Home › Soup's On! › Beer Soup-2
Beer Soup-2
2 EGGS, SEPARATED I CUP MILK I TABLESPOON FLOUR Add water to beer, let come to boiling point, season with salt, sugar, and nutmeg if desired. Beat yolks well with a little sugar and flour mixed. Add milk. Stir until smooth. Stir all together in the hot beer mixture, let come nearly to boiling point, fold in beaten whites, and serve at once with toasted bread cubes.
A German-style Biersuppe, thickened with an egg-and-milk liaison and lightened with beaten whites. The whole thing hinges on heat control: once the yolks go in, the pot must never boil.
- The beer-to-water ratioThe proportions of beer and water are not stated here. Something in the region of two parts beer to one part water is a reasonable starting point; adjust from there, since more water gives a milder soup and less gives a sharper, more bitter one.
- Choose the beer carefullyThe recipe does not say what beer to use. A malty, lightly hopped beer suits the dish best; a modern IPA or any aggressively hopped beer will turn harshly bitter and fight the milk. A Munich dunkel, bock, or plain lager is a safe choice.
- Never let it boil after the eggsBring the beer and water to a boil before the liaison goes in. The recipe then says to bring it only "nearly to boiling point" once the yolk-milk-flour mixture is stirred in; keep it short of a boil, or the yolks will scramble and the soup break into curds.
- Temper firstRather than pouring the cold yolk mixture straight into hot beer, ladle a little of the hot liquid into the yolks while whisking, then return everything to the pot. Beer's acidity makes milk and eggs curdle readily, and tempering is the cheapest insurance.
- The flourOne tablespoon of flour is a very light thickening for the volume implied here, though the recipe never states how much beer and water to use. Mix it thoroughly with the yolks and sugar before the milk goes in, as the recipe directs, or it will lump on contact with heat.
- Folding the whitesThe whites go in last and are barely cooked, whether or not the pot is off the heat. Anyone avoiding lightly cooked egg should use pasteurized whites or leave them out; the soup is perfectly good without the foam.
- SeasoningSalt, sugar and nutmeg are left to taste. Cinnamon and a strip of lemon peel simmered in the beer turn up in some German versions; if you use the peel, fish it out before adding the eggs.
- Yield and serviceThe yield cannot be pinned down, since the beer and water quantities are not given; 1 cup of milk and 2 eggs suggests a small batch. Serve the moment the whites are folded in, with the toasted bread cubes.