Bourbon Butternut Squash Soup
What is more reminiscent of autumn than a bowl of creamy, heart-warming bourbon butternut squash soup! My version of the fall flavored classic features 2 elements that take butternut squash soup from average to truly wow-worthy recipe: brown butter & bourbon! These two flavorful elements add a nutty, smoky, and caramelly sweet dimension to the already sweet, earthy flavors of Butternut Squash Soup. The Bourbon Butternut Squash Soup is lightly flavored with all those toasty, warm spices that scream fall – cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger, while also having a savory twist, thanks to the thyme, onions, and garlic, of course! Finished with a drizzling of cream, this Brown Butter Bourbon Butternut Squash Soup will soon become a fall-staple in your culinary arsenal!
How to Make the Brown Butter Bourbon Butternut Squash Soup
1.Brown the butter lightly: In a large pot, add the butter, and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Continue heating the butter until is just begins to change color.
2. Add spices and vegetables: As soon as the butter begins to change color and become fragrant, add in the spices, alongside the cubed butternut squash, onion, and shallots. Fry until the squash is tender.
3. Add stock and bourbon: Add the chicken stock, thyme, and bourbon to the pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and allow it to simmer until the squash is fall-apart tender.
4. Add Maple Syrup: After the bourbon butternut squash soup is done simmering, pour in the maple syrup, and give it a good stir to combine. Then season with salt & pepper.
5. Blend soup: Remove the butternut squash soup from the heat, pick out the thyme sprigs, and blend the bourbon butternut squash soup up. You can use a blender, food processor, or an immersion blender for this (see below if using blender).
6. Drizzle with Heavy Cream: Before serving, drizzle each bowl with a bit of cold heavy cream. This just adds both a visual component, and another creamy component to that compliments the Brown Butter Bourbon Butternut Squash Soup.
WHY BOURBON?
If you haven’t noticed by now, I quite enjoy adding bourbon to anything and everything that will take it! Adding spirits to food adds a phenomenal amount of flavor and dimension to whatever you’re making. Bourbon, is a oak-aged spirit that is distinctively sweet in flavor, and has vanilla, oak, and caramel notes. These flavors lend themselves so beautifully to something like caramel. By adding the bourbon we are further intensifying those sweet, warm flavors already present in the Butternut Squash Soup, while also providing a slight smoky undertone to it as well! The bourbon is that final touch, that je ne sais quoi flavor that people just can’t seem to put their finger on. It really adds an extra dimension of flavor to the Brown Butter Butternut Squash Soup.
My personal favorite Bourbon is Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon.
WHAT IS BROWN BUTTER?
If you have ever smelled butter browning, then you know exactly why it is used in this recipe! The process of browning the butter, involves the separating of butterfat and milk solids. The milk solids sink to the bottom of the pan and begin to undergo the Maillard reaction due to the heat, essentially caramelizing the milk solids. What is created is butter that is deep in color and rich in flavor. The Maillard reaction causes the butter to take on a taste that is reminiscent of nuts and caramel.
The process for making the brown butter for this Bourbon Butternut Squash Soup differs slightly than when you normally make brown butter for most other things. In browning the butter for the Butternut Squash Soup, you really only want to slightly brown it before adding the spices and vegetables. The reason for this is because the butter will continue to brown while the vegetable sauté in the pot. If you were to fully brown the butter, then begin sautéing the vegetables, the already browned milk solids would begin to burn – leaving an unpleasant bitter taste! Therefore, when browning the butter in this Bourbon Butternut Squash Soup recipe, only lightly brown it – meaning that when the butter just begins to change color, it is time to add the vegetables in!
HOW TO BLEND YOUR Brown Butter Bourbon Butternut Squash Soup
If using a blender to blend the Brown Butter Bourbon Butternut Squash Soup, it is important to take some precautions. Adding a hot liquid to a blender, putting on the tight lid, and then blending on high can cause a build up of pressure in the blender, which will result in the blender lid going flying off, along with the hot liquid spraying everywhere! We definitely don’t want that.
Vent your lid by either lifting the lid off a bit or removing the plastic center piece, so that the steam can escape out of the blender, and then start the blender on low and slowly increase the speed. Every once in a while, I will turn the blender off and remove the lid completely to allow any built up steam to completely release, and then I will start the process over again. Keep doing this until the Bourbon Butternut Squash Soup is smooth.
Get the Recipe: Bourbon Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter,, at room temperature
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1/8 tsp Nutmeg
- Pinch of Cayenne
- 2 Small Butternut Squashes,, peeled and cut into 1” cubes
- 4 Garlic Cloves,, smashed with knife
- 1/2 Sweet Onion,, diced medium
- 1 Shallot, diced medium
- 5-10 Thyme Sprigs
- 4 cups Chicken Broth
- 1/2 cup Bourbon
- 2 ½ tbsp Maple Syrup
- Salt & Pepper,, to taste
- Heavy Cream,, for drizzling
- (Optional) Pumpkin Seeds, Flaxseeds, Poppyseeds, sesame seeds,, for garnish
Equipment
- Blender, Immersion Blender, or Food Processor
Instructions
- Add butter to a large pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then continue heating over medium heat, constantly stirring until the butter, until it just begins to turn darker.
- Add cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cayenne to pot and fry for 30 seconds, then add butternut squash, garlic, onion, and shallots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the squash begins to become tender.
- Add thyme sprigs, chicken stock, and bourbon to the pot. Turn to medium-high and bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the squash is fall-apart-tender, about 20 minutes.
- Remove the soup from the heat, add the maple syrup, and season with salt & pepper. Remove the thyme sprigs, then blend the soup. To blend the soup use either a immersion blender, a food processor, or a blender.
- If using a blender: Very carefully blend the soup, ensuring that there is proper ventilation by either lifting part of the lid off the top or by removing the plastic centre piece (see above). I also like to blend in 2 batches.
- Serve the soup in bowls, garnish with a drizzling of heavy cream, and optionally add seeds for further garnish.
Related Recipes
Looking for more Soup recipes? Check out these below:
CREAMY CHICKEN AND POTATO SOUP. Both hearty and delicious, this home-style soup features chicken, bacon, potatoes, carrots, and thyme in a creamy broth.
CREAMY TOMATO AND TORTELLINI SOUP. This soup features a tomato base that is seasoned with basil, then blended with cream and filled with pillowy packages of cheese tortellini.
