Hearty Beef and Barley Stew | Slimming Eats Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What to add to beef stew to make it amazing? ›

Vegetables: small chopped carrots, celery, and onion or shallot practically melt into the sauce. Mushrooms: button mushrooms are a nod to the quartered mushrooms many classic beef stew recipes call for, but are thinly sliced instead of being left in bigger pieces. Garlic: minced garlic brings lots of cozy flavor.

Pearl barley has a neutral-cereal taste. Its most distinctive feature is its texture. The grains also thicken soups and stews, imparting a creaminess which means that the liquid coats the back of a spoon.

Start with lean cuts of meat - Try London broil, brisket, top round and chuck roast. Add lots of vegetables - More carrots, peas, potatoes, celery, broccoli or even turnips helps bulk up portions while using less meat.

If it tastes off-balance, add some finishing flavors to bring it to the next level. Try adding soy sauce or Worcestershire for extra savory (or umami) flavor, a touch of honey or brown sugar for sweetness, lemon zest or vinegar for brightness or chili powder or smoked paprika for spice and depth.

A bit of tomato paste amps up the flavor of beef stew, giving it a richness and a punch of umami that makes the stew truly memorable.

Once the meat is tender - but not falling apart, add the potatoes, celery, carrots and butternut squash. Pour over another 2 cups of beef broth and enough water to cover the vegetables. Raise heat and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer partially covered for about 30 minutes - until the vegetables are tender.

In the original version, celery, carrots and onion are added to the meat. Usually just one onion, a celery rib and three carrots – enough to give a good amount of sweetness to the sauce. Make sure all these are sliced thin, so that they can brown well in a little bit of olive oil.

Do you cook barley before adding it to soup? Your beef barley soup will simmer long enough to cook the barley. There is no need for the additional step of cooking the barley first.

Do you rinse barley before cooking? ›

There is no need to rinse barley before using it. To enhance the flavor of barley, heat the kernels in a skillet for a few minutes or cook it in broth instead of water. You can save time by cooking extra barley and freezing it. Add it to soups or salads as you need it.

Hulled barley, considered a whole grain, has had just the indigestible outer husk removed. It's darker in color and has a little bit of a sheen. Pearled barley, also called pearl barley, is not a whole grain and isn't as nutritious. It has lost its outer husk and its bran layer, and it has been polished.

There is no real wrong answer for your beef stew potatoes — russets or red potatoes will work fine — but Yukon Gold potatoes have the best balance of texture and flavor to complement a meaty stew.

For example, chuck is a lean and tender cut of beef that works well in stew. However, if you would prefer a thicker and more flavorful stew, short ribs or oxtail may be better choices for you. To make a delicious stew, choose good-quality ingredients.

Carrots and other root vegetables, onions, chard, spinach, and lettuce are ideal for stewing while potatoes, leeks, cabbage, and porcini mushrooms are optimal for braising.

Beef tastes great when seasoned with oregano, rosemary, sage, garlic or a combination of these seasonings.