This soup is one of my favorites to cook because it honestly comes together pretty fast and is delicious. This is also pretty much clam chowder without the clam juice and clams, so if you have a hankering for clam chowder but can’t source them, this is your soup.
Ingredients
- 1 lb bacon, I prefer thick cut
- 3 lb red potatoes cut into small cubes
- 8 stalks celery cut into small chunks
- 1 white or yellow onion diced
- 6-8 cup chicken stock
- Flour or corn starch to thicken soup (optional)
- 1-1.5 cup cream
- Salt
- Pepper
- Red pepper flake (optional)
Tools
- One large cutting board or pastry mat
- One large pot with lid
Method
- Cut your bacon into roughly 1/2 inch chunks and throw all of it into a preheated pot over medium heat
- While the bacon is crisping up, cut potatoes, onions, and celery
- After the bacon is crispy, remove the chunks and place aside. Retain all of the bacon grease in the bottom of the pan. Cook until the onion is translucent
- If using flour to thicken your soup, create your roux now. Depending on how much grease your bacon produced, this could be anywhere from 3-5 tbsp of flour
- Put the potatoes in the pot, and cover with chicken stock and add spices to taste. 1 tbsp salt/pepper is a starting point, but half the salt if you don’t like salty food. How much chicken stock you use depends on how thick you want your soup. I tend to cover it about 1/2-1 inch above the potatoes because I like my soup to be very chunky
- Bring the soup to a simmer and reduce heat to low for about 20-30 minutes, or until your potatoes are all the way cooked
- If thickening your soup with corn starch, use between 1-2 tbsp of cornstarch and create a slurry with some stock from the soup and stir in
- We aren’t aiming to thicken the soup up too much with thickening agents, its not a stew.
- Stir in your cream, for a creamier soup use more
- Stir in half the bacon crumbles you created
- Serve in a bowl with bacon crumbles on top of the soup
Bruce Family Kitchen 