Some food, some drink.

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Abstract: Ingredients are only half the story for killer potato soup. Yes, the right kind of potato is important; and I agree that you probably shouldn't skimp on the dairy; and of course a little pork fat infused with just-caramelized onion is never a cause for complaint. However, to achieve potato soup of an empty bowl-licking caliber is to understand starch control; and he who controls the starch, controls the soup.

Purpose: For the last few weeks, it's been crazy-cold here in America's Heartland. Day upon day of mercury below freezing? Check. Snow and ice? Check. Wind chills of -30F? Got that too. Gastronomically speaking, nothing combats this sort of wicked chill like a bowl of thick and creamy potato soup.

I've lamented about bad potato soup before, and I'm sure y'all have had it. It's usually something watery with hunks of over-cooked potato drifting between the pools of margarine(!) floating on the top. It's pretty apparent as to how potato soup should not be done, however getting that perfect consistency is a bit trickier. Potato soup is a moving target, and I don't think any two pots I've made have ever turned out the same as there are just too many variables to contend with for the ingredients you're using. I really think it's more useful to think of potato soup as a method rather than a recipe; and once you've got the method down, you'll be able to churn out satisfying bowls of soup like nobody's business.

Observation:

The largest x-factor in making potato soup is in fact the potato itself. More specifically, we're talking about the starch in the potato. As potatoes are synonomyous with starch, know that you'll be wrestling to tame the polysaccharide beast at all times.

• Start with Yukon Gold potatoes. As they are a waxier (<- what a weird-looking word) and lower in starch than a white potato such as a Russet, they work well for boiling, and have a great creamy texture when cooked that is totally appropriate for soup.
  
• Pay attention to your knife skills! Consistency is the key to ideal doneness. For an average potato, you'll quarter lengthwise and then break those spears down with a half-inch thick dice.
• Through trial and [a lot of] error, I've discovered that the whole soup benefits if the potatoes are par-cooked in that rendered side fat and onion blend. This causes the tuber to start giving up its starches earlier, which makes for a more even thickening of the soup. Plus, every starch granule released at this point gets a bath of onion-spiked pork fat, which serves to create a makeshift roux that will distribute those flavors thru the soup while it thickens.
  
• Boil the potatoes to just before they're fork-tender. This is almost never more than 6 minutes after they reach that slow boil. The un-done center will finish cooking as you finish the soup.
• Resist the temptation to use that snazzy hand blender on this soup; that is unless you're needing to hang wallpaper after dinner. A good potato masher is all you need.
• While the level of cream you add is absolute, the milk is on a bit of a floating scale.  While the soup simmers as it finishes, starch release will still be happening, and the soup will continue to thicken.  Before serving, I usually have a quarter cup of room-temperature milk on standby to add as necessary to make sure nothing is gonna stick to a diner's inverted spoon.
  

Results: My mantra for potato soup is essentially, "The soup is never finished until it leaves the pot". Where as most of the time when I cook, I have to resist the temptation to tinker too much with finishing flavors, with potato soup fidgeting is absolutely necessary. Adding more milk to control the finished viscosity means that you might be in need of a pinch of salt, or even a drizzle more of Balsamic vinegar to shore up flavors that may have been diluted. Keep a [clean] spoon around and be certain to give it a taste before ladling out to others.

I like texture in my soup. Any soup served without something for your chompers to do is just a hot vegetable smoothie (doesn't even sound good anymore does it?).  As the flavors are simple and hard to screw up, I happen to think that good potato soup at its core is all about mouth feel. Although this soup works just fine with all those "Loaded Baked Potato" garnishes, the textures and flavors also stand quite well on their own with a few points of buttered toast on standby to help clean out the bowl.

Gallery:

A much as I like the skins on my potatoes, they just don't work here. Make it easy on yourself and start with a good peeler

A much as I like the skins on my potatoes, they just don't work here. Make it easy on yourself and start with a good peeler

Soup is a great excuse to play with knives. Once you have it down, you'll realize it actually takes longer to use those fancy chopping gizmos when you…

Soup is a great excuse to play with knives. Once you have it down, you'll realize it actually takes longer to use those fancy chopping gizmos when you factor in sink time.

Call me crazy, but I think there's something rewarding about rendering fat out of fresh side pork. Not only do you acquire those tasty 'meat croutons',…

Call me crazy, but I think there's something rewarding about rendering fat out of fresh side pork. Not only do you acquire those tasty 'meat croutons', but you get pork fat as a by-product! How great is that?

After all that talk about potato starch control, I figure y'all might want an example of an appropriate size for a dice.

After all that talk about potato starch control, I figure y'all might want an example of an appropriate size for a dice.

The onion is just starting to turn translucent, and it's soaking up all that pork fat as it caramelizes. Time to add the potatoes.

The onion is just starting to turn translucent, and it's soaking up all that pork fat as it caramelizes. Time to add the potatoes.

That stuff clinging to the spoonula and enrobing each potato is a lovely mix of onion-flavored pork fat and potato starch. It's likely the difference between…

That stuff clinging to the spoonula and enrobing each potato is a lovely mix of onion-flavored pork fat and potato starch. It's likely the difference between decent soup and stupendous soup.

I saw someone add Balsamic vinegar to potato soup once on TV long ago. Tried it; loved it; been doing it since.

I saw someone add Balsamic vinegar to potato soup once on TV long ago. Tried it; loved it; been doing it since.

So, here's our finished Potato Soup, with what now passes for standard potato soup garnish. Y'know I can't remember anyone ever doing this until the late…

So, here's our finished Potato Soup, with what now passes for standard potato soup garnish. Y'know I can't remember anyone ever doing this until the late Eighties/early Nineties. At least it's not mullets and flannel.