Beef Barley Soup

Servings: servings

Calories: 370cal

In a Ziploc bag or large bowl, add meat, flour, and 1 teaspoon of sea salt. Mix well to cover evenly.
In a large soup pot over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon of butter at a time. Working in batches, adding more butter each time, lightly brown the meat on 2 sides without over-crowding (note: depending on the type of pot using, if they hold heat well, you may want to lower the heat for this step). Transfer each batch to a plate and set aside. I like to do this much meat in 4 batches.
Add in chopped veggies and garlic, and cook on medium for 3 minutes. Then add the remaining salt, herbs, spices, and tomato paste and mix to incorporate.
Place the browned meat into the pot. Add broth, water, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower to medium-low, cover, and cook for 45 minutes.
Pour barley into pot, cover and cook for 30 minutes covered, then another 15 minutes uncovered (or until the barley is fully cooked), stirring occasionally. If needed, add more water or broth for desired consistency.

5 from 5 votes

We used beef stew meat for this recipe. You can typically find this pre-cut into cubes at the grocery store, but a pound-and-a-half slab of chuck roast will also work - simply cut it into cubes yourself.
You can substitute with quick cooking barley, but as the name states, it will cook quicker than regular so keep note on the time needed when adding them to the pot.

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 15

Total Time1 30