Oxtail and Barley Soup

Fork-tender hunk of beefy oxtail

I wanted to try something new and when my friend outside of Chicago reminisced about oxtail and barley soup, I went on a hunt for a recipe and oxtails. This is what I determined would be a good one for me.

Oxtail and Barley Soup
from Great Chicago Italian Recipes

3 lbs of oxtail

1/4 c of extra virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp of fresh ground black pepper
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and cut into pieces

2 stalks of celery, slices into pieces
1 turnip, diced
10 white button mushrooms, sliced
1 (15oz) can of tomatoes, diced
1/2 c of red wine
1 qt beef stock or broth
3 c of water
2 bay leaves
1/2 c of pearl barley

Place the oxtails in boiling water for around 3 minutes.



Season the oxtails with salt and pepper and place them in a roasting pan and drizzle with some of the olive oil.


Roast at 350°F for around 20 minutes on each side until the oxtails are nice and brown.

In a large pot sauté the onions and garlic in the remaining oil for 3 minutes.

Add the carrots, celery, mushrooms and turnips and sauté for another five minutes.

Add the wine, beef stock, water, tomatoes and oxtails.

I did add tomatoes, but they sunk.

Add the bay leaves and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer for around 3 hours.

Foamy scum rose to the surface and was occasionally skimmed off the top.

During the last 45 minutes of cooking add the barley*. Remove the bay leaves before serving.

*I had purchased pearl barley from a bulk container and stored it in an old jar with screw-top lid. Tonight I could not open the jar until the "last 45 minutes of cooking" were over. I added the barley and stirred it in. Then I removed the soup from heat.

While I could go ahead and eat it tonight, I opted to let the soup cool to room temperature and then put it in the refrigerator. The taste of the beef I had was really good, but there was a lot of fat in the soup. Tomorrow, I'll scoop the extra fat off and then reheat the soup for dinner.