Recipe Steps

• Add the sausage meat to a soup pot. Over medium-high heat, cook until browned (about 10 minutes), and break it up with your spoon as it cooks. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Leave the fat in the pot, but if it's more than about a tablespoon, drain some of it out.
• Add the butter to the pot and once it's melted, add the onions and celery and sauté for 4-5 minutes. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
• Stir in the garlic and flour. Cook for about 2 minutes, breaking it up with your spoon/stirring it as you go along. This step cooks the raw flour flavor out.
• Slowly whisk in the chicken broth until all the flour has dissolved and there's no lumps.
• Stir in the half-and-half, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper flakes, potatoes, and add the sausage meat back to the pot. Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat so it's bubbling but not boiling like crazy (medium-low heat works with my cast iron pot and gas stove). Cover the pot with the lid slightly open.
• Let the soup simmer for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and the soup has thickened up to your liking. I like to stir it a few times to ensure nothing is sticking and that the stove's temperature is still correct.
• Season with salt & pepper if needed.