Beef Barley Soup

It's a rainy and cool Sunday morning and I decided to make some soup. Just felt like a good meal to go with the day. So I decided some Beef Barley Soup would be just the thing. It was pretty good and made our tummies happy. As summer comes our way we have less and less days that feel like soup days. So I just couldn't pass up an opportunity to make this great pot of soup.


Beef Barley Soup:
2 Tbl. evoo
4 lbs. stew mean (I usually buy a lean roast and cut my own. But whatever works for you is ok.)
Salt and Pepper
4 Cups chopped leeks (white and light green parts only. Make sure to clean them well. You don't want sand in your soup)
2 Cups chopped onions
4 Cups sliced carrots
2 Cups sliced celery
4-6 garlic cloves minced
4-6 springs fresh thyme (you can tie them together for ease of removing later if you want.)
5-6 bay leaves
4-5 (32oz.) boxes of beef stock or broth (msg. free)
1-2 Tbl. kitchen bouquet (optional)
2 Cups pearl barley

Heat 1 Tbl. evoo in big pot. When oil is good and hot add half the meat and 1/2 tsp. salt and a good pinch of pepper. You want to brown your meat. You want to get a good sear on the meat (this is where you get good flavor.) Once this is done pour the meat and any juice from the pan into a bowl and set aside. Now add another 1 Tbl. evoo and the rest of the meat and another 1/2 tsp. salt and a good pinch of pepper cook the rest of the meat the same way. Pour the meat and all juice into the same bowl as your first batch of meat and set aside. Now let pan heat up and add leeks,carrots,onion,celery, and garlic to pan. Stir and cook for about 5-10 minutes till veggies have cooked down some. Add the meat back in with all the juice, 4 of the boxes of stock (save the other one for adding to the soup if you need it later. I didn't end up needing but 4 boxes.) Add the thyme and bay leaves. cover and bring to a boil and turn down to a hard simmer till the meat is tender, stirring occasionally. When the meat is tender add the kitchen bouquet. In another stock pan bring 8 cups of water to a boil and add 2 cups of barley and a good pinch of salt to the boiling water. Cook barley for 30 minutes and drain. At this point remove the thyme stems and the bay leaves from the soup. Add the drained barley (barley will not be completely done yet) to the soup and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes. Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.