I love being (pleasantly) surprised by a recipe... Last week was New Year's, and I was riding high on the dual joys of leaving 2020 behind and the start of the College Football Bowl Season! When pondering football food, I wondered if there were any "football soups" that looked tasty. I figured, Why not? Football is played in Winter... Soups are eaten in Winter... And, football fans like to eat!
I soon stumbled across this recipe called "Big Red Soup," named after the author's favorite College Football team, the Nebraska Cornhuskers (affectionately known to their fans as "Big Red"). The prep looked pretty straightforward, and the author said her "... whole family gathers around the television set to eat it while watching the game," so I figured it was worth a try. Let's see how it went...
This recipe came from: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/big-red-soup/
Variations from the Recipe as Written: I followed the recipe as written.
General Thoughts: The prep looked easy, and it was! I used stew meat that came already cubed from the store, and my wife chopped the onion for me (I cry like a baby when I do it, and she takes pity on me), so all I had to do was brown the meat. My family also likes its tortillas "cooked" in the pan, so that took a few minutes toward the end, but the slow cooker did all the real work in this one! If you were hosting a party and looking for an easy soup to prep in bulk and throw into multiple slow cookers (or a huge soup pot to slow simmer on the stove), this would be a great choice.
*Pics 2 & 3 - Pictures from when I made it
At the top, I alluded to this recipe being a surprise because it didn't start off very well, despite the easy prep. Once I got everything together in the slow cooker and started it cooking, I was concerned on more than one front... Giving it a stir, it was very brothy; with no starchy ingredients (e.g., potatoes, beans, etc.) and few vegetables, it didn't seem like it would have nearly enough bulk. I definitely worried that it would not be hearty or satisfying enough to serve as a meal on its own. And, while I had browned the meat in oil, and stew meat is not the leanest beef cut around, it didn't look like it would have enough fat to compensate for the lack of bulk or give the broth the proper "mouthfeel". Finally, the author said the soup was meant to have a Mexican flavor, and it looked to be shaping up like any one of the seemingly-hundreds of generic "taco soup" recipes out there, which I despise because they all taste the same. However, I am happy to say that the finished product put all my worries to rest!
When the soup was finished, I garnished it with quartered corn tortillas in the bottom of the bowl and a nice layer of cheese on top, and it definitely delivered. The flavor was Mexican overall (as the author had promised), but it was not overpowering and did not taste like a generic taco soup to me. I was able to pick out the subtle tastes of cumin, Worcestershire sauce, and lemon pepper seasoning in the rich tomato-y broth, and I was surprised by how layered and complex the flavor turned out to be. Further, when melted and stirred in, the cheese provided both the "thickness" and fat the broth may have been lacking on its own, helping strike the perfect balance between too brothy and too stew-like. The tortillas, likewise, were a terrific starchy addition to the soup, adding their own interesting texture profile. The beef was super tender and picked up the flavor of the soup nicely. I also tried a bowl with a dollop of sour cream, which was pleasant but ultimately unnecessary. You could also add some freshly squeezed lime to your bowl if you wanted to cut the fat from the cheese a bit more, but I really didn't feel like it needed it.
Potential Improvements? Although this one turned out very well, I might like to add some Mexican hominy to the pot in the future.
Polling the Fam: I really liked this one and found myself craving it the next day. I definitely would like to make it again and see if it really will satisfy a larger crowd! Hunter really enjoyed it, too, and... brace yourself... Fox said, "It was not bad, better than okay, and I liked the taste, especially with cheese. We should make this one for the Stebbinses." I'll take that as my blue ribbon for the week! :-)
Verdict: Loved it! (5 stars)
