Making homemade beef stock is easier than you think with this fool proof recipe.  After wards, it can be used to make a hearty beef barley soup or put in the freezer for later use.

I feel like February was a big fat blur.  It flew by.  We were busy trying to get busy and we are still trying to get busy.  I never really got a chance to spend the quality time I usually do either on Saturday or Sunday at the market and then cooking something at home.  As well we have been low on all the basics for instance stock in the freezer.  So, when I woke up to pouring rain on Sunday, I decided today would be the day to try to find that home comfort.  It was nice as we stayed in  (worked a little bit) and I baked my Daring Baker’s challenge and I made a big pot of beef stock.

I have made chicken stock often and have been dying to roast up some beef bones and make some rich stock to use in soups, risottos, bourguigns, etc.. I was going to just wing it as I do when I make my chicken stock but then I stumbled upon a soup that Jen over at Use Real Butter made, which in turn stumbled me over to Susan at Sticky, Gooey, Creamy & Chewy.  So I used both of their recipes to create the stock and the soup we had for dinner tonight.  Recipe will follow.

Making beef stock was easy.  A bit time consuming as you need to be home, but worth it.  It was rich with flavor and the meat was incredibly moist.  I cooked the veggies only long enough to soak in some of the flavor of the stock but still be crunchy.  As well I toasted the barley a bit before adding it to the soup with gave it a slightly nutty taste.  It was  delicious served along side a big hot basket of mile high biscuits.

Recipe:  Beef Stock & Barley Soup

adapted from Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy & Use Real Butter

2.5 lbs. beef bones (I used beef shanks per the recommendation of my butcher)
salt
black pepper
2 carrots, cut in quarters
1 onion, cut in half
drizzle of olive oil
4 quarts water
2 medium cloves garlic, smashed
1 small onion, diced
handful of fresh Thyme, crushed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb. crimini mushrooms, cut in half
2 medium carrots, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1/2 cup pearl barley

Stock
Heat the oven to 425°F. Rinse the beef and pat dry. Season with salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. I put them in my oven proof stock pan and roast for 90 minutes. When the beef is done, remove the beef to a stock pot or keep it in the one you used if it is large enough, add the halved onion and quartered carrots, cover with 4 quarts of water. Bring the water to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for 5 hours. Strain the beef from the broth and tear the meat into bite size chunks. It made 12 cups of stock. I used 6 for the soup and froze the rest without meat.

Soup
In a stock pot saute the onions in the olive oil, add the garlic, celery and carrots. Lightly toast the barley until a little golden and fragrant.  When the veggie mixture is slightly soft add the 6 cups of the broth, the meat, thyme, barley and mushrooms. Bring the soup to a boil and then reduce to simmer. Cook until the barley is tender about 20 minutes.  Serve very hot.  Eat.