Possible Allergy warning – please read all recipes carefully
and be aware of any allergies or sensitivities that may affect your health and well-being

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Please Fave the original Here

A great new gem from with all the BACON !

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Another blast of cold weather blew in for a couple days between our unusually warm week here at Vrghr's home, and wuff got to wishing for something warm and comforting. And what better than a lovely thick, substantial soup?

So wuff decided re-visited one of his favorites with an updated version; a Loaded Baked Potato Soup. And it was another lovely success!

This version starts with some nice, oven-baked russet potatoes. The skins are rubbed with butter (or oil) and sprinkled for salt to draw out some moisture to leave the insides fluffy and the skins crispy. Wuff kept those skins because they add so much to the "baked" flavor of the potatoes. Mincing them up to nearly a puree meant they vanished into the soup without bringing unwanted surprise textures, but kept their wonderful, earthy flavor.

Of course the "Patron Saint of Bacon" wouldn't leave that ingredient out, especially with a "loaded" baked potato version! Both the fat and the bacon reside deep in this thick creation, and more crisp bits garnish the top.

Wuff incorporated onions in two versions in this creation: Sweet and thick caramelized and sharper, more forward onion powder. Chives also bring their version of lighter, more herbal onion flavor.

The other staples of a Loaded potato are deep in this soup as well; sour cream, cheese, and butter.

All told, all of the dairy make it a very rich soup, so wuffy added some lovely Sherry Vinegar for its bright acid notes to help cut through and add sparkle to the flavors. You can use a nice white wine for this as well.

Note that all the cheese, fat and dairy in this also mean you need to serve this hot. As they said in that wild "Hot Chocolate" scene from Polar Express, "Here we only have one rule! Never, ever let it cool!"

Yup! This soup will solidify like spackle if you let it get cold! So wuffy suggests using heavy, warm bowls to serve and keeping the pot on low/warm to maintain heat for seconds.

However, it DOES refrigerate well. And tastes just as good (or better) on the next day. And you can freeze it too! This will make about 4+ quarts of soup, so freezing some for the next winter blow might be a good idea if you don't have a den full of hungry furs to make the pot disappear.

Enjoy!

(Makes 4+ quarts)

INGREDIENTS:

5 large baking potatoes (Russet)
3 lg onions, halved & sliced
1/8 tsp Baking Soda
Pinch sugar
2 TBS minced Garlic
1/3 C Sour Cream
2 tsp Onion Powder
2 TBS Fresh Chives, chopped (can sub dried chives)
5 strips BACON, chopped
1/2 C White Cheddar Cheese, shredded (or use Cheddar Jack)
1 TBS Butter
1/2 C Cream
2 C Half & Half
2 C Milk
1/2 C Dry white wine, sherry, or 3 TBS sherry vinegar
1 tsp White pepper
1 tsp ground Black Pepper
2 tsp Salt
More Salt & Pepper to taste
1-2 C water or chicken broth to thin to desired consistency, as needed

TOPPINGS:

Sour Cream
Chives, Chopped
Bacon, fried & chopped
Cheddar Cheese

Foil
Butter & Salt

DIRECTIONS:

Wash and dry the potatoes. Spread butter or olive oil over the outside and sprinkle with coarse salt. Poke with a fork to release steam. Bake @ 425 until tender all the way through (50-70 minutes depending on size) . Allow to cool to handling temp. Peel the potatoes and set aside the peels (for the “baked flavor” enhancement they can provide)

Dice up peeled potatoes to make combining easier

In a large skillet or sauté’ pan over medium heat starting from cold, fry the chopped bacon until it renders its fat and begins to crisp. Remove the bacon to a plate with paper towel to drain, retaining the bacon fat in the pan

Add the butter to the pan and raise heat to medium-high. Add the sliced onions and sprinkle with the baking soda and sugar. Stir in and fry until the onions color. Lower heat to medium and continue to cook until unions are caramelized, medium-dark tan, thick and sweet (10-20 minutes)
- Note: Once the onions are translucent, reduce to heat to medium and continue to cook. You do not want to fry or brown the onions. You want them to gradually color darker and become nearly an onion jam, sweet and thick.

While the onions are caramelizing, process the potato peels in a food processor with a bit of melted butter, olive oil or stock until very finely minced, nearly smooth/pureed

When the onions are close to done, add the pureed potato peels and stir in. Continue to cook to incorporate flavors with the onions

When the onions are caramelized, stir the minced garlic into the onions and add pepper. Taste and adjust salt (the potato skins were salted, so might not need more). Continue to cook until the garlic is aromatic and sweet but not browned/crisp

Move the onions into large (6 qt) soup pot. If using wine, add it and reduce to about half or 1/3. If using vinegar, add it, stir in and cook for a minute to incorporate. Add the potatoes, onion powder, cheddar cheese, sour cream, and about half of the bacon. Add the half and half. Allow to cook together, stirring, until the cheese just starts to melt

Add the cream, milk, and chopped chives. Stir together. Mash up the potatoes to the desired "chunkiness." You can make this fairly chunky and "rustic" (Vrghr loves it that way), or use an immersion blender to make it very smooth. If you like the latter, you may need to add more water/broth to thin things out for the blender to work well.

Over medium low heat (this is a very thick soup, and too high of heat will scorch the bottom), bring to a simmer and cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently until the flavors to meld and the cheese to fully melts into the soup. Adjust the thickness of the soup as desired with broth/water. Vrghr doesn't recommend using more dairy for this, as too much will start to mute the potato flavors

Reduce heat to warm to hold. Taste and adjust salt and pepper seasoning as desired.
- Note: Potatoes "like" a fair bit of salt, but you will need to taste it now to adjust that as the salt on the added skins is a big variable. Sometimes it sticks better and sometimes more falls off, so your taste here is the key.
- Note: A blend of white and black peppers works very well in this soup. You may want to use some of both as you adjust seasoning here

Ladle into warmed bowls. Top with a sprinkle of fresh grated cheddar (or cheddar jack) cheese. Top that with dollop of sour cream and sprinkle with chopped fresh chives and reserved bacon bits

!DEVOUR!