European Oxtail Barley Soup

A clay bowl full of oxtail soup. There are whole chunks of oxtail in a rich broth with barley and diced vegetables.

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Variations of this oxtail soup are eaten across Europe. This version with barley is popular in the Slavic coutries.

Prep Time20

Cook Time3

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Eastern Europe

Servings:

Calories: 105kcal

Author: Jana Dziak

Ingredients

1 whole oxtail cut up into pieces
2 quarts water or as needed
1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
1 large onion unpeeled and cut into half
1 large onion diced fine
2 large carrots washed and left whole
2 large carrots chopped small
2 ribs celery washed and left whole
2 ribs celery chopped small
½ cup pearl barley rinsed, or if using hulled barley, soak it for 3 hours prior to cooking
1 8 oz can tomatoes or 1-2 chopped fresh tomatoes
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
freshly cracked black pepper and salt to taste

Instructions

Heat the lard/oil in the stockpot. Brown the oxtails in the oil, one layer at a time, without overcrowding. Set aside the oxtail pieces as you brown the meat in batches.
Put all the oxtail pieces back into the stock pot. Add the bay leaf, the whole peppercorns, the WHOLE 2 carrots, the WHOLE 2 celery ribs, and the WHOLE onion that was unpeeled and cut in half.
The chopped and diced vegetables should be kept aside!
Add the water. Bring water to a boil on high heat before lowering the heat to the lowest setting.
Skim off any scum and foam that rises to the surface in the first 30 minutes.
Cover the pot, but leave it slightly ajar, and let this simmer for an additional 1.5 hours.
After the 1.5 hours have passed, open the lid and remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon or tongs. Keep the liquid simmering.
After 2 hours, the flavor of these vegetables is spent, but they have helped you create a more flavorful stock for your oxtail soup. You may eat them, compost them, or feed them to your animals.
Add the raw chopped carrots, celery, and onions to the simmering liquid.
Add the barley, the can of tomatoes, and the fresh or dried thyme. Taste for salt and adjust.
Let this simmer for another 45 minutes, and adjust for salt and pepper one last time at the end.
Oxtail should be tender and falling off the bone.
Serve hot with crusty sourdough bread and enjoy.

Notes

Remember that barley is not gluten-free. If you need a gluten-free soup, replace the barley with beans, cooked rice, or leave it out.

Storage, Freezing, & Reheating

Like most soups and stews, oxtail barley vegetable soup can be enjoyed for many days, and the flavors will only improve.

This soup will stay fresh and tasty for up to 5 days, covered, in the refrigerator.

To reheat soup: ladle your desired portion into a medium pot and heat it on low until it reaches the desired temperature. Stay close by and stir, adding a splash of water or stock as needed in case the soup has thickened too much in storage.

To freeze soup: soups make great freezer meals, and they can be heated directly from their frozen state too. Ladle soup into plastic freezer-safe heavy-duty bags, silicone bags, or large silicone souper cube trays (my favorite; they're amazing). If using plastic, let the soup come down to room temperature first.

Soups and stews can be popped out of the Souper Cubes once frozen and stacked neatly in your freezer for better organization.

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