Beef Barley Soup

Hello there,

This winter has been a very big soup season in our house. I’ve made numerous batches of beef barley soup, clam chowder, chili, white chili, chicken soup, vegetable soup, detox soup…the list could go on and on. It’s been so cold lately that my body literally tells me it needs soup. Once I feel the cold settling into my bones, my first thought is, “Okay, which soup am I making for dinner tonight?” It’s basically the only way to truly warm me up from the inside, which I think is something we all look for on cold winter nights.

My trick with making this beef barley soup extra flavorful is lots and lots of wine. Not kidding. I use quite a bit.

***This is also a very large batch of soup, so if you don’t have a stock pot that could easily hold 20 cups of water in addition to the meat and vegetables, I would recommend cutting this recipe in half, just to ensure you have enough room in the pot for stirring and properly cooking the soup.

What I like to do with all my extra soup is container it up and freeze it. I tend to do this with all of my soup and sauce batches I make. This way, on nights when I don’t feel much like cooking a whole meal from scratch, this is an easy solution. Simply defrost, heat up, and mangia!

Stay warm and safe out there. And enjoy!

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Ingredients

• Approximately 3 1/2 – 4 lb chuck roast beef chuck cut into small cubes

• 20 cups of water

• 8 stalks of celery

• 1 – 10 oz bag of matchstick carrots

• 6 Tbsp of Better Than Boullion Roasted Beef Base

• 3 large sweet onions, diced

• 1 bulb of garlic, roughly chopped

• 2 large potatoes, peeled and shredded

• 3 cups of dry red wine

• 2 cups of barley

• salt and pepper, to taste

• Olive Oil

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Directions

• Prep the onions, celery, and garlic. Set aside.
• Cut the beef into bite-sized cubes, removing all excess fat. Season with salt and pepper and place in a large bowl.
• Coat the bottom of the largest stock pot you have with olive oil. Heat on medium/high. Add the beef to the pot in smaller batches. This way the beef will properly brown. If too much beef is added to the pot at one time, the beef will stew rather than brown, which is what you are trying to avoid. Cook until the beef is lightly browned, then remove from pot and place in a large bowl after all the meat is cooked.
• Lower the heat to medium. Add additional oil to the pot and sauté the celery and onion. Once the mixture begins to cook down and the onions begin to look translucent, add the carrots. Cook for approximately 5 more minutes. Then add the garlic to the mixture and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
• Add the meat back to the pot with the onion/celery/carrot/garlic mixture.
• Add the 3 cups of dry red wine to the mixture and allow the alcohol to cook out and the wine to reduce by half.
• Add the beef base and water. Turn the heat to high and mix well. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer.
• Simmer for 1 hour.
• After the soup has cooked for 1 hour, rinse, peel, and shred the potato.
• Add the shredded potato and barley and simmer for 30 minutes or until the barley is cooked.

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Directions with Step by step photos

• Prep the onions, celery, and garlic. Set aside.
  
• Cut the beef into bite-sized cubes, removing all excess fat. Season with salt and pepper and place in a large bowl.
  
• Coat the bottom of the largest stock pot you have with olive oil. Heat on medium/high. Add the beef to the pot in smaller batches. This way the beef will properly brown. If too much beef is added to the pot at one time, the beef will stew rather than brown, which is what you are trying to avoid. Cook until the beef is lightly browned, then remove from pot and place in a large bowl after all the meat is cooked.
  
• Lower the heat to medium. Add additional oil to the pot and sauté the celery and onion. Once the mixture begins to cook down and the onions begin to look translucent, add the carrots. Cook for approximately 5 more minutes. Then add the garlic to the mixture and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
  
• Add the meat back to the pot with the onion/celery/carrot/garlic mixture.
  
• Add the 3 cups of dry red wine to the mixture and allow the alcohol to cook out and the wine to reduce by half.
• Add the beef base and water. Turn the heat to high and mix well. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer.
  
• Simmer for 1 hour.
• After the soup has cooked for 1 hour, rinse, peel, and shred the potato.
  
• Add the shredded potato and barley and simmer for 30 minutes or until the barley is cooked.