Imen Ina Garten Beef and Barley Soup is a slow-simmered recipe made with oxtails, leeks, carrots, celery, onion, and pearled barley in canned beef broth. It takes 2 hours and 35 minutes from start to finish and serves 6.
Ina’s developed this recipe for her show Barefoot Contessa on Food Network. Her version uses oxtails rather than stew beef, which gives the broth a deeper, more gelatinous body that you simply can’t get from boneless cuts.
The barley cooks separately in plain water for 30 minutes before joining the soup. That step keeps the grains from soaking up all the broth and turning it cloudy and starchy by the time it reaches the bowl.
Ina Garten Beef And Barley Soup
Description
A slow-simmered, hearty soup built on a rich beef broth base, cooked low and slow for deep flavour and a satisfying, filling bowl.
Ingredients
Soup Base
Barley
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the oxtails, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes until browned all over. Remove the oxtails with a slotted spoon and reserve.
- Add the leeks, carrots, onion, celery, and garlic to the fat in the pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes until the vegetables start to brown. Tie the thyme sprigs with kitchen string and add to the pot along with the bay leaves.
- Return the oxtails to the pot and add the broth, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Raise the heat and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour. Discard the thyme bundle and bay leaves, then skim off the fat.
- Meanwhile, bring 4 cups of water to a boil and add the barley. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, then drain and set aside.
- Add the barley to the soup and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes until the barley is tender. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Serve hot, with or without the oxtails.
FAQs
Can I use a different cut of beef instead of oxtails?
Bone-in short ribs or beef shank are the best alternatives because both contain enough connective tissue to enrich the broth during a long simmer. Boneless stew beef will cook through, but the broth will taste thinner and lack the silky body oxtails produce. Use about 2 pounds of whichever bone-in cut you choose and follow the same browning and simmering steps.
How do I know when the barley is fully cooked?
Pearled barley should be tender all the way through with no chalky centre and a slight chew. Taste a grain at the 15-minute mark after adding it to the soup. If it still feels hard at the core, give it the full 20 minutes. Barley that finishes cooking in the pot absorbs the broth flavour directly, so it should taste seasoned, not bland.
Why does the recipe call for skimming the fat after the first hour?
Oxtails release a significant amount of rendered fat as they simmer, and leaving it in makes the finished soup greasy and heavy. Skimming after one hour is easier than skimming throughout cooking because the fat has had time to pool on the surface. A wide, flat spoon does the job quickly.
Can this soup be made a day ahead?
Yes, and it actually tastes better the next day because the flavours continue to develop overnight in the fridge. Store the soup and barley together, but be aware the grains will absorb more liquid as the soup cools. Add a cup of broth when reheating on the stovetop over low heat to bring the consistency back.
What goes well alongside this soup?
Crusty bread is the most practical pairing since it holds up to dipping in the rich broth. For a proper side on the table, Mustard roasted potatoes work well because the sharp mustard cuts through the heaviness of the oxtail. Keep portions modest since the barley already makes this a filling bowl.
Can I freeze this soup?
Freeze the broth and oxtail meat separately from the barley for best results. Barley that freezes in liquid becomes waterlogged and mushy after thawing. If you already have them combined, the texture will suffer but the flavour holds, and the soup base alone keeps well in airtight containers for up to three months.
