Potato Bacon Corn Chowder

Ingredients

• 1 pound bacon , diced
• 3 onions , diced
• 1 bunch celery , diced
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 quartss water , divided
• 1 gallon heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup butter
• 1.75 cups all-purpose flour
• 18 potatoes , peeled and diced
• 2 packages frozen corn , 16 ounce
• 1 red bell pepper , diced
• 2 pinches red pepper flakes , or to taste
• 1 pinch salt and ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. 1

   Place bacon in a large heavy-bottom pot and cook over medium-high heat until crispy, about 10 minutes. Add onions and celery to bacon and stir until coated in bacon grease; add garlic.

2. 2

   Pour 1 quart water over onion mixture and cover pot; steam vegetables until partially tender, about 5 minutes. Add remaining 1 quart water and cream; reduce heat to medium.

3. 3

   Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat; stir flour into melted butter and cook until mixture forms a paste. Add potatoes to flour-butter paste and cook until paste is lightly browned and the raw flavor of flour is gone, about 5 minutes. Slowly stir potato mixture into vegetable and cream mixture and cook until soup is smooth, potatoes are tender, and temperature is 170 degrees F (75 degrees C) to 180 degrees F (80 degrees C), 30 to 40 minutes.

4. 4

   Cook and stir corn and red bell pepper together in a cast iron skillet over medium heat until golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Mix corn mixture into soup and season with red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.