The only flip side of the recipe is it takes a bit of long to cook, but again most of it is hands-off. The long and slow cooking gives that complex flavor to the soup. The thumb rule is to get cuts from worked-up portions of the animal. The reason is – the worked-up parts of the animal like the shoulder develop a lot of collagen. Collagen forms the bulk of the connective tissue that joins the muscle fibers in these areas. It is the most abundant form of protein in most animals. (I am getting too technical here, but you got the point right?) Chucks (part of the shoulder) and short ribs are collagen-rich and touch pieces. They need a long time to cook when the collagen melts and forms gelatin-like stuff, that not only keeps the chuck pieces moist but also does not dry. Other tender popular cuts like the tenderloin are not ideal. While the soup cooks, it dries up and becomes chewy. So, best advice – get the chuck or at least the short ribs. Chuck pieces are easy to cube and add to the soup and more convenient than the ribs where you will have to remove the rib bones. Just trim the chuck pieces of excess fat as fat can make the soup very greasy when cooked.
Chuck – Just make sure to trim them of excess fat and cut them into less than 1-inch cubes. Barley – Pearl barley is processed and therefore cooks faster and is less chewy than other unprocessed forms. You will have to wash and it cooks along with everything else. Oil – used to brown the beef chunks. Any neutral cooking oil will work.
Vegetables – I have added carrots and mushrooms. You could use green beans. Beef stock – forms the body of the soup. A good quality beef stock is really worth it. Make sure it is low sodium. Alternately use beef bullion. Aromatics – Onion, garlic, and celery. Tomato paste – which forms a base for the aromatics, herbs, and spices. Herbs & Spices – Thyme and bay leaf. Go for at least 2 teaspoons of minced thyme, if you are using fresh. For dried thyme, the quantity should be reduced to 1/2 teaspoon. Soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce.
Roast the chuck pieces
This I would say is the most important step. Roasting/browning the beef well helps develop flavor. Pat the beef chunks dry. Moisture on the chunks will make a lot of steam and not allow them to sear properly and develop that nice brown color. We do not want to steam chuck pieces. We should be roasting the chuck pieces in batches. Avoid crowding, as that will not let the heat escape and will steam the pieces instead. Sear it for high heat for 2-3 minutes on high heat. Turn them over and you should see a nice brown crust on the beef pieces. Brown them for up to 3 minutes on the other side too. Take them off using a slotted spoon. After taking off the beef chunks, add chopped onion and garlic and saute them for 30 seconds to a minute. The onions and garlic should lose their raw smell. Add chopped carrots, celery, and bay leaf, thyme. Saute for 2 minutes to allow everything to develop flavor. Add tomato paste and saute for a further 2 minutes on low heat to caramelize the tomato a bit. After an hour, add the soaked barley grains along with the mushrooms. Cover and cook again on low heat for another 45 minutes to 1 hour. Add chopped parsley and serve. I used to add uncooked barley directly to the soup until I figured out this hack. When I begin with the prep work like chopping veggies etc, rinse barley a couple of times and soak in enough water until use. Before adding, drain the water. Soaking barley cut shorts the cooking time and also each grain cooks really well. Alternatively, you can use quick cooking barley, that doesn’t need longer to cook.
Can we make Beef Barley Soup In Advance?
Yes. Infact the flavors gets only better when it rests overnight. Make the soup, let it cool down a bit, cover and refrigerate overnight. The soup might thicken a bit, you can adjust the thickness while reheating. You can refrigerate this for up to 4 days. For refrigerated, soups, just reheat them back in the Dutch oven or even microwave them. For frozen soups, thaw them overnight in the refrigerator section and then reheat them as usual.
