I should have loved this. Beer. Cheese. Soup. Three things I love. Also bacon. Alas, it was not the beer and cheese soup that was in my mind’s eye. It was very weird.
I think I made it look pretty good for the photo though….
The truly odd thing about it was the ball of butter and flour that Robert suggested using to thicken the soup. It was pretty impossible to get that flour ball to dissolve, so even with a lot of stirring, and a few whizzes with my stick blender, there were still little GLOBULES of floury butter popping up in the soup. The butter ball also attracted bits of bacon to itself so it looked like something out of ERASERHEAD as it popped to the surface as I stirred.
I wish I’d taken a photo of that flour and butter ball with bits of bacon stuck to it. It’s something I don’t think I’ll ever see again in my lifetime. Oh the horror!
Usually if a dish is a FAIL, I don’t post up the offending recipe. But who knows, you might fancy having a go at this? But be prepared for GLOBULES…
20 responses
A perfectly good waste of what I’m sure was a lovely Hammerton beer! Sad. The proportions are even strange on that “butter ball”…if he had directed you to make a roux with a 50/50 mix, that would make more sense… Oh well, win some loose some…I bet Hammerton Brewery has more beer! 🙂
A perfectly good waste of what I’m sure was a lovely Hammerton beer! Sad. The proportions are even strange on that “butter ball”…if he had directed you to make a roux with a 50/50 mix, that would make more sense… Oh well, win some loose some…I bet Hammerton Brewery has more beer! 🙂
ALWAYS more beer at the Hammerton Brewery but you are right, it was a waste of good beer, I should just have drunk it!
ALWAYS more beer at the Hammerton Brewery but you are right, it was a waste of good beer, I should just have drunk it!
It does look good! I will, however, bow to your judgement.
Ha ha! The leftovers didn’t even make it into the “frozen archives” – down the sink with it…
It does look good! I will, however, bow to your judgement.
Ha ha! The leftovers didn’t even make it into the “frozen archives” – down the sink with it…
When I read ‘butter and flour’ I imagined buerre manie, not a cooked butterball. How very odd. Why not just make a very thin roux-based sauce and add beer and cheese to that?
I’d still try this soup…
Mim – you are a brave woman – haha! A cooked butterball is exactly the name for it – shivers!
When I read ‘butter and flour’ I imagined buerre manie, not a cooked butterball. How very odd. Why not just make a very thin roux-based sauce and add beer and cheese to that?
I’d still try this soup…
Mim – you are a brave woman – haha! A cooked butterball is exactly the name for it – shivers!
Actually, that’s called a beurre manié! It’s an old classical French cooking technique to thicken soups and stews. I’ve never seen a beer-cheese soup recipe call for that, though – just roux at the beginning. No wonder it didn’t work! Not your fault, but Robert Quarry’s, alas.
Actually, that’s called a beurre manié! It’s an old classical French cooking technique to thicken soups and stews. I’ve never seen a beer-cheese soup recipe call for that, though – just roux at the beginning. No wonder it didn’t work! Not your fault, but Robert Quarry’s, alas.
Thanks for your support Anji! I was very disappointed with my soup but still kind of fascinated by the bouncing butterball that kept popping to the top as I stirred. This is the only beer and cheese soup I have ever tried – I shall seek out another recipe and give it another go… Lovely to know that there is a proper French term for this technique though. I shall throw that around in the kitchen at some point in a bid to impress…
Thanks for your support Anji! I was very disappointed with my soup but still kind of fascinated by the bouncing butterball that kept popping to the top as I stirred. This is the only beer and cheese soup I have ever tried – I shall seek out another recipe and give it another go… Lovely to know that there is a proper French term for this technique though. I shall throw that around in the kitchen at some point in a bid to impress…
I see the problem with the flour / butter blob. A beurre mainé is made with equal amounts of butter and flour – this recipe has double the flour. Plus, the butter should be just room temperature, not melted. Made the classic way, the butter just melts away and the flour dissolves lump-free and thickens the soup. I suspect there’s a sciencey explanation for why the off proportions and melted butter caused the globules. Shame about the beer! But thank you for sharing this – very interesting!
I see the problem with the flour / butter blob. A beurre mainé is made with equal amounts of butter and flour – this recipe has double the flour. Plus, the butter should be just room temperature, not melted. Made the classic way, the butter just melts away and the flour dissolves lump-free and thickens the soup. I suspect there’s a sciencey explanation for why the off proportions and melted butter caused the globules. Shame about the beer! But thank you for sharing this – very interesting!
Oooh, lovely Cindy! Thanks for this really good explanation of the BLOB. I’m going to direct people to your comment in the blog post. If your explanation helps just one person to avoid a bacon bit attracting butter ball it would have been worth it! Thanks for taking the time to drop by and comment – Jenny x
Oooh, lovely Cindy! Thanks for this really good explanation of the BLOB. I’m going to direct people to your comment in the blog post. If your explanation helps just one person to avoid a bacon bit attracting butter ball it would have been worth it! Thanks for taking the time to drop by and comment – Jenny x