Dan's Creamy Potato Soup
I started with a basic potato soup recipe and modified it over the years. It is now a family favorite. Beware this is not health food but it is delicious.
I started with a basic potato soup recipe and modified it over the years. It is now a family favorite. Beware this is not health food but it is delicious.
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups water
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 1 medium carrot shredded
- 2 cups half and half
- 6 slices bacon fried and crumbled
- 2 (10.5 oz) cans chicken broth
- 5 large potatoes cut into bite sized pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon dill weed dried
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper ground
- 2 stalks celery coarsly chopped
- 1/2 cup flour all purpose
- 12 oz. can evaporated milk
- Carbohydrate 51.323101400775 g
- Cholesterol 78.6181439789496 mg
- Fat 31.4422181412589 g
- Fiber 5.16181347110122 g
- Protein 13.3444096647953 g
- Saturated Fat 15.8067499885668 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (505g)
- Sodium 328.682882973562 mg
- Sugar 46.1612879296737 g
- Trans Fat 2.43019316654105 g
- Calories 535 calories
Step-by-step
- Fry bacon in a skillet until crispy.
- Set bacon aside, and retain the bacon fat.
- Transfer retained bacon drippings to a stock pot.
- Over medium heat, cook the onion in bacon fat until translucent.
- Add chicken broth, water, potatoes, salt, dill weed, white pepper, carrot, and celery.
- After 10 minutes, cover, reduce heat, and cook for 2 hours, stirring frequently.
- In a medium bowl, mix flour, half and half, and evaporated milk.
- Add this mixture to the soup and cook for another 20 minutes.
- Crumble retained bacon and use as a garnish.
How does a broth-based soup transform into a velvety emulsion without breaking the dairy? Starch management drives the texture here. Simmering five large potatoes for two hours releases enough amylose into the surrounding liquid to build a natural body before the dairy ever enters the pot. When rendering the bacon, retain the rendered fat in a stockpot to sweat the onions; this coats the allium compounds in lipids, carrying fat-soluble flavors evenly through the broth. Ground white pepper introduces a sharp, earthy pungency that cuts through the rich combination of half-and-half and evaporated milk. To judge doneness without a thermometer, press a potato piece against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon; it should yield instantly with zero structural resistance. Whisking all-purpose flour directly into cold dairy liquids before incorporating them prevents protein coagulation and flour lumps. Simmer this final mixture for 20 minutes to eliminate the raw flour taste while gelatinizing the starches fully. Swapping evaporated milk for heavy cream shifts the fat percentage, though evaporated milk's lower water content provides superior stability against curdling during long simmering phases.
