Beer Cheese Soup

What’s more Midwest than cheese and beer? I’ll wait.

Beer cheese soup seems like it was invented on a cold winter day in Wisconsin. A quick Google search sort of confirms this suspicion.

Beer cheese soup is one of those dishes I cannot resist when it’s on a restaurant menu. When I make it at home, I like to make sure all of the ingredients stand up on their own. Otherwise, this would be a loose queso dip and nobody wants that.

If you want to taste the Midwest in a bowl, this beer cheese soup recipe contains the greatest hits.

Ingredients

• 6 slices of thick cut bacon - diced

• 3 tbsp unsalted butter

• 1 small yellow onion - diced

• 2 celery stalks - diced

• 2 carrots - diced

• 1 jalapeno - seeded and diced

• 2 large garlic cloves - thinly sliced (similar to how Pauly would slice garlic in Goodfellas)

• 1/3 cup all purpose flour

• 1 tsp dry mustard

• 12 ounce beer - I recommend a light lager

• 2 cups of chicken broth

• 1 cup of heavy whipping cream

• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 tsp paprika

• 1 tsp dried thyme

• 10 oz sharp cheddar cheese - shredded

• Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper - to taste

• 1 scallion sliced or chopped parsley

• Warm pretzel sticks (I get mine from Gus’ Pretzels)

Method

1. Heat a large thick bottomed pot over medium heat

2. Add bacon to the pot and cook until crisp

3. Remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate - reserve drippings in pot (if the drippings seem excessive - discard some. You want more than you think though)

4. Add butter to the pot and melt

5. Once the butter in melted add the onion, celery, carrots and jalapeno - stir to combine

6. After a minute add the garlic

7. Add kosher salt and black pepper - combine

8. After a few minutes - add in the all purpose flour and mustard powder - stir constantly for 1 minute to combine

9. Add the beer slowly while constantly stirring - the mixture will be a little thick

10. Once combined, slowly add the chicken stock and heavy whipping cream constantly stirring to incorporate

11. Once the mixture is combined and smooth, add the Worcestershire sauce, paprika, bay leaf and thyme

12. Add kosher salt and black pepper to taste

13. Bring to boil and simmer, stirring occasionally for 20-30 minutes

14. once the soup has thickened, remove from heat

15. Slowly add about 8oz of cheese and stir to melt

16. Ladle the soup into bowls

17. Top with shredded cheese, bacon, scallions or parsley and fresh cracked black pepper

18. Serve with a beer and warm pretzel