Beef Barley Soup

We love to have soup on Sundays in fall and winter. This one is great because it’s not too difficult and pretty forgiving time-wise if you get busy and supper is late. It also gets some vegetables in your kids, without complaint. Homemade bread, soft butter and a bowl (or two) of this stuff is about a perfect meal. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 lb of beef, scroll down to "notes" for some options and more detail on preparation

• 3 T olive oil

• 1 1/2 cups chopped carrots

• 1 cup chopped celery (optional-personally I hate that evil weed but some people seem to like it)

• 1 large yellow onion, chopped

• 1 green or red pepper (or both, especially if you leave out the celery), cut into half-inch pieces

• 8 ounces of mushrooms, cleaned and chopped into half-inch or smaller pieces

• 3 T tomato paste

• 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped

• 1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes

• 2 cartons (32 ounces each) of low sodium chicken or beef broth

• 1 T low-sodium soy sauce

• 2 t Worstercherstershiester (Worcestershire) sauce

• 1/2 t dried rosemary (or 2 t fresh, minced)

• 1/2 t dried thyme (or 2 t fresh, minced)

• 1/2 cup dry red wine (optional)

• 2-3 bay leaves

• Salt and fresh ground pepper

• 1 cup pearl barley

• 3 T minced fresh parsley

Instructions

Brown the beef in a large pot. Work in batches because there is too much to brown at one time. Before cooking, use a paper towel to dry all the meat, then season with salt and pepper (lots of pepper). Heat 1 T oil in the pot (medium-high) and add a portion of the beef, leaving space between all the pieces. Cook for 3 minutes until one side is browned, turn and cook 2-3 minutes more to brown most of the other sides. Transfer browned beef and juices to a bowl, add another T of oil to the big pot and do another batch of beef. Repeat until all is browned and set aside with juices.

Add another T oil to the (now empty) pot, heat and add onions, evil weed (celery) and carrots. Sauté for 3 minutes until onions are soft. Add peppers and cook 2 more minutes. Add garlic and tomato paste and cook another minute.

Pour broth, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, rosemary and thyme into pot. Add beef, with juices, and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 60 minutes.

Microwave chopped mushrooms for 4 minutes so that juice is released; pour off juices. Add mushrooms, red wine and barley, cover and simmer for 45-60 minutes more. Remove bay leaves, stir in parsley and serve.

Note

You have some options for the beef. Whatever cut you choose, trim all excess fat and connective tissue, and cut into chunks no larger than ¾ inch.

Chuck or arm roast will be flavorful and tender, with more of the internal connective tissue that adds a silkiness to soup or stew. Use that if you don’t mind starting with a big piece of meat and making it smaller.

Sirloin steak will cost more but deliver both flavor and tenderness.

Round steak will be lean and have a chewy texture, even after cooking a long time.

If you can find a tri-tip roast, that can be great. Lots of flavor and tender but not soft.

Stew meat from a grocer can work but that is often variable in tenderness and texture. No two packages are the same but slow cooking tends to even differences out so it can be OK.

Ground beef works fine, too but I prefer the texture of small chunks of a whole-muscle cut for this soup.

Pete Anderson spends most of his time assisting cattle feeders in his work for Midwest PMS. When he gets a little free time, he likes to cook beef or the occasional lesser species for friends and family. Pete and his wife, Denise, live in Loveland, Colorado. They have three carnivorous kids that are all grown. For more recipes and some fun, check out petesmeats.com