EPCOT Recipes: Le Cellier Canadian Beer Cheese Soup

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound apple wood smoked bacon - sliced into small pieces
• 1 cup chopped red onion
• 1 cup thinly sliced celery
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup flour
• 3 cups low sodium chicken stock
• 1 pint of heavy cream
• 1 pound aged white cheddar cheese
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder Example of dry mustard powder
• 1 tablespoon Tobasco sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worchester sauce
• 1 bottle of quality dark beer ** see note

Instructions

Open bottle of beer, and set on the counter so it will warm up if refrigerated.

In a large stew pot, over low heat add sliced bacon. Do not try to brown the bacon, you want to release the fat from the bacon only. When a couple of tablespoons of fat have been released and the bacon begins to look cooked add the 4 tablespoons of butter.

When the butter has melted turn heat up to low-medium setting and add chopped onion and celery.

When the chopped onion begins to look translucent and the celery is tender add the 1 cup of flour.

This will look crumbly, and may appear you have too much flour. Cook through for a couple of minutes, so the raw flour taste will be cooked out.

Add chicken stock a cup at a time, stirring until the mixture looks thick and gravy like. Add the second and third cup of chicken stock stirring to incorporate each time. This mixture will look like a thick gravy now.

Add 1/2 pint of heavy cream, and then stir until incorporated, then add remaining heavy cream and stir.

Add grated cheese by thirds into soup, stirring until all of the cheese is fully melted.

Add tobasco sauce, dry mustard, pepper, Worcester sauce, and stir until fully blended.

Slowly pour in beer stirring until well blended.

Serve soup immediately.

Notes on beer:

Use a good quality dark beer, brands/styles that I like: Shiner Bock, Saint Arnold's Amber, Abita Beer Amber, any Oktoberfest style of beer.

Reheating notes: if you must reheat the soup, do so very gently over low on the stove, you may need to thin with milk.

Source: http://www.copykat.com/2010/10/07/le-cellier-canadian-beer-cheese-soup-recipe/