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Even with this winter’s mild weather, I find myself craving soup. I keep running out of broth, no matter how much I make. So, here’s a batch of soup, starting with making the broth from beef bones. When I make a batch of broth, I always try to make as much as will fit in my pressure cooker. I can always find a use for extra broth in my cooking.

That said, this recipe takes time. Broth means a big pot of water, and water has a lot of thermal mass. A big pot of water is slow to heat up to pressure and slow to cool down. This recipe is meant to me made on a lazy Sunday afternoon – it is very hands-off – or across a couple of evenings, with the broth on the first night and the soup on the second.

I know a lot of people are looking for quick weeknight dinners, and this is not a 30 minute dump and stir recipe. Please, stay with me. This is old school soup-making, brought to modern times through the magic of the pressure cooker. Is it worth all this work? Try a bowl of this soup on a cold winter’s night, and I think you’ll say “Absolutely, it was worth it!”

Video: Pressure Cooker Beef and Barley Soup – Time Lapse (2:14)



Pressure Cooker Beef and Barley Soup – Time Lapse [YouTube.com]

Equipment

6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot electric pressure cooker)

clock clock icon cutlery cutlery icon flag flag icon folder folder icon instagram instagram icon pinterest pinterest icon print print icon squares squares icon Pressure Cooker Beef and Barley Soup ★★★★★ 5 from 3 reviews Author: Mike Vrobel

Mike Vrobel Prep Time: 2 hours

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 3 hours

Yield: 3 quarts of soup 1 x Print Recipe Pin Recipe Description Pressure Cooker Beef and Barley Soup recipe. Soup made from scratch, starting with a beef bone broth. Perfect for warming up on a cold winter night. Scale 1x 2x 3x Ingredients Browned Beef Broth 2 pounds beef bones

pounds beef bones 1 1/2 pound meaty beef shanks (or oxtail, or short ribs – you want cheap and on the bone)

pound meaty beef shanks (or oxtail, or short ribs – you want cheap and on the bone) 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste

can (6 ounces) tomato paste 2 medium onions, peeled and halved

medium onions, peeled and halved 1 head garlic, top 1/3rd trimmed off

head garlic, top 1/3rd trimmed off 2 carrots, peeled

carrots, peeled 2 stalks celery, trimmed

stalks celery, trimmed 4 sprigs fresh thyme

sprigs fresh thyme 10 peppercorns

peppercorns 1 teaspoon kosher salt

kosher salt Water to cover (8 to 12 cups) Beef and Barley Soup 1 tablespoon butter

butter 1 medium onion, chopped

medium onion, chopped 1 stalk celery, chopped

stalk celery, chopped 1 carrot, peeled and chopped

carrot, peeled and chopped 1 teaspoon dried thyme

dried thyme 1/2 teaspoon salt

salt 2/3 cup pearl barley

pearl barley 2 cups of shredded beef (beef from oxtails in beef broth)

of shredded beef (beef from oxtails in beef broth) 2 quarts of Browned Beef Broth (freeze the rest for use later)

of Browned Beef Broth (freeze the rest for use later) 14 – to 15-ounce can diced tomatoes

– to 15-ounce can diced tomatoes Salt and pepper to taste Instructions Make the Beef Broth: Heat the oven to 425°F. In a large roasting pan, rub the tomato paste over the beef bones and beef shanks. Add the onions, garlic, carrots and celery to the pan. Put the pan in the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Turn the beef and aromatics and roast for another 15 to 30 minutes, until the beef and aromatics are browned. Scrape everything from the roasting pan into the pressure cooker pot. Add the thyme and peppercorns to the pot and cover the bones with water – 8 to 12 cups of water, or whatever reaches your pot’s max fill line. Lock the lid on the pressure cooker and pressure cook on high for 75 minutes in an electric PC, 1 hour in a stovetop PC. Let the pressure come down naturally, about 30 more minutes. (The water holds a lot of heat, so it takes a while for the pressure to drop. If you get impatient, you can quick release the heat after 15 minutes.) Scoop the solids out of the pot with a slotted spoon, setting aside the meat from the beef shanks to shred, and then pour the broth through a fine mesh strainer. Skim the fat from the top of the broth as best you can. (This is easy if you refrigerate the broth overnight; the fat rises to the top and solidifies, so you can scrape it off in big chunks). Use 2 quarts of the broth and the shredded meat in this recipe, and freeze the rest of the broth in 2 cup containers. Saute the aromatics: Wipe out the pressure cooker pot, then put it back over medium heat (sauté mode) and melt the butter. When the butter stops foaming, add the onion, celery, carrot, thyme, and salt. Saute, stirring occasionally, until the onion turns translucent, about 5 minutes. Cook the soup: Stir the shredded beef and the barley into the cooked aromatics. Pour in the 2 quarts of beef broth we saved, stir in the tomatoes, and lock the lid on the pressure cooker. Pressure cook on high pressure (manual mode) for 18 minutes in an electric PC, 15 minutes in a stovetop, and then quick release the pressure. (Or, if you have the time, pressure cook for 15 minutes in an electric PC, 12 minutes in a stovetop PC, and let the pressure come down naturally, about 20 more minutes.) Season and serve: There is very little salt in this homemade broth, so you will need to add salt to season the soup. Add salt until the taste picks up – it goes from flat and boring to sweet and delicious. (I add at least 2 teaspoons of kosher salt to get the broth where I want it.) Stir in fresh ground black pepper and serve. Notes Use a 6 quart or larger pressure cooker. (I love my Instant Pot electric pressure cooker.)

Here’s the full version of my beef broth recipe: Pressure Cooker Browned Beef Stock

“Step 1 – Make the Broth” can be done ahead of time. The broth and shredded meat can be refrigerated for a few days, or frozen for a few months.

Can you substitute store-bough broth? Well, you *can*, but homemade broth makes for a much better soup.

Leftover soup freezes beautifully. I store it in 2 cup freezer containers. I can grab one, thaw it in the microwave, and have a bowl of homemade soup for lunch in five minutes. Method: Pressure Cooker

Cuisine: American

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

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My other Pressure Cooker Recipes

My other Pressure Cooker Time Lapse Videos

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