Easy Cheesy Potato Bacon Soup

Posted by Boss Hog ................ Credit: Bakingmischief.com on Jan 10th 2023

We all know Bacon is comfort food.  This soup is also comfort food, and it’s rich and cheesy and easy to make.  Just the thing to make for dinner on a cold winter evening for you Bacon Freaks.  Makes 5-6 servings.

Ingredients:

• 12 oz of your favorite bacon sliced into 3/4 inch pieces, might we suggest a smoky dry-cured variety like Boss Hog Hickory Smoked?  Regular, thick-cut, and even bacon ends will also work.
• ½ medium onion diced small
• 2 celery stalks diced small
• 2 large russet potatoes peeled and diced medium (about 4 cups)
• 4 cups(two 15 oz cans) chicken broth
• 5 tablespoons(71g) butter; salted or unsalted is fine
• ¼ cup and 1 tablespoon (44g) all-purpose flour
• 2 cups Milk: Use whole milk, the higher fat the milk, the richer your soup will be. If you’d like to substitute a bit of half and half or heavy cream for the milk, it will be even richer.
• 6 oz. (about 1 1/2 cup) Cheddar cheese: Grate your own cheese from a block rather than using pre-shredded bagged cheese because the anti-clumping additives added to bagged cheese can prevent it from melting completely and smoothly.
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper and salt to taste.
• Sour cream and sliced green onions optional for topping.

Directions:

• In a large pot, cook chopped bacon until barely crispy. While super crispy crunchy bacon is delicious, it isn’t great in soup. Cook the bacon until it’s just cooked through and a little crisp around the edges, but still pliable and then use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a plate.
• Spoon off and discard all but about 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat. Add onions and celery to the pot and cook over medium heat, stirring often and scraping any browned cooked-on bits from the bottom of the pan, for about 5 minutes, until the onions have just begun to turn translucent around the edges.
• Add potatoes and chicken broth to the pot. Bring to a simmer and then cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until potatoes can be easily smashed against the side of the pot with a fork.
• Use a potato masher or spatula to roughly smash about half of the potatoes in the pot.
• In a medium pot, over medium heat, melt butter and then add flour. Cook, whisking continuously, until flour begins to turn lightly golden, about 1 minute.
• Slowly drizzle in milk, whisking constantly as you go to whisk out any lumps. Cook, whisking continuously, until mixture is thickened and bubbly around the edges, about 5 minutes.
• Remove pot from heat and slowly whisk in cheese, a handful at a time. Once all your cheese is melted, stir the cheese sauce into the soup. Add pepper. Taste the soup and add salt if needed.
• Add about ¾ of the bacon to the soup (reserve ¼ for topping) and stir everything together.
• Ladle into bowls, top with sour cream, reserved bacon, sliced green onions, and more cheese if desired.  Don't forget the French bread.