🇺🇸 United States · Wisconsin
Beer cheese soup
A creamy soup of sharp cheddar melted into a roux-thickened base of stock and beer (usually a lager), with butter and aromatics such as onion, celery or garlic, in the tradition of Wisconsin taverns.
Origin and history
Beer cheese soup is a classic Midwestern dish especially associated with Wisconsin, where it is on the menu at many pubs and restaurants. What's Cooking America says German immigrants who settled the state brought the tradition with them, and Up North News notes that many of Wisconsin's first settlers ran taverns and served dishes from their own cultures. Both trace the soup to medieval European beer soups, thickened with stale bread and egg yolk, to which spices, onion and cheese were added over time.
Make it at home
- Makes
- 6 servings
- Total time
- 1 h 5 min
- Hands-on
- 40 min
Ingredients
- 225 g1 cup (2 sticks) butter
- 150 g1 cup finely chopped onion
- 100 g1 cup finely chopped celery
- 130 g1 cup finely chopped carrots
- 125 g1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 liters8 cups chicken stock or vegetable broth
- 1 tsp prepared mustard
- 355 ml1 can (12 oz) lager beer, preferably let go flat
- 200 g2 cups sharp Cheddar, shredded
- 3 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan, to serve
- salt and black pepper, to taste
- chopped parsley, shredded Cheddar, popcorn or croutons, to garnish
Method
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1. Melt the butter in a 6-quart (5.5 liter) Dutch oven over medium heat and cook the onion for about 2 minutes, then add the carrot and celery and cook 2 minutes more.
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2. Stir in the flour to make a paste and cook a couple of minutes, stirring constantly; do not let it brown.
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3. Add the stock one cup at a time, blending each cup in fully before the next, and stir until the base comes to a boil.
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4. Lower to medium-low and stir in the mustard, salt and pepper.
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5. Reduce to low, add the beer and simmer about 20 minutes, stirring now and then.
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6. Off the heat, purée the soup in small batches in a blender, with the lid vented and covered with a towel.
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7. Return the soup to the pot over medium-low heat and stir in the Cheddar until melted; do not boil.
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8. Serve topped with Parmesan and parsley, with popcorn or croutons if you like.
Notes
- Quantities follow the What's Cooking America recipe (its text says 4 to 6 servings, its recipe card 8); it is a very thick and rich soup because the roux uses a cup each of butter and flour. It names no beer style beyond a 12 oz can, preferably flat; a lager is our suggestion. Garlic, often listed for this soup, is not in the recipe.
- Shred the cheese yourself and add it off a boil so it melts smoothly.
- Topping the soup with popcorn is a habit whose origin is unclear; What's Cooking America mentions one theory, that pubs and bars offered free popcorn that patrons sprinkled on the soup.
- The same recipe works in a slow cooker (4 hours on high, 8 on low) or pressure cooker (5 minutes at high pressure); purée and add the cheese at the end either way.
Adapted from What's Cooking America, Beer Cheese Soup and Up North News, 4 of the most iconic foods invented in Wisconsin.
At the festivals
No festival we list has printed it on a menu yet.