What is the best cut of beef for soup? This can be a difficult question to answer, as there are so many different types of beef cuts around. I’m going to outline some good cuts of beef for soup, and then end with my top recommendations. Not all cuts of beef are created equal, and for soups, the best cut of beef for soup can make a big difference. That’s why I’ve put together this list of the best cut of beef for soup that you can use to help make your beef soup even more delicious each and every time.
If you’re still wondering what part of the cow is boiling beef, then this article is for you. Here I’m going to focus on the three most important cuts of beef. From there we will explore different methods to cook it and we’ll go through some easy recipes to get you started as well as the health benefits of beef. But let me start by saying something about quality first.
Beef Barley Soup is delicious, especially during the winter, when you can use beef broth to cook vegetables and create a warm, filling meal. But why should you have to wait until the cold weather months to eat your favorite soup? Well, actually you don’t have to! Here are some of the more common cuts of beef that will work well for both regular and pressure cooker beef soup recipes:
Related Post: healthy beef recipes
Best Cut Of Beef For Soup
What Cuts Of Beef Are Good For Soup? Cutting the beef correctly and selecting the right liquid to use for the broth is essential. Regardless of which grade of meat you use for our homemade vegetable beef soup, we recommend the upper portion of this type, the lower portion, the top portion, or the lower portion only. Making sure that these cuts get cooked on the side will keep them more tender.
Beef is one meat that you will want to get in the habit of buying from your local butcher. It’s not only better tasting and a much better deal than expensive cuts like filet mignon, it contains healthy omega-3s and is often lower in fat and cholesterol.
What Cut Of Beef Is Best For Soups?
Bone-in short rib. Bohemian (Bottom Sirloin Flap)In Thai, “second cut” referred to the fatty brisket. Cross-cut shanks.
How Do You Make Beef Tender In Soup?
Not cooking the stew enough. It takes some time for chuck meat to become tender since it is a rather tough cut. You’ll have hard and chewy beef if you overcook it. A couple of hours of cooking the meat lower and slow over low heat is recommended for really tender meat.
Which Beef Cut Is Best For Boiling?
Certification Angus Beef lists the cuts for boiling and braising that includes brisket, chuck, flank, shank, rump, and round (as well as the chuck).
Which Beef Cut Is Best For Soup?
For this beef soup, the best cuts of beef are, among other things: the top chuck, shoulder, chuck roast, and chuck roast loin. I love how these cuts make the beef melt and are served as a perfect addition to this dish.
What Is The Most Tender Meat For Beef Stew?
In the case of beef stew, a chuck is the best piece of meat. Chop it and place it in chunks before serving it in your best bowl. Using pressure cooking to make the best beef stew or slow cooking really helps with the beef chuck roast.
How Do You Boil Beef To Make It Tender?
Put a piece of paper in the center of a pot with some water at the bottom. A few crushed garlic leaves should be added to the pot before placing the roast in it. The boiling water will only add strength as it is simmering. In addition to the water, you may want to add additional salt when the meat is cooking.
Related Post: beef for weight loss
Why Is The Beef In My Soup Tough?
It becomes tough with the bone-forming proteins when the meat is left simmering at a lower temperature and with no time to get its collagen and fat working. You don’t know how bad it tastes if the beef is left simmering at the wrong temperature.
How Do You Make Beef Stew Chunks Tender?
If you are making beef chunks tender and do not want to use the grill, do not wait for it to be seared in a heavy skillet. Alternatively, you may use a meat tenderizer to reduce the chewiness of meat. tender beef chunks go well in soups, stroganoffs, and casseroles, despite the less popular than a thick cut.
What Is The Best Cut Of Beef To Use In Soup?
Pork shoulder is the best (and most reasonably priced) way to serve beef stew since it is formed into a chuck that is not raised. While you can make some really delicious stew with the rear muscle (also known as the round), we choose chunkier for its more connective tissue taste.
What Part Of The Cow Is Boiling Beef?
An iron rib from the upper part of the thigh is the strongest and most characteristic of boiled beef in absolute and consistent terms.
What Is Beef Boiling Meat?
I imagine beef stew to be very much made after boiling it. Meat that’s boiled should not be boiled, which is deceptive. There will be some challenges. Once the meat has browning done, heat the cooking mixture again with the liquids and then reduce the heat so that the meat has a nice simmer.
How Long To Boil Beef To Make It Tender?
You’ll taste an angry chewy beef as you rush the cooking. As a tip, cook the stew slowly for approximately two hours for tender meat.
WHAT ARE THE BEST CUTS OF BEEF FOR STEW?
A hearty beef stew is both a tasty and affordable dinner option. Stews come under the umbrella of slow-cooked beef dishes and as such any beef cut that shines in slow cooking will work well. This is the time to use a cheaper cut as while they are tougher, they turn into melt-in-your-mouth pieces of beef once cooked over a longer period of time.
