The Home Cook: Beer Cheese Soup

The past few days have brought some frightfully cold weather. Not unusual by any means and we each have our own way of coping with it. Personally I'm a baker; cookies, quick breads, bars, cakes, whatever is convenient and lets me crank on the oven. Others opt for the couch/movie/blanket/dog route. But many many many people like to go the soups and stews route. For those soup people in the audience, this one's for you.

I'll admit that when the weather is like this a big bowl of thick soup does sound tempting, but it's Tim who is the soup person at our house. Chicken noodle, chicken and wild rice, potato bacon and corn chowder are all very popular but last summer he met a new favorite, Beer Cheese Soup. We've been on the quest to find him a comparable recipe ever since. After more than a few false starts, I gave up on any single recipe being 'The One' for him. So after reading cookbooks, the internet and more than one cooking magazine I hit the kitchen; cheese grater in hand and a head full of ideas.

I'm not sure what constitutes an original recipe...if it means taking 5 recipes splicing them together, adding a generous dollop of your own ideas and completely making up your own instructions then I present to you Kelli's Beer Cheese Soup. (If not then I present AllRecipes.com, Epicurious.com, Better Homes & Gardens, Good Housekeeping, Kraft Magazine & Internet at Large's Beer Cheese Soup.) It's not too different from the myriad of other recipes out there except for the fact that it cleverly incorporates just about every ingredient and technique ever suggested by any recipe you're ever likely to encounter. This is a smooth cream of cheese style soup, the onions and garlic add a bit of texture but are cooked so long they are amazingly tender. Chop them as small as possible...think minced, otherwise they will become chunky bits and no one wants that. I'd recommend staying away from light or red (ie: Killian's) beers and sticking with a regular full bodied beer. We used plain old Budweiser but I'm guessing a pale wheat beer would add some interesting flavor. As far as cheeses go, well you can experiment to you heart's content. We've decided that we're more of a mild cheddar group and we like the complexity that using more than one cheese offers. The Muenster adds a smokiness to the soup and it enhances the creamy factor too since it has less oil than Cheddar or Colby. However, you can go with one type or a blend of your choosing. (I'm going to try a Gorgonzola and Fontina cheese soup that hopefully turn out to similarly to a local brewery's house soup.) It cooks up fast too, about 45 minutes...or less if you buy the grated cheese. I like it paired with warm garlic bread twists or wheat rolls and it garnishes nicely with bacon.

Kelli's Beer Cheese Soup

1-2 strips Bacon, diced
1 Tablespoon Garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup Onion or two large Shallots, finely minced
2 Tablespoons Butter
Salt & (White)Pepper to taste
3 Tablespoons Flour
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1/4 teaspoon Paprika
1 teaspoon Ground Mustard
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
Tabasco Sauce
12 oz beer (ale or lager, but no reds)
1 12oz can Evaporated Milk
Whole Milk, Heavy Cream or Half & Half
6oz Cheddar, shredded
2oz Colby, shredded
2oz Muenster, shredded (or 3 slices)
1 cup Chicken Broth, or enough to bring soup to desired consistency.

Saute bacon in a dutch oven (or heavy bottomed pot) until crispy. Spoon out bacon and save as a garnish for later. Drain out the pot reserving 2 Tablespoons of the drippings in the bottom. Add butter to the drippings and heat until melted. Stir in onion and garlic, sauteing until the onion or shallots are clear.

Stir in flour, cayenne pepper, paprika and ground mustard, saute for 2-3 minutes. Pour in beer, Worcestershire sauce and about 1/4-1/2 a teaspoon of Tabasco sauce. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 3-5 minutes to remove alcohol. Stir occasionally with a whisk to make sure that no lumps remain.

Pour the evaporated milk into a 2 cup measure, adding enough whole milk, cream or half and half to equal two cups. Sir into base, simmering until heated through. Once creamed mixture is warmed through, begin adding cheeses one handful at a time, being sure cheese is fully melted and incorporated before adding the next handful. Stir constantly to keep cheeses from burning. Once cheese are added, begin stirring in chicken broth slowly until soup reaches desired consistency, the end result should be a soup that evenly coats the back of a soup spoon and sheets off the edge. Ladle into bowls and garnish with bacon.

Serves: 4-6