The Best Way To Incorporate Bacon For Smoky Cream Soups
A bland soup is a disappointing meal. While there might be reasons a soup is bland, such as under-seasoning, or ingredients not being prepped the right way, it can also be a matter of personal taste. Let it be known that simple broths can still be delicious, while a soup with 15 different ingredients can still lack robust flavor. When it comes to making a chowder, America's Test Kitchen warns that technique and preparation can make or break the recipe.
Some of their tips for creating an incredible taste include sautéing the aromatics, using quality broth, chopping vegetables to appropriate sizes, and also staggering when you add vegetables to account for their cooking times. There are other ways you can make a wonderful soup. One of the most fun ways is to use something unexpected in your next bowl. Making chicken soup? Try subbing pot stickers instead of noodles and chopped chicken. Making French onion soup? Try a few different types of onions. Making a creamy chowder? Bacon could be the perfect addition and here's a fantastic trick for adding it in.
Puree bacon into your chowder
Adding chopped bacon to a soup recipe is nothing new. However, Life Hacker has a way to add bacon to your next meal that will give it a smokey flavor without disrupting the texture too much. According to their article, you can take a few strips of cooked bacon and blend them, either with an immersion blender or in your standing blender, and then add that back into the soup. Once the bacon has been pulverized into the broth all that will remain is the distinct smokey and rich flavor.
With this method, the bacon flavor permeates the entire pot of soup and is present in each sensational bite. Life Hackers suggests adding pureed bacon to any type of broth. Making your favorite New England clam chowder? Try pureeing the bacon into the soup rather than sprinkling it on top. You can try this hack with corn chowder, butternut squash soup, or potato leek soup — the possibilities are endless. What a fun way to ensure your next meal is anything but bland.