Beef Barley Soup
Beef, Pressure Cooker, Soups
Ingredients
2 pounds (950g) beef chuck roast or London broil
1 - 2 tablespoons (15ml - 30ml) olive oil
1 (250g) large onion , roughly sliced
3 (275g) medium carrots , chopped
3 ribs (290g) celery , chopped
8 oz mushrooms, diced or sliced
6 (25g) garlic cloves , minced
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon (1g) dried thyme
2 tablespoons (30g) tomato paste
5 cups (1.25L) unsalted chicken stock or good quality beef stock
¼ teaspoon (2g) fine salt
1 tablespoon (15ml) regular soy sauce
1 tablespoon (15ml) fish sauce (can substitute with 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce)
1 cup (150g) pearl barley
Worcestershire sauce, kosher salt, ground black pepper, to taste
Italian Parsley (optional garnish)
Directions
Brown Chuck Roast Steak:
Heat up Instant Pot using “Sauté More” function. Wait until Instant Pot says “HOT” (roughly 8 minutes).
Pat dry chuck roast steak with a paper towel. Generously season one side of the chuck roast with kosher salt and ground black pepper.
Add olive oil in Instant Pot & make sure to coat the whole bottom of the pot.
Place the seasoned side of chuck roast in Instant Pot, then season the other side of chuck roast with kosher salt and ground black pepper.
Let chuck roast brown for 8 minutes per side to develop some deep flavors. Don’t need to constantly flip the chuck roast.
When the chuck roast is nicely browned, remove it and set aside.
Saute Onion & Vegetables:
Add in sliced onions, then saute for 4 minutes. Add in chopped carrots, celery & mushrooms, then saute for 3 minutes.
Saute Garlic & Herbs:
Add the minced garlic, bay leaves, dried thyme, and tomato paste, then saute for another 2 minutes.
Deglaze Instant Pot:
Pour in 1 cup (250ml) unsalted stock. Completely deglaze the bottom of the pot by scrubbing the flavorful brown bits with a wooden spoon.
Pressure Cook Beef Barley Soup:
Turn off Instant Pot & add fine salt, soy sauce, and fish sauce. Give it a quick mix.
Cut the browned chuck steak into 1 inch thick beef cubes.
Add the beef cubes, meat juice, and the remaining unsalted stock.
Add the pearl barley, and make sure it’s all submerged in the cooking liquid.
Pressure Cook beef barley soup at High Pressure for 20 minutes, then Natural Release for 20 minutes. Release the remaining pressure by turning Venting Knob to Venting Position. Open the lid carefully.
Add Vegetables Back in Soup:
Add previously set-aside vegetables back in Instant Pot.
Press the "Saute" button. Simmer for a few minutes to finish cooking the "set-aside" vegetables, stirring occasionally.
Season & Serve:
Discard the two bay leaves.
Taste and season the Beef Barley soup with Worcestershire sauce and additional salt & pepper. For reference, we added 3 large pinches of salt at the end to season the soup.
Garnish soup with freshly chopped Italian parsley, then serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 404kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 104mg | Sodium: 626mg | Potassium: 1107mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 7986IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 94mg | Iron: 5mg