Let's Talk BBQ
Other Cooking Equipment => Cast Iron & Campfire Cooking => Topic started by: Smokin Don on September 03, 2015, 11:33:16 PM
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Sep 03 2015
More crazy weather here in Ohio, Usually in September we start getting cooler weather. The past few days it has been 85 deg. and today was 90. It is not really soup weather but that is what I fixed for supper.
Cheeseburger soup has been around for a while; I love cheeseburgers but had never tried the soup. I found a recipe that added bacon to and I had some jowl bacon to use. I don’t have any more garden tomatoes that will ripen for BLT’s so might as well try the soup.
I did find two green tomatoes that were good to fry and thought they would be good with the soup. I made the soup in my CI Dutch oven outside on my gas burner. I had my bacon cut up and the veggies all diced and ready to go. I started at 5:30 and figured on eating at 6:30 but it was a little after 7:00 before I got it all done. I didn’t figure that too well.
I had just over a pound of bacon and diced half of it about ¼ inch wide to use for topping. I fried two large slices to use as bacon wafers in the soup. The other half I diced 1 inch wide for in the soup. The jowl bacon is a little fattier so I removed most of the fat not per the recipe. I also had ground chuck to use instead of lean beef. I omitted the jalapeno and cayenne pepper too
I did the soup all but the cheese outside then took inside on a low burner while I fried the green tomatoes. I had dipped the slices in seasoned flour, egg and then Panko crumbs and in the fridge a couple hours to set up. I had the skillet right this time and got the green tomatoes fried well. I had added bacon grease to the skillet to fry them in.
When the green tomatoes were done I added two cups of the shredded triple cheddar to the soup to melt. I served the soup with some rye croutons I had made, some bacon bits and the bacon wafer. The wife and I both really liked the soup. I had figured it would be a onetime deal but I will make this again. It will taste good this winter.
Broth, cheese, cream and veggies
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/outdoor%20cooking/_9035674_zpsqngpbnmn.jpg)
Bacon for the topping
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/outdoor%20cooking/_9035675_zpsnrwvywbe.jpg)
Bacon wafers
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/outdoor%20cooking/_9035676_zpsp0hu4o4v.jpg)
Bacon for the soup
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/outdoor%20cooking/_9035677_zpsxf1sy4pq.jpg)
Ground chuck added
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/outdoor%20cooking/_9035678_zpsumxtkzy0.jpg)
Veggies added
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/outdoor%20cooking/_9035679_zpsto5rs5jv.jpg)
Broth added
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/outdoor%20cooking/_9035680_zpshi3u4ugu.jpg)
Cream and flour added
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/outdoor%20cooking/_9035681_zpshah2aoig.jpg)
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/outdoor%20cooking/_9035682_zpsqrcgzjk4.jpg)
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/outdoor%20cooking/_9035684_zps5exkg3xa.jpg)
(http://i1039.photobucket.com/albums/a474/deains/outdoor%20cooking/_9035685_zpslluzwktm.jpg)
Smokin Don
Recipe:
Cheeseburger soup w/bacon
Ingredients:
10 strips Bacon
1lb Lean Ground Beef
1 Large Onion
1 cup Carrots
1 cup Celery
2 Jalapenos (optional)
½ tbsp Cayenne Pepper (optional)
1 L Beef Stock
1 ½ cups Half and Half Cream
4 tbsp All Purpose Flour
LOTS Old Cheddar, I used two cups shredded
Salt and Pepper to taste
*Optional: Sour Cream
Directions
1. Almost every soup begins with the aromatic Holy Grail: onions, celery and carrots. When these are cooked down, they take a kind back seat to enhance the rest of the flavors (whatever they may be) and allow them to be the star of the show. So we need to dice these things up first. Go ahead and cut up your jalapeno, as well.
2. Cut your bacon into one inch pieces and fry them until crispy in the bottom of a large pot or Dutch oven. Once crispy, remove them from the pot with a slotted spoon.
3. Into the remaining bacon fat, fry your jalapenos until soft, then toss in your ground beef. Break it up with a wooden spoon and keep stirring it. You’ll notice the ground beef will remove everything that was stuck to the bottom of the pan. This is a good thing; it’s soaked up all of that gorgeous bacon flavor.
4. Once the ground beef has been browned, toss in your aromatic trio – the carrots, celery and onions. Let these sweat until they’ve softened up and the onions are completely translucent. Add your cayenne pepper and season with salt and pepper.
5. Toss in all of your beef stock. If you think there is not enough liquid, you can always add some hot water. It should be sufficiently soupy. I know that’s vague, but how else do you describe it? Let this simmer for at least 20 minutes. The longer, the better.
6. When you feel all the flavors have melded together as they should, toss in your cream and stir. Next, in a separate container (preferably something with a tight fitting lid) put your flour and about twice as much water. Mix or shake this up vigorously to create an even mixture, then pour this into the soup to thicken it up. If you just put flour directly into the soup, the flour will clump up and the soup will not look very appetizing, with white flour chunks floating everywhere. I learned this the hard way a few years ago.
7. Bring everything back to a boil until the soup is sufficiently thickened. You can always add more cream if you like it creamier, more flour (pre-mixed in water, of course) if you like it thicker, or more water/beef stock if you like it thinner.
8. CHEESE! Shred it, and add it. All of it. I used that whole block pictured with the rest of the ingredients. There is never too much cheese in this recipe. I recommend taking it off the heat, and adding the cheese at the last moment. The soup should be sufficiently hot to melt the cheese readily, but not boiling. That leads to some wacky textures.
9. Plate it, top it with a dollop of sour cream. Don’t forget those bacon pieces that we saved right from the beginning ; throw those on top as well – way better than crackers!
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One large bowl and three of those little beauties plz.
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That is sine good looking soup. Thanks for the recipe
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SD, looks delicious. Bookmarked. Thanks for sharing.
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Yes Don that is a nice looking soup! Nice cook buddy! Now slide me a bowl of all that flavor.....please! And a couple tomatoes too!
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Don..already bookmarked..for the soup..love soups anytime, I made fried green maters the other day..got 2 more to cook..love them, made freid green mater sammiches..good cook. .☆´¯`•.¸¸. ི♥ྀ.
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Don, there is just no stopping you..either out at the grill or in the kitchen...you are rockin it my friend :) :)
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Don, there is just no stopping you..either out at the grill or in the kitchen...you are rockin it my friend :) :)
My thoughts exactly.
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Deliciousness! Bookmarked!
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Hot weather or not. I could hammer a bowl or two of that goodness. Your fried green tomatoes look fantastic, too.
Art
Bookmarked.
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I got this book marked.. It will be perfect at the camp this year.
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I love soup - will be trying this one for sure. Sounds great!
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Out of the park with this one Don!
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I'm not much of a soup fan, but you had me at bacon cheeseburger!!!!
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I've only got one word . . . ..Bookmarked!
BD
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That makes me all kinds of warm and fuzzy inside!!! :P