Potato and bacon soup

Have you ever bought an ingredient and had high hopes for it only to be let down by the results? I think everyone has. Isn't it ironic then that this soup was developed on a failed product? Well it is! How's that even possible Witch? I'll tell you!

The product in question is called "Pork and Bacon sausage" and its made by Farmland. I've had their bacon before, its delicious. I've had their sausage in link form too and we enjoyed them very much. So when I found "Pork & Bacon" I said HOLY COW! I must have this! According to the ingredients list "Pork & Bacon" is just that: ground bacon and ground pork. Sounds good to me! The first time I made it I didn't brown it enough and it was pretty gross, the texture wasn't right. So when I ran across this little gem the next time I thought about it. Really thought about it, and came up with this recipe for soup.

Potatoes and bacon are a natural pair, their flavors are just delightful together so why not try the ground bacon in soup? While I love the flavor of bacon in potato soup, its always as a garnish on top to avoid the dreaded soggy bacon syndrome. The Witch thought "gee what if I really browned up the ground bacon and added it to the soup? Then you'd get bacon flavor and pieces of bacon in each bite with out the dreaded sogginess." I decided to use 1/2 the roll of meat and finely crumble it and brown the living daylights out of it. Ah that looked a LOT better than my first attempt, the fat has rendered out completely and the meat is crispy.

I cooked my onions and garlic in the rendered bacon fat for added flavor. I also used said fat to make a roux with flour to aid in thickening of the soup. The bacon did lose its crispness in the soup, but since its ground it doesn't have the stringy problem that regular strip bacon has when it gets soggy. It was really delicious to have a bit of bacon in each bite of soup. I'm quite pleased with the results I got from the Bacon & Pork this time around. I'll defiantly try it again, I have visions of a bean & bacon soup dancing in my head :)
PS Apologies for the poor color and quality of photos, I have to 'relearn' to get decent shots in low light - I forgot how difficult it is to get good pictures in fall/winter!

Potato and Bacon soup
makes 6 large servings
4-5 russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 lb 'bacon and pork' sausage
2 cups chicken stock
4 cups milk
1 onion diced fine
3 cloves garlic minced
S&P
1/3 c flour

Brown the bacon & pork sausage in a large soup pan. Once browned & crumbled remove from pan.



In the sausage fat the onions and garlic, cook until edges start to brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and reserve with the bacon.

Add the flour to the fat in the pan, whisk well and cook about 2-3 minutes or until it starts to lightly brown and smells nutty.

Whisk in the chicken stock, whisking well to avoid lumps. Scrape up any cooked on bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the milk and stir well.

Add the diced potatoes and cooked bacon sausage and onion/garlic back to the pan. Season with salt & pepper. Bring to a simmer and allow to simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so to avoid the potatoes from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Once potatoes are cooked through and soft taste for seasoning. Add more salt & pepper if needed. Garnish with cheese and sour cream.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
Amount Per Serving
Calories 295.6
Total Fat 7.0 g
Saturated Fat 3.6 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.9 g
Cholesterol 22.2 mg
Sodium 493.3 mg
Potassium 801.4 mg
Total Carbohydrate 46.3 g
Dietary Fiber 4.5 g
Sugars 9.1 g
Protein 12.3 g