Barley in soup. How?

[pacanis]

Sorry for a mundane question, but search was giving me things that weren't even close to what I need to know.
How do I cook barley in soup?
I just bought both kinds, a "quick" kind and a "medium" kind. How would I add this to my broth from last night's roast? I don't even know if barley soaks up liquid like rice does and I would need to cook it first.
Guess I shoulda been paying more attention to mom when I was little

Thanks for any help.

 

[Andy M.]

Add it to the broth and simmer for the time indicated on the box. Quick barley will take a relatively short period of time. Regular barley will take longer. You'll know it's done when the texture is soft.

It does absorb liquid.

 

[pacanis]

Thanks Andy.
The more I was sittiing here thinking about it, the more I thought I had to precook it or something. Good to know I can do it all in one pot just by adding more liquid.

 

[Katie H]

Yep...what Andy said. I love barley and cook with it regularly. I don't particularly care for the quick-cooking version. I like the texture of "regular" barley better. There's nothing more comforting on a cold day than a nice big bowl of beef and barley soup. Yum!

 

[Andy M.]

...There's nothing more comforting on a cold day than a nice big bowl of beef and barley soup. Yum!

You've got that right, Katie. I always have some beef barley in the freezer. It's one of my favorites.

 

[corazon]

Katie and Andy-
I've never made beef barley soup before but it sounds great. I'd love to see both of your recipes! I'm a big fan of mushroom barley soup, I think dh would prefer the beef though.

 

[Andy M.]

Best of both worlds, here's a recipe for:

Beef Barley Mushroom Soup


2 Tb Canola Oil
1 1/2 Lb Beef Shin on the bone
2 Tb Flour
TT S&P
1 tsp Canola Oil
1 Carrot, diced
1 Onion, diced
1 Celery rib, diced
4 C Beef Broth
2 C Chicken Broth
1/2 tsp Thyme, dry
2/3 C Pearl Barley, rinsed
1 C Canned Tomato
1 Tb Butter
3/4 Lb Mushrooms, quartered
3 Tb Parsley, minced

Heat a 6-quart saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat; add 2 tablespoons of the oil. Season the meat generously with salt and pepper and dust with the flour. Sear the meat on all sides until well browned.

Wipe the pan out with a paper towel. Lower the heat to medium, add the remaining oil to the pan. Add the carrot, onion, and celery to the pan and sweat for 10 minutes.

Return the meat to the pan. Add the broth and bring it to a boil.

Simmer, covered, 1½ hours.

Add the thyme, barley, and tomato, continue to simmer covered, for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium sauté pan, heat the butter over medium-high heat, add the mushrooms and sauté until golden, about 10 minutes. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper and add them to the soup, and simmer for 15 minutes more.

Remove the meat from the soup and cut the meat from the bone and dice.

Return the meat to the soup. Add the parsley. Season the soup with salt and pepper.

Note: If making the soup in advance, you may want to adjust the consistency of the soup when re-heating with added water, since the barley has a tendency to absorb the broth.

 

[pacanis]

Well, Murphy's Law had me put the quick barley in my stock from last night... or would that be broth
I was supposed to rinse it first? Oh well.

I'm not a soup maker, so this will be an experiment in terror. I've only made chicken noodle soup before.
Anyway, I added some more beef broth, some water, some corn, a little worcestershire, some dried Italian seasoning and parsley. I used up some chicken broth I had, too, when I saw Andy's recipe had both in it.
We'll see.....

I'm doing it all in the pressure cooker. I just had to turn it from brown to the slow cocker more. It was really coming to a roaring boil. BTW, Andy. The stock from last night did have a very fine layer of fat on top.... it was orange, too. It still wasn't as much as from a slow cooked roast, though.

Thanks for posting that recipe. My mother used to make beef and barley soup from "oxtail". Good stuff

 

[Andy M.]

pacanis, I have also made it with boneless chuck and it's great that way too. It's more meaty and stew-like. No harm in not rinsing the barley, just more thickening power.

 

[pacanis]

pacanis, I have also made it with boneless chuck and it's great that way too. It's more meaty and stew-like. No harm in not rinsing the barley, just more thickening power.

Is it as good as Campbell's Chunky beef and barley soup?

That stuff is just plain nasty. All their chunky beef, sirloin, whatever soups have the same nasty taste to them. It will be nice to make my own soups and freeze them once I get the hang of it.

 

[Andy M.]

I don't eat canned soups.

 

[pacanis]

I hope to say that someday, but I do like Select clam chowder.
Being from MA, I suspect you have a pretty good recipe for that, too. Probably starts with; grab your bucket and clam shovel....

 

[Andy M.]

As much as I used to love clam chowder, I can no longer eat it as I have a severe allergy to clams.

 

[pacanis]

That stinks.
My father is allergic to all shell fish. Happened when he was around 65 or so, he's 83 now. He can't eat a French fry that has been fried in the same oil as shrimp...
I hope that never happens to me.

BTW.... I added way too much barley.....

 

[Loprraine]

[QUOTEIt does absorb liquid][/QUOTE]

It sure does. I like a really thick barley soup, so the 1st time I made it, I added the whole bag of barley. I ended up with a pot of barley cement.

 

[pacanis]

Well then you'd like this, Loprraine.

Barley. It's what's for dinner.

 

[Constance]

Is it as good as Campbell's Chunky beef and barley soup?

That stuff is just plain nasty. All their chunky beef, sirloin, whatever soups have the same nasty taste to them. It will be nice to make my own soups and freeze them once I get the hang of it.

Gee, I love the stuff.

 

[pacanis]

Aside from the chowder, I think I only like one other flavor of Chunky.... one of their chicken soups, but since I don't remember which one I like, I never buy them
It seems like there's some flavor that's really overbearing in their soups, to me anyway. The chicken soups have their flavor, the beef theirs, their corn chowder or split pea is like eating liquid smoke....

Obviously they are selling them to more than NFL stars' mothers, though.

 

[Loprraine]

Wow, Pacanis, what did you make? It looks incredible!

 

[pacanis]

Wow, Pacanis, what did you make? It looks incredible!

I have no idea, but it didn't taste half bad. I had forgotten how much I love barley. Thank you.