Beef Barley Soup

Beef, Soups

Cook Time: 2 hrs 15 mins Servings: 12 servings Source:

Ingredients

2 pounds (1kg) boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 1 1/2–inch steaks, or 3 pounds (1.3kg) bone-in beef short ribs, ribs removed and reserved (see notes)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon (15ml) canola oil

3 large carrots (10 ounces; 280g), diced

1 large yellow onion (12 ounces; 340g), diced

2 ribs celery (6 ounces; 170g), diced

4 medium cloves garlic, roughly chopped

3 quarts (3L) homemade or store-bought chicken stock (see notes)

Sachet of 2 sprigs fresh thyme, 1 bay leaf, and about 5 whole black peppercorns

1 cup pearled barley (7 ounces; 200g)

1/2 teaspoon (3ml) Asian fish sauce (optional)

Minced fresh parsley, for garnish

Directions

Season beef with salt and pepper.

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over high heat until lightly smoking. Working in batches if necessary, add beef and cook, turning occasionally, until well browned on all sides, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a large platter.

Add carrot, onion, celery, and garlic to pot and cook, stirring and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom, until lightly browned, about 6 minutes.

Scrape vegetables into a heatproof bowl and set aside.

Add stock to pot, return to heat, and scrape up any browned bits from bottom of pot.

Meanwhile, cut beef into chunks and add to pot, along with reserved bones, if using, and herb sachet.

Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to maintain a low simmer and cook until beef is tender, 1 to 2 hours; skim any foam that rises to the top.

Discard bones and herb sachet.

Add barley, reserved vegetables, and fish sauce, if using, and simmer until barley and vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

If soup is too dry, top up with water to achieve desired consistency.

Serve, garnishing with parsley.

Notes

Beef chuck is the easier and more affordable option, and produces very good results. Short ribs, especially when combined with their bones, create an even more deeply beefy stew. Ask your butcher to remove and reserve the bones for you if you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself. If you have beef chuck that's already cut into chunks for stewing, we recommend searing only half of them in step 1 and adding the other half raw in step 3.

Most store-bought beef stock has poor flavor, which is why we recommend chicken stock instead; if you have good-quality homemade beef stock available, feel free to use it.

Nutrition

(per serving)
320 Calories 16g Fat 19g Carbs 26g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories 320
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 16g 20%
Saturated Fat 6g 28%
Cholesterol 70mg 23%
Sodium 638mg 28%
Total Carbohydrate 19g 7%
Dietary Fiber 2g 7%
Total Sugars 6g
Protein 26g
Vitamin C 5mg 23%
Calcium 45mg 3%
Iron 3mg 15%
Potassium 649mg 14%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.