Beef and Barley Stew

This beef stew recipe is so good and I have no idea why. I’ve made beef stew before with varying results. It’s always good, but never worth blogging about. When Z asked me why it was so good I came back with a mystified, “I don’t know!” The broth is incredibly rich and luscious, and the stew chock-full of fall’s hearty comfort foods. Theoretically you should have leftovers to take with you to work – but we ate ours all in one day. Give it a try and let me how yours turns out.

beef and barley stew

This is a good Sunday dish as it takes at least a couple of hours to prepare.

• flour with salt and pepper
• 4 T olive oil, divided
• 4 T butter, divided
• 1.5 lb pastured beef stew meat (I’ve also made this with lamb)
• 1 large shallot, minced
• 2-3 T fresh sage, chopped
• 1 t dried marjoram
• 1 c carrots, small dice, divided
• 1 c parsnip, small dice, divided
• 1 c celery root, small dice, divided
• 2 cloves minced garlic, divided
• 4 cups chicken broth (or beef broth)
• 1/2 c hulled barley (not pearled barley)
• 1 cup chanterelles (or other wild mushrooms), chopped

Dredge meat in flour, salt and pepper. Heat 2 T of the oil and 2 T butter over medium high in a 3 qt dutch oven or heavy-bottomed soup pot. When fats are hot, brown meat on all sides. Remove and set aside. Reduce heat to medium and saute shallot in the fat until softened. Add sage and 1/2 the garlic and saute about a minute. Add 1/3 of the carrots, parsnip and celery root and cook a few minutes until softened a bit. Add 3 cups of broth and the beef and set to a simmer. After about 20 minutes add the barley and continue to simmer. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, saute remaining carrots, parsnip, celery root and garlic in the remaining oil and butter. Add salt and pepper to taste, the remaining sage, and the marjoram. When vegetables have softened slightly, turn off the heat. Once the barley has softened up a bit (after maybe 30 minutes of cooking), add the sauteed vegetables. At this point you will probably need to add the remaining broth. I like a thick stew so I add only enough for a small amount of broth. Cook until the vegetables and barley have softened to your liking (we like our barley to retain some of its firmness).

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