Ingredients
Equipment
Method
Seasoning and tempering your meat:
- Season your beef with salt and pepper. Let rest for an hour so the salt absorbs into the meat. If cooking right away, let this happen at room temperature to temper your meat.
Browning your meat:
- Heat your oil in a large dutch oven over med/high heat until lightly smoking. Pat your beef down with a paper towel to remove excess moisture.
- Add in your beef and cook. Use a weight like a chef's press if you have it and turn every minute or so until browned on all sides. This should be for about 5-7 minutes total. Remove your beef and set it aside on a plate for later.
Browning your veggies:
- Add your celery, carrots and onions to your dutch oven and season with salt. Move your veggies around, gently scraping the bottom of the pot as it deglazes from the moisture of the vegetables. Add in garlic after 4 minutes and continue cooking for another 3 minutes until your veggies are lightly cooked. Remove the veggies and set aside in a bowl until later.
Building your Soup:
- Add your tomato paste to the pot, spreading it around a bit. Allow it to caramelize for a minute and then add in your beef stock to the pot. Stir in the tomato paste, gently scraping away any remaining bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a gentle simmer.
Bringing everything together:
- Slice your browned beef into 1 1/2" chunks. Add them to your pot along with your thyme and bay leaves. Note: Keep in mind that your beef chunks will shrink as they cook so cut them a bit larger than you’re aiming for. Add in parmesan rind here if using.
- Bring everything to a low simmer and cook for an hour(ish), or until your beef is nice and tender (skimming the top from any grime/foam as you go).
- Add your veggies into the Dutch oven along with your barley. Simmer until the barley is fully cooked, about 30 minutes. I prefer my barley tender but still with a light bite to it. Remove thyme steps and bay leaves. Note: Remove parmesan rind if using.
- Stir in your fish sauce and season with salt and pepper if needed. Note: add in water to adjust soup's consistency.
To serve:
- Serve in a bowl and garnish generously with parsley. Note: You can also add a sprinkle chili flakes and a dash of fish sauce.
Nutrition
Notes
- You can substitute chuck roast for something fancier like beef short ribs for a deeper and beefier flavor but they will also be much more expensive.
- You can also ask for some beef bones from your local butcher to add to the soup while it cooks for deeper flavor. These will either be free or dirt cheap!
- Use the best quality beef stock you can find, ideally a bone broth. This can also get a bit expensive so you can alternatively use a high quality chicken stock which will also work very well.