Potato Bacon Corn Chowder

Ingredients

• 1 pound bacon, diced
• 3 onions, diced
• 1 bunch celery, diced
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 quarts water, divided
• 1 gallon heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup butter
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 18 potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 (16 ounce) packages frozen corn
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 pinches red pepper flakes, or to taste
• 1 pinch salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions

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.

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.

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.

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.