Smoky-Spicy Beer-Cheese-Sausage Soup

Heat a large heavy-bottomed pot and add chopped sausage. Cook until sausage starts to brown and remove to a plate; reserve grease.

Add onions, garlic, jalapeno, chipotle and celery to the pot and cook in the sausage grease until soft. Add the sausage back to the pot, and stir to combine over medium heat.

Pour in one bottle of beer (I started with the Bock, but I can’t imagine it makes much of a difference what goes in first). Allow to simmer for 5-7 minutes, until the liquid reduces slightly as the alcohol cooks out.

Stir and add chicken broth and salt. Simmer again for 10 minutes until the liquid reduces a little more.

Reduce heat and add another bottle of beer (in my case it was the Porter). Simmer for a few moments and adjust seasonings again before turning heat to low and adding 1 1/2 cups heavy cream. Simmer the soup for a good 20 minutes after adding the cream.

In a small bowl, add the remaining 3 tablespoons cream to the corn starch, and mix until a smooth slurry forms. Pour into the soup and stir.

Once the vegetables are softened, the broth thickened, the alcohol cooked out and the soup is a uniform creaminess (you will know when there’s very little orange grease floating on top of the soup), turn off the heat and move the pot to a cool burner.

Add the cheese and stir until melted (do not add cheese over a hot burner; cheddar gets gritty). Serve immediately.