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Traditional Beef and Barley Soup Recipe



Warm-up during those cold winter months with this delicious and easy to make traditional beef and barley soup recipe.

Beef and barley is a fantastic hearty soup jam-packed with meat, root veggies, and barley. It is a derivative of scotch broth which is classically made with lamb, and in some cases is all vegetarian, instead of beef. Beef and barley have been around since the 18th century and essentially was created based on the availability of the product, like many recipes that come from that era.

Ingredients for this recipe:

• 8 ounces roughly chopped bacon
• 2 pounds cubed beef stew meat
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, optional
• 2 peeled small diced yellow onions
• 3 thinly sliced leeks
• 4 finely minced garlic cloves
• 3 peeled medium diced carrots
• 3 medium diced celery stalks
• 1 peeled medium diced parsnip
• 1 peeled medium diced turnip
• 2 bay leaves
• 12 cups beef stock
• 2 cups pearl barley
• ¼ cup chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
• 1 tablespoon chopped thyme
• sea salt and pepper to taste

Serves 12

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Procedures:

1. In a large pot over medium heat, add in the bacon and cook until crisp and brown, about 8-10 minutes.
2. Remove the bacon lardons and set aside and add the cubed beef into the pot and turn the heat up slightly to medium-high and cook until the beef is browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes.
3. Take the beef out and set it to the side.
4. If there is not enough rendered bacon or meat fat in the pot then add in the optional olive oil and over low heat caramelize the onions and leeks for 30-35 minutes or until they are well browned. Stir occasionally.
5. Add in the garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes before adding back in the beef, bacon, carrots, celery, parsnips, turnips, bay leaves, and beef stock and cook over low to medium heat for 60 minutes or until the vegetables and beef are tender.
6. Pour in the barley, give it a stir, and cook for 30-35 minutes over low to medium heat for 30-35 minutes or until the barley is cooked.
7. Finish with herbs, salt, and pepper, and serve.

Chef Notes:

How to Store: Place covered in the refrigerator for up to 6 days. Cover and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for 1 day before reheating.

How to Reheat: Add the desired amount to a small saucepot and cook over low heat until hot. You can also reheat in the microwave until hot.

Washing the barley is optional, I prefer not to.

If the beef stock is not available you can use chicken stock or even water.

You do not have to use fresh herbs at the end, however, if using dry herbs, add them in when you add in the beef stock.

36 Comments

  1. Aaron

    It turned out pretty good. I used 1lb ground beef, 1lb stew meat, 12oz bacon, 2 yellow onion, 4 carrot, 3 parsnip, 1 turnip, 2 yukon gold potatoes, 4 celery, 8 cups beef broth 4cup h2o. I like how easy it is and the flexibility of ingredients. I let mine sit for a while and it thickened up a lot which I like. Next time I would spend the extra $ to add fresh herbs at the end.

  2. cmcc1971

    If I wanted to make this with intentions of pressure canning and putting away in the pantry how long would you cook on the stove with the barley? Since it has meat in it, I will have to run in a pressure canner for 70 mins. I want to try and minimize my chances of the barley turning too mushy.

  3. Kitty Hegemann

    Wash cutting board with soapy water, rinse, spray white vinegar on board, scrub, rinse, dry with clean towel. You have now killed all the bacteria.

  4. Dave Drifter

    I like a little sweet corn in mine for color and an added texture component but it’s cooking so there is no right or wrong. Great channel!

  5. Cindy Eckstine

    I made your green lentil soup and it was amazing! I agree with caramelizing onions for at least 30 min. Thank you!

  9. Mary Burnight

    I have subscribed because you are an excellent chef-teacher! Thank you
    ❤️🧡💜💙💚💛🤎

  12. Melina Ottesen

    Just made this tonight. And boy the house smells great! I used quick cooking barley and reduced time to 10 minutes after adding. It turned out 👌 family is impressed. I may be turning them into soup lovers too! ❤️

  15. All Blackmore

    I made this soup it was so good! So much flavor. I was worried the meat would be tough but cutting the meat in small pieces it was very tender at the end. Thanks Chef😊

  17. Nathan Lambshead

    Thank you for the video. When I find a cook who knows how to layer and caramelize in sections, I know I it is a video worth watching.

  18. Blue Moon

    … decades ago I worked for a restaurant that made the most AWESOME beef and barley soup with mushrooms ! … I would love to recreate that … at what stage would you recommend adding in the mushrooms, either fresh or dehydrated ? Thank you !

  21. MrMucera

    It hurt to see all that leek go to waste.
    At least in germany we only cut some from the top and bottom and use the rest. (at least i have never seen it done differently)

  27. scottab140

    Mushroom Barley Soup
    😇Cook oil, onion, garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, mushrooms. Add chicken broth and pearl barley. Serve with pastrami or corn beef sandwich.

    Traditional Beef and Barley Soup Recipe

    • 8 ounces roughly chopped bacon • 2 pounds cubed beef stew meat • 2 tablespoons olive oil, optional • 2 peeled small diced yellow onions • 3 thinly sliced leeks • 4 finely minced garlic cloves • 3 peeled medium diced carrots • 3 medium diced celery stalks • 1 peeled medium diced parsnip • 1 peeled medium diced turnip • 2 bay leaves • 12 cups beef stock • 2 cups pearl barley • ¼ cup chopped parsley • 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary • 1 tablespoon chopped thyme • sea salt and pepper to taste Serves 12

  28. Keeran Beg

    Don’t know why this popped up on my feed but this looks like a really good version of a family favourite here.
    This home version, here in Northern Ireland would use beef shin, soup mix which has split yellow and green peas and lentils added to the barley and Soup Celery to finish it off. It’s finer than table celery with a peppery edge and seems to be local. Doesn’t appear down south or over in GB for some reason.

  30. Caprifool

    You lost me at tossing 4/5 of the leeks and the very random comment about "It's not recommended to eat more than this." and it's bitterness. Utter nonsense and a dish cooked for a long time, is exactly the kind of dish you can save the green parts for. Say the day after making a delicious Welsh leek gratin with the light parts. Such a extreme waste!

  34. Shannon Baker

    Making this now it will be done in twenty minutes. And yes carmelizing onions always. Also I learned recently to saute my spices before adding them to my dishes for a deep roasted flavor excellent for lasagna. The onion garlic fennel salt pepper omw so amazing

  36. Mark King

    Followed the recipe with the following changes:
    1) used slow-roasted beef back ribs; finished with a brief high roast to add a nice crust (then cubed the rib meat)
    2) pan roasted the cubed root vegetables and celery, giving them a dark brown crust
    3) used homemade beef demi-glace cubes to make 1/3 of the stock, then used a simple roux to make beef gravy from that stock.
    The resulting somewhat thickened soup (not as thick as a stew!) is better than I ever hoped for

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