Instant Pot Beef and Barley Soup

Instant Pot Beef and Barley Soup

This soup is essentially pure, whole, healthy, comfort food, and involves very little hands on work.  I have always loved to put a pot on and let it simmer all day on the stove, but I've been playing with my Instant Pot and the meat comes out so perfectly and consistently tender in very little time, it's becoming my new favourite way to make delectable soups and stews such as this one.

Ingredients:

Broth (recipe below - made with beef shank bones, ACV, and veggie scraps)

Stewing beef chunks

Onions

Garlic

Carrots

Can of dark ale (optional) - I used Waterloo Dark, but Guinness works well, too

Bay leaf

Salt and Pepper to taste

Pot barley

Parsley to finish

If I'm well prepared, I first make a simple broth.  I use this for many things, like drinking (for gut health), making simple sauces / deglazing a pan, or cooking mashed potatoes or rice or barley... or I use it as a clean and pure ingredient in this soup. If I'm pressed for time, I use a CLEAN purchased broth.

To make the bone broth:

In the instant pot with the wire rack, place some beef shank bones, salt and peppercorns (to taste), a whole onion (with the skin) cut in two, and any mix of frozen parsley and veggie tops and scrapings.  I add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, then cover well with water.  I like to make about 10 cups.  

Seal and set at 60 minutes on manual / high pressure.  Let it release naturally.  

Remove bones and freeze for a second use another time.  I always scoop out the marrow and enjoy it right away! Sieve and discard veggies. Use and store or freeze in glass jars, or as desired.

To make the beef and barley soup:

In the instant pot, use about 6-8 cups of broth, 1 large can of dark ale, two pounds of well seasoned stewing beef chunks, 2 medium chopped onions, 2-4 chopped carrots, and a bay leaf. 

Seal and set at 40 minutes on manual / high pressure.  Let it release naturally.

I cooked the pot barley in a pot on the stove this first time, because I hadn't cooked with it before.  I followed the instructions on the bag fairly closely, using 3 cups of bone broth, just under a cup of barley, salt and pepper, and a bay leaf.  It simmered (covered) about an hour and I simply added it to the soup once it was done.  

Next time, I will shorten the cook time in the IP by about 15 minutes and will simply add it in to finish with the soup.  I love the hands off nature of soup making in the instant pot... I don't go too far when I'm making it, because I don't like to leave things on when I'm out, so it's no trouble to set it and forget it, and then come back to it to add the finishing touches (like the pot barley).

This soup is perfect on a cold day, and it's simply delicious with a sprinkling of fresh parsley.

Let me know if you like this one... there'll be more soups to come.

Enjoy!