BRAISED SHORT RIBS & BARLEY SOUP: IT PACKS ONE HELL OF A PUNCH IN TERMS OF SPICE & FLAVOR

Now that we have you thinking of sitting by the fire and cozying up with a hot bowl of soup, check out this scrumptious list of ingredients.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• 2½ lbs beef short ribs
• salt and pepper to season
• flour for dredging, about ½ cup
• 3-4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 6 cups of low sodium or no salt added beef stock
• 2 large red onion diced small, 4 cloves minced garlic
• 4 cups canned tomato puree
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
• 1 rounded tsp smoked paprika
• ⅓ cup pearl barley
• 4 large carrots, diced small

Directions to Follow

1. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper and dredge them in the flour, covering them in an even coat on all sides. Throw out any excess flour.
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet over medium to medium high heat and brown the short ribs on both sides.
3. Transfer the browned ribs to a covered roasting pan or dutch oven.
4. Add the onions, garlic and 2 cups of the beef stock.
5. Slow cook at 300 degrees F for at least a couple of hours until the meat is tender and falling off the bones.
6. Remove the ribs from the pot, skim off any excess fat from the braising liquid and pour it into a 6 to 8 liter quart pot.
7. Add the remaining 4 cups beef stock along with the pureed tomatoes, pepper, salt, sugar, thyme, smoked paprika and nutmeg. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
8. While the soup is simmering, remove all of the meat off of the short ribs by pulling it off in small pieces with a fork. Remove any excess fat, leaving only the tender meat behind.
9. After 20 minutes, add the beef to the soup pot along with the barley and carrots.

After this, all you need to do is simmer until the barley and carrots are thoroughly cooked, probably around 20 minutes. You’ll also want to taste the broth near the end of the cooking time and determine if you should add any spices or seasonings. The result? A rich, hearty comfort food that’s a meal in itself!

What’s great about this soup is that it’s easy to make it thicker or thinner depending on your tastes. Simply add or subtract beef stock to achieve the consistency you want.

Article Source: Rock Recipes