Beer Cheese Soup (Bierkees Supp)
German or Pa Dutch (Amish)
Milwaukee may lay claim to beer cheese soup, but the Pennsylvania Dutch were making it in hotel saloons and country taverns long before Milwaukee existed. Furthermore our beer cheese soup is quite different from its midwestern cousins, which today are loaded with so many ingredients that reading through a recipe is like picking one's way through an Indian curry.
Yield: Serves 4 to 6 persons
Soup
1 pound (500g) Pennsylvania farmer's cheese or an equivalent Swisstype cheese
2 tablespoons (15g) flour
1/2 cup (65g) unsalted butter
1/4 cup (30g) flour
2 cups (500ml) beer, preferably a Pennsylvania lager
2 quarts (2 liters) hot pork or chicken stock
2 teaspoons smooth Dijon mustard
Ham-and-cheese or onion-and-cheese dumplings (see recipe below)
Salt to taste
Crumbled fried bacon or a mixture of chopped chives and marjoram for garnish
Shred the cheese on the large holes of a vegetable grater and reserve this in a separate work bowl. Dust the shredded cheese with 2 tablespoons (15g) flour.
Melt the butter in a large stewing pan over medium-high heat until it foams. Add the flour and stir constantly until you attain a nutty roux about the same color as peanut butter. Add the beer and whisk vigorously until thick and creamy.
Gradually add the cheese, whisking at intervals to blend the cheese into the thickened beer. Add the hot stock and continue beating to create a smooth, creamy consistency. Once the stock is boiling hot, the cheese will curdle and gather into large clumps on the bottom. Remove the curds with a slotted spoon and while still warm combine with the dumpling mixture (see below).
Once the curds are removed from the soup, add the mustard. At this point you should have a thick, creamy, yellow, cheese-flavored stock. Add the dumplings and continue cooking no more than 10 minutes or until they float. Adjust seasonings, garnish with crumbled fried bacon or chopped herbs, and serve with warm soft
No comments:
Post a Comment