Bacon Cheeseburger Soup
Time will pass and seasons will come and go, so to will football season inevitably end for every fan base...some sooner than others. Unfortunately for the Pittsburgh Steelers and their fans, the season has ended at the hands of a New England Patriots butt whoopin'. As hard as it is to admit, the better team clearly won....with that said...LETS GO PENS!!
Whenever I watch big games, like the Steelers/Patriots AFC Championship game, I always make a point to make something absolutely delicious. So that whatever the outcome of the game, at least I still win because I had something delicious...well that's my silver lining logic. So, in true fashion, I made this delicious Bacon Cheeseburger soup! What really makes this soup fantastic is layering the bacon flavor through the entire cooking process. This flavor layering can be achieved in lots of recipes, especially when using a fat (i.e. butter, oil, bacon fat, etc). In this example, I rendered fat from both the ground beef and bacon. I then saved that rendered fat and used it through the entire recipe. I used the golden delicious fat to saute the mirepoix, as well as, the base for the roux. Layering or building flavor, especially in soup, is definitely a great way to elevate any dish. With that said, lets check out this delicious recipe!
Bacon Cheeseburger Soup
Prep time: 45m | Cook time: 30min | Total time: 1hr 15min | Yield: 8 servings (2 1/4 quart)
Ingredients
-
- 1/2 lbs ground beef
- 4 slices bacon, 1" chop
- 3/4 cup onion, chopped
- 3/4 cup carrots, shredded
- 3/4 cup celery, diced
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1-3/4 pounds peeled potatoes, cubed (about 4 cups)
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 package (16-ounce) Velvetta cheese, cubed
- 1-1/2 cups whole milk
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 tsp worchestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup sour cream
Cooking Directions
- In a dutch oven over medium heat, cook and crumble beef until no longer pink; drain and set aside. In the dutch oven, add chopped bacon and cook until crispy and bacon fat is rendered. Place mesh sieve over a bowl and drain bacon, separating the bacon bits from fat. Set both the fat and cooked bacon aside. In same dutch oven, add 1 tablespoon bacon fat over medium heat. Saute onion, carrots, celery, basil and parsley until tender, about 10 minutes. Add potatoes, beef and chicken stock; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender, 10-12 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of bacon fat until shimmering. Add flour; cook and stir until bubbly, 3-5 minutes. Add roux to the soup; bring to a boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Stir in cheese, milk, salt, pepper, and worchestershire sauce; cook until cheese melts. Remove from heat; blend in sour cream.
- To service, top soup with shredded cheddar cheese, cooked bacon bits, and sliced scallions.
Of course when throwing a Super Bowl Party (or should I say Soup-er Bowl Party...ba doom ching!) you may want to keep food out to snack on during the game. It is crucial that hot foods at above 135F and cold foods don't exceed 41F. Always check these temperatures every 2 hours to maintain proper food safety protocol. The best way to monitor food temperatures? Thermapen of course! I use mine pretty much every time I cook. It's incredibly accurate, easy to ready, fast, and most importantly durable.
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