Here's one for all of you from Wisconsin and the upper Midwest: Caitlin is looking for a good beer cheese soup recipe. She says:
I am having a really hard time finding a good recipe for Beer Cheese Soup. Any suggestions?
Read on for our suggestion and to give your own recipe recommendation.
Caitlin, we've never tried beer cheese soup (although it sounds awfully hearty and warm right now, with the temperature outside in the 30s) so we can't judge what makes a recipe good. We will though direct you to Road Food's forums; there is a discussion here of beer cheese soup with some family recipes:
• Beer Cheese Soup discussion
We also want to throw this out to the crowd. What makes a good beer cheese soup (or really, any good cheese soup) and do you have a recipe recommendation for Caitlin?
Related: Recipe: New England Fish Chowder
(Image: Flickr member megatr0n licensed for use under Creative Commons)
I don't know of any.. but this sounds SO good!
view emily!'s profile
Is it made with Beer Cheese? Beer Cheese is my favourite cheese to snack on. So salty and delicious!
view revolution9's profile
I use a terribly unfancy recipe, but it's creamy and delicious. (It's be better if I had the patience to melt actual cheddar for the soup, I'm sure, but this does really well for instant-gratification soup when you're cold and just got rained on and need comfort food NOW.)
1 lb Velveeta (told you it was unfancy!)
2 bottles dark beer
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
- Mix all and simmer until everything is gooey. (You might want to add more beer, depending on how thick you like the soup.) Keep stirring constantly so the cheese doesn't scorch on the bottom of the pan.
Serve with a popcorn topping for extra Wisconsin goodness.
view nadarine's profile
What are you looking for in a recipe for beer cheese soup -- are there any particular ingredients you would like or are trying to avoid? There are lots of recipes out there -- ones from the U.S., some from Europe (England does some lovely cheddar-based soups)...
view mschatelaine's profile
@revolution9, most recipes use sharp cheddar.
I use this recipe from Gourmet: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/CHEDDAR-BEER-SOUP-231641
This is one of my favorite soups, put some homemade croutons on top and you have a great cold weather treat. Sometimes I add broccoli and/or cauliflower.
I'm always on the lookout for different versions, so thanks for this post. It seemed when I was searching. so many people love beer cheese soup, but few know (or share) the really great recipes!
view bobcatsteph3's profile
This is the one I usually make:
Beer Cheese Soup on AllRecipes
First, the soup is only as good as the beer you add to it, so if you wouldn't drink it, don't put it in your soup. A darker beer is better in this case. Let the beer sit and go a bit flat before adding it.
I don't add the Dijon mustard, just the dry mustard, otherwise it gets too much of a mustard taste. Where it says milk or half & half, go with half and half or it's not thick enough. And let the veggies get a bit translucent before adding the liquid, you'll get more flavor out of them. Hope this helps.
view Zaya's profile
There's a nice one at Real Simple:
http://food.realsimple.com/realsimple/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1123196
I've made it several times and its pretty easy and yummy. Just be sure to use a good quality sharp cheddar, whole milk , and a nice beer (no keystone light, please!)
Oddly enough, I've been planning for a week to make this exact soup tonight!
view fib's profile
i tried the gourmet recipe posted by bobcatsteph3 but for me it had too many vegetables and that made the texture suffer (and diluted the beer and cheese!)
then i tried adding a bottle of newcastle to the parsnip and cheddar soup recipe in sundays at moosewood. it was better but too parsnippy.
i actually love the idea of starting w/ cream of mushroom (or cream of whatever) - i'll try that next time!
some of the comments on the epicurious page recommend "a hoppy beer" - i disagree. i would lean malty for this one. i liked newcastle and even boont amber ale. the real simple recipe says "Use a beer that's light in flavor, like a lager or a pale ale. The darker the beer, the more bitter the soup will taste." that's sort of oversimplifying. i wouldn't use a pale ale (and definitely not an IPA, bleh). use a beer you've tasted before...one you trust and would use to wash down a large bite of sharp cheddar.
view akostalas's profile
The American versions of the soup are pretty consistent -- carrot, onion, celery sautéed, stock, cheddar, maybe mustard or hot sauce...
However, the English versions have more variations...
Personally, I don't care for the taste of cooked celery, and so avoid it. Here is a nice version made with leek
http://www.dayrecipe.com/2008/03/23/cheddar-cheese-soup-with-ale-Recipe/
And here is another one that is essentially an onion soup with cheese (love onions!)
http://www.english-restaurants.com/english/recipes/default.asp?type=Starter&recipeID=22
Whereas this one has parsnips (my husband's favourite soup is cheddar and parsnip -- they add a lovely round sweetness) as well as stilton in addition to the cheddar:
http://www.soupsong.com/rale.html
And this one uses cauliflower or broccoli:
http://beer.about.com/od/soupandstew/r/NBACheddarSoup.htm
and here is smoked gouda and blonde ale:
http://larianlequella.com/soup.shtml
and a cheddar beer soup with a little bacon
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/CHEDDAR-BEER-SOUP-231641
view mschatelaine's profile
For a far less gourmet version, our local Cub (grocery store) has several varieties of beer cheese soup recipe mix, where you usually just add milk and water and let it sit on the stove for half an hour or so. They're quite delish.
view kls987's profile
I don't have the cookbook here but The Vegetarian Epicure, Book 2 by Anna Thomas has a good Dutch Cheese & Potato Soup recipe that uses dark beer.
view Kathryn Hill's profile
i second fib's comment. that real simple recipe has become a wintertime go-to recipe for us since i came across it a few years ago.
at having made the soup several times with several beer variations, i can definitely say that the darker the beer, the more bitter the soup.
the last time i made the soup i used a cheap light bear (Bud American Ale) and it turned out great.
view j i's profile
FWIW, I made the real simple recipe last night, and it turned out great. I used Newcastle - a malty darker beer - and grafton english cheddar.
I'm going to experiment by pureeing the leftovers tonight to see how it is without the veggie chunks. I hope its yummy!
view fib's profile
The December/January 2009 issue of Cooks Country magazine posted a Wisconsin Cheddar Beer Soup recipe. I tried it last night and it will be my new go-to recipe, it's great!
view bobcatsteph3's profile
I make a much simpler version (which I guess I made up?). Change the proportions depending on your tastes and the number of servings you like, this is VERY approximate.
- 2 cups whole milk
- big splash beer/ale (1/2 cup? more if you like)
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- shredded cheddar (maybe cup and a half? more if you like)
- cup or so Greek/Syrian-style very thick whole milk yogurt (again, more if you like).
Mix milk, beer, and cayenne in a heavey saucepan. Heat gently until hot (very low simmer). Turn heat to lowest setting and slowly whisk in cheese (beat constantly) until it's all melted (careful you don't let it separate!). Remove from heat and whisk in yogurt. Put back on low heat until warm. Don't over heat. Delicious with buttered whole grain toast!
view marfa's profile