By Dawn Lerman
- Total Time
- 3 hours 30 minutes
- Rating
- 4(386)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This soup is made with nourishing bone broth and root vegetables, creating a rich, aromatic and hearty meal that will keep you satisfied during the cold days of winter. It was my dad's favorite soup as a child. He remembers his mom instructing him on how to prepare it. "A bissel of this, a bissel of that," Bubbe would call out in her strong Yiddish accent, kvelling as she watched him sample the simmering ingredients.
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Ingredients
Yield:8 servings
- 3pounds beef bones
- 1pound chuck, cubed
- 1onion, quartered
- 4celery stalks, sliced in half
- 4carrots, sliced in half
- 1bay leaf
- water to cover
- 8cups beef stock (see tip)
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1large onion, quartered
- 8celery stalks, diced
- 2parsnips, diced
- 8carrots, cut into rounds
- 1bunch of parsley, finely chopped
- 1cup pearl barley
- 1pound fresh white button mushrooms, sliced
- 2tablespoons tomato paste
- 2large bay leaves
For Homemade Beef Stock
For the Soup
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Preparation
Step
1
In a large soup pot, combine all the stock ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 hours. Strain the broth into another large pot. Save the meat, but discard the rest of the solids. If the stock in your new pot is greasy, let it cool for about 15 minutes and then place 6 ice cubes in the pot. The grease will immediately congeal and you can spoon out the ice cubes and grease in one fell swoop. Your homemade beef stock is ready.
Step
2
Taste the stock and add salt and pepper to taste. Then add the onion, celery, parsnips, carrots, parsley, pearl barley and sliced mushrooms. Bring to a boil and then add the tomato paste and bay leaves. Simmer 30 minutes, until the barley is soft. Then add the saved beef and cook for another 45 minutes. You can add a little water if too much liquid has evaporated.
Tip
- If you do not want to make your own stock, you can use 64 ounces of beef broth from a carton or dissolve 4 large bouillon cubes (such as Knorr) or 8 small cubes (such as Wyler’s) in 64 ounces of boiling water. If you did not make your own stock, brown 1 pound of cubed chuck in a tablespoon of oil and use that.
Ratings
4
out of 5
386
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Cooking Notes
Rhyan Guevarra
Procedure:
[note: I used bouillon cubes and I diced the onion]
In a large pot brown the beef chuck and then remove and reserve. In the same pot sweat out the onion, then add in the carrot and parsnip, cook for an additional 5 mins. Then add in the celery and saute till semi-tender. Remove and reserve as well. Then add in the mushrooms and cook for 4-5 mins. Add in tomato paste and cook briefly. Deglaze the pot with beefsteak. [make sure you scrape all those flavors on the bottom of the
Nicholas Yarmoshuk
I have the feeling that the author had more to say about the techniques involved in this menu . . But there is nothing.
A note is mentioned in the list of ingredients but only a tip is included. I suggest there needs to be some determined editorial attention addressed to this issue.
lgozer
This soup is clearly what is usually called "beef barley", not mushroom barley. Suggest reducing barley to 1/2 cup, as it takes over the soup. Can easily do using 4 cans of low sodium beef broth. Reduced celery in half (4 stalks) as 8 seemed excessive.
Rhyan Guevarra
pot with a wooden spoon.] Add in the beef and vegetables that was reserved, also add in the bay leaves, and barley. Bring to a boil then simmer till barley is fully cooked. check the seasoning.
Hope this helps [this isn't the recipe but merely guidelines to this incomplete recipe]
Scott
I like to use three different varieties of mushrooms and will vary them according to what is available or just for the sake of variety. It makes for more interesting flavors and textures. And the last soup I made I also added powdered porcini mushrooms to the broth for even more mushroom flavors.
Meryl
In my mother’s house (and now mine) , we used flanken ribs, instead of beef cubes. I toss it into the broth along with carrots, celery, barley, dried split peas and a handful of “alphabet” pasta. When fully cooked remove the ribs and shred the meat. This freezes beautifully. Just add a bit of water or broth after defrosting.
