Beef and Barley Soup with Mushrooms

Beef and Barley Soup with Mushrooms is so savory and heartwarming making it the perfect winter soup. Filled with mushrooms, beef, and plenty of vegetables, this soup will have your whole house filled with the delicious aroma of your creation.

Looking for more delicious and hearty soups? Try ourRustic Italian Tortellini Soup with Sausage, Zuppa Toscana, or Curry Chicken and Rice Soup!

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Developing Beef and Barley Soup

I've taken my time developing this delicious recipe because we never grew up having Beef and Barley Soup. We would have beef stew. I remember it being so thick with potatoes and huge pieces of carrots. I wanted everything in this soup to be able to be eaten off of a spoon because I hate a soup that has anything too big for my spoon.

I struggled with getting the beef to not be tough and it came down to two things: the cut of the meat and the size I cut the meat. All about the cut, I guess. The chuck roast is important because it has enough fat in it to stay tender being cooked in a liquid for 3 hours but if you cut it any smaller than an inch or so, it starts to get tough. In the end, I'm glad with the way it came out.

In the process of making Beef and Barley soup with mushrooms, I also came up with our Barley Lentil Soup, which is also delicious but not nearly as thick and has no meat. Whenever I'm developing recipes, I always come up with 3 new ideas in the process. Blessing and a curse.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Chuck Roast. Chuck roast is great for Beef and Barley soup because of its fat content. We also use it when we braise barbacoa for our Dutch Oven Barbacoa Tacos. It's the perfect level of lean for how long you'll cook this soup. You could substitute Top round or bottom round, but it may end up being a little tougher.
• Beef Stock. Beef stock is often made with a lot of "beef flavor". If you can make your own Homemade Beef Stock, that's great. Otherwise, try to make sure you buy a good quality beef broth or one you know the taste of. When you simmer the broth down, it will concentrate the flavor, good or bad.
• Vegetables. I use a combination of carrots, celery, onion, and mushrooms, but you could substitute or add other vegetables like shallots, zucchini, or leeks.
• Tomato Paste. You could leave out the tomato paste if you want but it provides the slightest level of sweetness to balance the savory flavor of this soup.
• Red Wine. I typically use a Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot while cooking with red wine.
• Barley. This is beef and barley soup but if you wanted to substitute barley, you could use lentils, rice, or farro.
• Pancetta. Bacon would be an okay substitute but it will add a very different flavor to the soup. Pancetta is more subtle and 1000x better in my humble opinion. It's what I use to flavor my Authentic Bolognese, but I'd never substitute bacon there either.

*Please see the recipe card below for more information about the ingredients.

How to Make Beef and Barley Soup with Mushrooms

Step 1: Cut the chuck roast into 1-inch squares. Dry with a paper towel and remove any pieces that consist of only fat. Season liberally with salt and pepper.

Step 2: In a large pot, add the olive oil and bring the heat to medium-high. Once hot, sear the beef on each side for about 90 seconds to 2 minutes or until browned. Remove the beef and set aside. Do this in batches to avoid overcooking or steaming the meat.

Step 3: Lower the heat tomedium-low and add the pancetta. Sauté until the fat renders and the pancetta is golden brown, about 8 minutes.

Step 4: Then stir in the carrots, onion, and celery. Sauté until softened, about 5 more minutes.

Step 5: Once the vegetables have softened, stir in the mushrooms. Sauté until they brown, about 5 minutes.

Step 6: Then stir in the tomato paste. Allow the tomato paste to coat the vegetables and caramelize for 3 minutes.

Step 7: Pour in the red wine and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the wine is thickened and reduced by half.

Expert Tip: See the above image to see what reduced wine should look like. When you drag your spoon across the pot, the wine should slowly trickle across the gap.

Step 8: Then add the broth, parmesan rind, and the bay leaves. Raise the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and add the beef back in. Simmer with the top cracked open for 1 and a half hours, stirring occasionally.

Step 9: Add the barley and stir well. Simmer for another hour, stirring occasionally.

Step 10: The soup is ready to eat, but you could also leave it on low to allow it to thicken even more if you are looking for more of a stew texture. Serve while hot.

Upon reheating beef and barley soup will definitely be more of a beef and barley stew. It's still delicious, honestly, it's probably even better. Just like Braised Italian Short Ribs with Gnocchi, Sausage and Lentil Soup or Chicken Tortellini Soup, it's better the next day. Soup is funny that way!

Pro-Tips

1. Searing is the most important part of beef and barley soup. If you don't sear the meat correctly, or if you cut the beef too small, you'll end up with very tough beef. Make sure to sear at a high temperature and get a golden brown texture on the outside of the meat. Don't cook it all the way through. 
2. Tomato paste is like my secret weapon. It adds a slightly sweeter flavor once caramelized. But you must let it cook in the pot before adding the red wine.
3. The longer you simmer this soup, the thicker it will get. I think 2-3 hours is the perfect time range to still be considered a soup. This soup is delicious reheated as it takes on more of a stew texture. 

Recipe FAQs

Should I cook Barley before adding it to the soup?

No, totally unnecessary. You have to cook this soup for about 3 hours, so might as well cook the barley in the soup instead of wasting another pot.

Why does my beef and barley soup have no flavor?

The top two things that come to mind are searing and layering. If you don't sear the meat properly, it will be flavorless and you won't develop a fond on the bottom of the pan. If you don't slowly layer in ingredients, they won't be given the time to develop flavor.

What kind of red wine should I use in my soup?

I use Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. Try to use something that you would drink. The flavor of the wine is important and you should never use a "cooking wine". There's no such thing.

More Hearty Soup Recipes

• Italian Wedding Soup
• Chicken Farro Soup
• White Bean Lentil Soup
• Classic Italian Minestrone Soup