I doubled the recipe and glad I did. Very good and even better the next day! I did deviate on the pearl barley I had. In a separate pan, I covered the barley with a couple inches of water, bought to a boil and then covered and set off the burner for an hour. Added the finished barley with the meat at the end. Had a really nice texture.
Cooked this a couple days after Chef John posted the recipe, and it was my favorite beef barley soup ever. I did add an extra couple cups of stock to make it more soupy than stew, but otherwise I followed the recipe to a T. The only bad thing is that my friend came over the day after and ate all my leftovers! 5stars, and highly recommended.
I had to cheat and make this in the slow cooker because I was rushed. I browned the meat and added all the other ingredients, except the barley, and cooked on low for 4 hours. When I got home I made quick barley on the stove, pulled out the bones, shredded the meat and added it with the barley and more salt and pepper before serving. It's very filling and tasty .
I followed the instructions pretty much spot-on this first time (I was able to get some great beef shank at the local butcher). The only thing I changed is I cooked the stew (prior to adding the barley) for probably around 4 hours or so in a heavy cast iron dutch oven. This was, without a doubt, the greatest beef stew- although it isn't what you would traditionally think of beef stew. It became this profoundly rich and beefy substance with such an exquisite gelatinous mouth-feel it was simply heavenly. If I'm sick this is going to be my new chicken noodle soup. I will make this again, within the week.
Followed the recipe with two exceptions.
I used cut up beef chuck instead of the shank.
One problem I had was that I used salted broth in the recipe. This made the 'soup' quite salty.
I would recommend buying unsalted broth and add your own as needed.
I made this on a Sunday afternoon. I had never cooked beef shank before, but when the butcher mentioned the bone marrow, I knew I was in store for something special. It takes a while , but it is well worth it. It hit the spot that cold NE Sunday afternoon, and was even better for lunch and dinner the following week. Thanks...will make this often.
What a wonderful pot of soup/stew for the cold days in the Midwest. Delightful to make, my husband said what smells so good while it was cooking. Very tasty but be prepared to cook this for some time. One pot meal well worth the wait. I also added a can of diced tomatoes for more liquid, more like a soup then a stew. Changed the meat with what I had on hand, oxtails, delish.
great comfort food! I made it to the recipe tho' I did add a step to rinse my barley...... the hubby was very happy! The one thing that I suggest is to have all of the prep done (veggies cut tomato paste measured out chicken broth open and ready to pour as suggested) before you start cooking. Will make again for sure! thanks Chef John and the helpful hints were great!
Another excellent Chef John recipe! The only change I made was that I used unsalted beef stock instead of the chicken broth. I wanted to add a good beefy richness to the soup, and used unsalted for health reasons. Using beef shank was new to me - I usually used beef chuck. What a difference! Will never go back! Thanks!!
Made as is and it was ok. Thought the flavour was a little bland.
