Beef and Barley Soup

I mentioned this un-posted dinner in my rosti post (here).  Since I ate leftovers from my taco bowl dinner last night (I would have had to talk about warming up ground beef, rice, tomatoes, and cheese in the microwave), I will finally post this soup.  I have quite a few packages of soup bones in my freezer.  I love soup, but I rarely make beef soup, and, in fact, I rarely make soup unless I have ingredients that must be used like a Thanksgiving turkey carcass.  But, my mom and I ran the inaugural Portland Half Marathon a couple weekends ago, and I thought having soup around for before the race would be a good idea.  Both my mom and I are the type of runners - and I use that term loosely - that really have to watch what we eat before a race.  We don't want to get "bad stomaches" during a race.  Soup is a mild item, and the barley makes it hearty enough to eat alone for meals.  


The soup turned out really well, and we did eat it the day before the race.  Unfortunately, I didn't put the dutch oven back in the fridge after we ate on Saturday night, and I did not discover the abandoned soup until Sunday night.  It broke my heart to dump a pot full of soup, but I think 24 hours is way too long for the soup to sit out.  At least it was a good first experience with beef soup; my mom doesn't really eat meat so the fact that she enjoyed it gave me confidence to try it again.


3 to 4 lbs beef shanks
2 Tbsp bacon drippings - or other fat
2 quarts cold water
1 tsp salt
1 small onion, chopped
1 15-oz can tomatoes, diced
6 sprigs parsley
5 carrots, sliced
2 cups fresh green beans, cut
1 cup diced potatoes
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup rice or barley


Brown meat in drippings.  Pour off excess fat.  Cover with water; bring to a boil.  Add salt and onion and simmer for 2 hours.  Add vegetables and rice.  Simmer for about an hour longer.  Remove meat from bone and add back to soup.


I am writing this post during breaks in tonights Giants game.  It is currently the top of the 6th and the Giants are down 2 runs to the Phillies' 3.  Let's go Giants!


Bon appetit.