| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 2 hr 35 min |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Cook: | 2 hr 20 min |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon good olive oil
- 2 pounds beef oxtails
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 leeks)
- 2 cups (1/2-inch) diced carrots (4 carrots)
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1 cup (1/2-inch) diced celery (2 stalks)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme leaves
- 3 bay leaves
- 10 cups canned beef broth
- 1 cup pearled barley
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset. Add the oxtails, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook over medium-high heat, 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 and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, until the vegetables start to brown. Tie the thyme sprigs together 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 of salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Raise the heat and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour. Discard the thyme bundle and the bay leaves, and skim off the fat.
- Meanwhile, bring 4 cups of water to a boil and add the barley. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, drain, and set aside.
- When the soup is ready, add the barley and cook the soup for another 15 or 20 minutes, until the barley is tender. Depending on the saltiness of the stock, the soup might need another teaspoon of salt and some pepper. Serve hot, with or without the oxtails.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 560 |
| Total Fat | 27 g |
| Saturated Fat | 11 g |
| Carbohydrates | 39 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 8 g |
| Sugar | 5 g |
| Protein | 39 g |
| Cholesterol | 109 mg |
| Sodium | 1631 mg |
Reviews
Great recipe! Made it vegetarian style. Omited the ox tails. Soaked an ounce of Porcini mushrooms in 2 cups of boiling water for 1/2 hour. Sauteed 1lb of Cremini mushrooms in 1tbls butter and olive oil. When they were almost a golden brown I added the rest of the ingredients Including strained and chopped Porcinis. I strained the 2 cups of water from the porcinis and added to 1 1/2 qts of vegetable broth. Excellent!
Very tasty and close to a pantry recipe to make on a chilly evening! I used about 1.25 lbs chuck roast, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces instead of the harder to find oxtails. In place of beef broth, I used half beef stock and half water. Otherwise, I followed the recipe closely. Cooking the barley separately is key. The vegetable proportions are perfect so that all flavors are represented in each spoonful. I look forward to making this again.
So so so good!
Replaced beef oxtails with beef shanks and doubled the barley (family of 6)
The soup is amazing, but not a big fan of the oxtail. They were quite expensive, and I found it impossible to get the meat off of the bones. I’ve made this before with short ribs and it’s fabulous. I think I’ll stick with the short ribs from now on.
Oxtails can sometimes be hard to find. I normally use chuck roast and brown in batches then add the veggies. I also add a couple tablespoons of tomato paste before adding the broth. Adds some acidity and more depth. It always comes out fabulous.
I have used this recipe three times now and it is fabulous! However, I could not get oxtails, so I used sirloin tips, which I cut into small mouth size pieces before sautéing. I seasoned the tips and let them sit out for about 40 minutes to get room temperature. This recipe works wonderfully with the sirloin tips and they are always nice and tender. The recipe is fabulous. Thank you so much for posting!
I cut a one pound piece of london broil and cube it and cook in olive oil, then add this to the soup. It taste so good and so much easier than messing with ox tails.
This is so awesome. You can also substitute other things on hand in your fridge. The technique is what’s important.
I think it is great. It’s my go to recipe whenever I get a yen for beef barley soup. Nobody better than Ina Garten. I confess to using left over corned beef chopped up in the soup. Delicious either way.
Followed the recipe tasted good . I added a half package of dry onion soup mix Tasted better ! Gary West Penticton BC Canada