Hearty Potato Soup from the kitchen at The SmokeHaus.

A rich and delicately smoky potato soup guaranteed to warm you up and then put you right to sleep on a cold winter’s evening.

Ingredients:

Four quarts of The SmokeHaus Soup Stock

2 medium size Sweet Onions
Preferably Vidalia or similar sweet onion, sliced and diced as fine as you prefer.

One pound of thick-sliced Bacon
Perhaps a 1/2 pound more if you wish to use some as a garnish.

6 to 8 potatoes washed well and diced into 3/8” cubes or french fry-sized lengths. We leave the skins on. (My mother always said that was where much of the flavor and nutrition was.)

8 big celery ribs
Split in half lengthwise and then diced at an angle.

8 oz. of Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

3 Cups of leftover Mashed Potatoes
If you do not have any leftover mashed potatoes, simply scoop out about a 1/4 of the softened diced potatoes out of the soup and puree and add back to the pot. This thickens the soup and makes it more opaque.

2 Cups or so of whole kernel Corn (Optional)

1/2 Stick of Salted Butter (divided in two portions)

2 Bay Leaves or perhaps another 1 or 2 if yours are more than a year old.

1/2 teaspoon Dried Thyme Leaves

1/2 teaspoon Rubbed Sage

Pinch or two of Ground Celery Seed

Salt and Pepper to taste. Added at the end of cooking, after the potatoes are almost tender.

Procedure:

Coarsely dice bacon and brown in the bottom of a dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat. Remove from pot when crisp with a slotted spoon, add half of the butter and immediately begin sautéing the onions, stirring often to prevent browning. Just as they start to turn transparent, add the diced celery and continue to cook until the celery begins to soften - about 3 minutes or so.

Add the soup stock and the Sage, Thyme, Ground Celery Seed and Bay Leaves to the pot and allow to come to a simmer slowly over medium heat until it looks like it is just about to boil, reduce heat just enough to prevent boiling and cook for 15 minutes or so.

Add the crisp Bacon and the diced Potatoes and cook for another 15 minutes and add salt and pepper to taste.

Add the leftover mashed potatoes and kernel corn and simmer for another 1/2 hour or until the diced potatoes are soft enough to be called supper. Stir in the grated cheese and the remaining butter and serve. Garnish with additional grated cheddar and bacon crumbles if desired.

Alternatively, float a thin slice of White Vermont Extra Sharp 24 month Cheddar on the top of the soup just before serving.

Tags: bones, chicken, soup, stock, turkey