1 Medium Red Onion, Chopped
• 2 Stalks Celery, Chopped
• 2 Medium Carrots, Chopped
• 3 Cloves Garlic, Minced
• 2 TBS Flour
• 1 Bottle (12 OZ) Beer, I used Boulevard Bully Porter
• 2 Cups Chicken Stock
• 8 OZ Sharp Cheddar Cheese, freshly grated
• 1 tsp Mustard Powder
• To Taste, Optional Cajun Spice Mix (I use just 1 tsp)
• For Garnish 1 tsp Sour Cream
• For Garnish 1/2 tsp Chives

Cooking Directions

1. This cooks perfectly in a crock pot with a wand blender. First, cook the bacon, reserve the grease, set the bacon aside, divide in half.
2. In a large saute pan with the bacon grease, add the butter and mix (and melt).
3. Add the vegetables, onion, carrots and celery and saute for 5 minutes until the onions turn translucent.
4. Add the garlic and continue to saute for 1 additional minute
5. Add the flour and stir to combine.
6. Deglaze the pan with half the bottle of beer. Move all of this to the crock pot slow cooker.
7. Add the remaining beer, chicken stock. Set the cooker on high, cover and cook allowing all of the flavors to mingle.
8. After 4 hours, take a hand mixer (or move the "soup" to a stand blender in batches) and blend everything until completely smooth.
9. Add the cheese and mustard powder. Blend until melted and smooth.
10. If desired, add the Cajun Spice mix.
11. Serve HOT, garnish with additional chopped bacon, Sour Cream and Chives and ENJOY!

Pairs FANTASTIC with a Better BACON BACON Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich (Double Bacon and MORE)!

This is such a rich thick complicated flavored soup.  Best of the beer soups I have ever tasted.  Fantastic!

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So,  I am pleased to list this as one of my Growing list of  "52 Recipes for Soup, Chili or Chowder" (Now more than 52 and still growing)

Soup from Scratch is one of the great kitchen joys.  The house smells amazing and the soup warms to the bone.  From broth to chowder, vegetarian to loaded up chili... Even a great idea for a party (love the Potato Soup Bar idea).  Come take a look, sure to have something you might like to try.  All recipes have been tested and WORK!

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