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This is another soup I love on those cold wet days. And living in the PNW I find that this soup is delicious and good anytime during the four seasons. You may think of this soup very similar to beef stew but usually the broth is not as thick. Chuck roast is typically an inexpensive cut of beef and it works great here to get each bite that is tender. I chose a good low sodium beef broth or stock because I wanted more of that deep rustic beef flavor. This soup is filling and so good. Serve it with a salad and biscuits or good bread. It’s comfortable all the way.
Hearty Beef Barley Soup
Ingredients
- Olive Oil and Butter
- 2 lbs of boneless Chuck Roast
- 3-4 Carrots, chopped in bite size pieces
- 1 Onion, chopped
- 3 stalks of Celery – optional
- 2 8oz packages Mushrooms, sliced in half
- 3-4 cloves Garlic, chopped
- Salt and Pepper
- 2 tsp Rosemary, chopped
- 2 tsp Thyme, chopped
- Splash of Red Wine
- 2 ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 4.5 oz can Tomato Paste
- 1 14.5 oz can Fire Roasted Tomatoes
- 6-8 cups Beef Broth, recommend low sodium if possible
- 1 to 1½ cup Pearl Barley
- ½ cup Parsley, chopped ( ¼ for soup ¼ for garnish)
Directions
- Prep the meat. Cut away excess fat. Then either cut up in steak size portions to cut up in bite size chunks later or cut up in bite size pieces.
- Prep the vegetables. Chop up the carrots and onions. Slice in half the mushrooms. Chop up the garlic and herbs.
- In a large Dutch oven pot or stockpot, on medium to high heat, add a little oil and unsalted butter. Add in the mushrooms and cook until brown. Remove and place in a bowl. In the same pot add a little more oil and add in the carrots and onions. Add a little salt and pepper and cook until al dente but not soft. Add in the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 2 minutes. Remove and place in a bowl with the mushrooms or a separate bowl.
- In the same pot, on medium to high heat add in a little oil. Salt and pepper the beef. Add in the cut up beef and sear on all sizes. If you did cut up the beef in bite size pieces this should take about 5-8 minutes to sear. No need to fully cook the beef as it will continue to cook in the broth. You may need to do it in batches. It is best not to overcrowd the meat and end up ‘steaming’ it instead of searing it. Remove the beef and add in more of the beef to cook. Remove the beef and drain off any fat if necessary.
- Add the drained beef back into the pot and add in the tomato paste. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for about 3 minutes. Add in the fire roasted tomatoes, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce and herbs. Cook the soup to a low boil and then down to a simmer for about an hour.
- Add in the barley, stir and cook for about 20 minutes. Add in the carrot onion garlic mixture and continue to cook for another 30-40 minutes until the barley is done to your liking. Add in half of the chopped parsley. Stir.
- Serve it with a salad, biscuits or good crusty bread. Garnish with the rest of the parsley.
Enjoy ☺