Julie Garfield
This is a GREAT recipe, but it is A LOT OF CHOPPING.This recipe is enough for 10 servings. So you can freeze and use later.What is missing in this recipe, is to take the beef out and put on a plate, after you made the stock. It’s not clear in the recipe.I didn’t do this, but the soup really was AMAZING.I also added the whole can of tomato paste.Delicious.
Ashley Clark
This is a delicious HEARTY stew that's great in New England winter. First time I followed the beef broth instructions and it turned out great. The second time I followed a separate beef broth recipe (roasted bones, long simmer) and followed the instructions to brown the meat. I removed the meat and browned the carrots and celery in the pan, scraping up the brown bits. I diced the mushrooms and diced half the carrots and sliced the other half. Let simmer for over an hour on low.
SteveB
No trouble making; next time I’d add a bit more seasoning not just salt and pepper.
delicious but poorly written
The chef does not mention covering while simmering or if the carrots are peeled or unpeeled
Arlene
I made this tonight and really enjoyed it. I added some Worcestershire sauce. I think I'll add some chicken stock because as others have noted, the amount of barley amount is a bit high, but I like it nonetheless. I think it will do well with a 50% stock of another variety (vegetable or chicken) to add complexity to the flavor and lighten it a bit. It really is so good. I look forward to having it the day after all the flavors marry.
proportions are off
The stock recipe does not make nearly enough liquid for the solid soup ingredients. cut the solid ingredients by at least half unless there’s anything specific you love.
SteveB
No trouble making; next time I’d add a bit more seasoning not just salt and pepper.
Ashley Clark
This is a delicious HEARTY stew that's great in New England winter. First time I followed the beef broth instructions and it turned out great. The second time I followed a separate beef broth recipe (roasted bones, long simmer) and followed the instructions to brown the meat. I removed the meat and browned the carrots and celery in the pan, scraping up the brown bits. I diced the mushrooms and diced half the carrots and sliced the other half. Let simmer for over an hour on low.
Es
Blizzard cooking. Made stock from bison bones, no additional meat. Rehydrated about 1/2 cup dried mushrooms and added mushroom broth to stock. In soup used 2 large carrots and 2 large celery stalks, onion, no parsley, reserved mushrooms, and fresh mushrooms (briefly sauteed), a large diced white turnip, barley, garlic salt, bay leaf and tomato paste. Needed flavor so added some Aleppo pepper. Very nice thick soup.
Christine
Made half a batch with a one-pound beef shank and a can of beef broth. Very tasty, but it needed a little acid so I added a splash of red wine. I also added some garlic. Very comforting on a cold January day.
Fran
I skipped the first step and made this in an instantpot. Used the ingredients for the soup added the meat, cooked it for 45 minutes under high pressure. It was perhaps the best barley soup I’ve ever made. Going to do it again this weekend.
Julia Noyce
I made the stock and let it cool overnight so I could scrape off the fat. I also sautéed the vegetables and added the tomato paste before adding the stock the following day. Soup is very good the first day. I may add some sherry for the next day
Sandie
I used commercial beef stock, then browned the beef separately as I would for any other soup. Eliminated the parsnip and halved the celery. Was delicious to us.
Jeff
Delicious recipe. I didn't have any parsnips so I threw in some green beans. Turned out great. I did throw in a couple of bouillon cubes just to add extra flavor.
Meryl
In my mother’s house (and now mine) , we used flanken ribs, instead of beef cubes. I toss it into the broth along with carrots, celery, barley, dried split peas and a handful of “alphabet” pasta. When fully cooked remove the ribs and shred the meat. This freezes beautifully. Just add a bit of water or broth after defrosting.
Christine
So, so good! My amendments: I used Better Than Bouillon (Beef), about a tsp of tomato paste, 2 medium sweet onions, .75 lb of stew beef, and about 1.5 tblsp Worcestershire sauce. Skipped the parsnips, as I cannot tolerate them. Otherwise, I cooked the recipe as directed.
Gwen in Northern Michigan
Doubled the amount of chuck and also used a full 6oz. can of tomato paste. It was delicious and made the house cozier as a blizzard raged outdoors.
loumorri
Yes, too much barley! Try 3/4 cup...maybe 1/2 cup as suggested..
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