Collagen is the key
When choosing a cut of beef for your stew recipe, you want to look for collagen-rich beef, which comes from the harder working parts of the animal. Stronger muscles may have less fat but they have high levels of connective tissue, which results in collagen.
It is easy to fall into the trap that tender is always better, but when cooked over an extended period of time, the fat in tender cuts will melt away too quickly, turning the meat firm and chewy.
Collagen is tough when raw, but the cooking process and the combination of time, low heat and fluid will break down the connective tissues, including the protein collagen, which would otherwise make the meat tough when cooked quickly. The collagen will then melt into gelatin, which is what gives you a moist and tender piece of meat. Added bonus: this gelatin not only releases into the meat itself but seeps into the sauce, giving it a deep flavor and body.
Go for the chuck
The most common beef used for stew is chuck steak, also known as gravy beef or braising steak.
Beef chuck comes from the forequarter of the animal consisting of parts of the neck, shoulder blade and upper arm. It is easy to find and it’s affordable, making it a great choice for your stew. Chuck has high levels of connective tissue and as such will become moist as it releases high levels of gelatin. In addition to the connective tissue, it has a good amount of marbling and low external fat.
Related Post: beef for bbq
How to cook a beef stew
When cooking your stew it’s important to brown and caramelize the meat first. This will create added depth and flavor to the whole stew. You’ll want to brown the beef and then make the stew in the same pan, without cleaning it.
When browning the beef, sear in batches and don’t overcrowd the pan. This technique will give each piece enough space to perfectly caramelise and you won’t accidentally steam the meat.
Once you’ve added all of your ingredients, you’ll want to simmer the stew at low heat for two to three hours. Give it a taste test at the two-hour mark and if the meat isn’t tender enough just extend the cooking time until the meat is falling apart. If you’re bulking up the dish with vegetables, we recommend saving them to add towards the end of the cook so they don’t get overly soft.
To make a healthier stew you can skim the fat off the top before serving, or if you’ve made a batch in advance wait until the stew cools in the fridge, which will cause the fat on the top to harden, making it much easier to get off.
Beef Barley Soup
I want to share with you a wonderful Beef Barley Soup recipe my mother has been using in our family for years. It is so simple to make and you can tweak it a little bit depending on your preferences. I hope you enjoy it as much as our family does. This Beef Barley Soup is rich, satisfying, comfort food in a bowl. A hearty and delicious soup, loaded with tender chunks of beef, barley, fresh herbs and veggies!
I have to tell you, there is nothing like a good hearty soup. When I make a soup, I am aiming for one that warms you from the inside out and makes you feel good all over.
This beef barley soup is unbelievably delicious, comforting and so meaty! Loaded with barley, veggies, and melt-in-your-mouth beef chunks, this hearty soup is easy to make and will become a new winter favorite!
Why Make This Beef Barley Soup
- Simple Ingredient List
- Filling & Hearty
- Foolproof Process
- Can Be Made In Advance
I love soups like this, ones that can be eaten as a meal! Simple ingredients, foolproof process, delicious soup – what more could you ask for?
Ingredient Notes
- Beef – You’ll need stewing beef, such as chuck, bone-in short rib, or fatty brisket. See “FAQs & Expert Tips” for more info on substitutions!
- Flour – I used all-purpose flour! We are going to use the flour to dredge the beef, this will help it brown up in the pan to develop a rich flavor in the soup and also thicken the soup a bit!
- Olive Oil – Substitute sunflower, safflower, or avocado oil.
- Veggies – Let’s face it, what’s soup without onions, celery and carrots? It’s the mirepoix of soups, the trio of aromatics. No soup leaves home without it!
- Garlic – Fresh garlic is always best! Minced.
- Oregano – Fresh or dried, either work. You can add other herbs like Italian seasoning.
- Tomato Paste – Make sure to grab tomato paste, it’s much thicker and has a more concentrated flavor to enhance our soup.
- Beef Broth – I always opt for low sodium to control the sodium in the dish! You would be surprised by how much-added salt is in broths!
- Barley – I used pearl barley for this soup, but hulled barley works too! There are many types of barley, but the pearl is the most commonly used! See “FAQs & Expert Tips” for more info on barley.
Related Post: Cuts Of Beef For Grilling
How to Make Beef Barley Soup
Prep the Beef:
Season the stewing beef generously with salt and pepper. Place the beef in a Ziploc bag and add the flour over the beef. Close the Ziploc bag and shake until each piece of beef is fully covered in flour. You can also do this in a bowl.
Sear the Beef:
Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the beef to the pot and cook just until the meat starts to brown about 3 minutes per side. You will have to do this in 2 or 3 batches since you do not want to crowd the meat. Remove the meat from the pot after you’re done and set it aside.
Cook the Mirepoix:
In the same pot, you will have a lot of brown bits on the bottom. Add more olive oil if needed, then add the chopped onion, carrots and celery. Cook the vegetables until soft, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Season and Cook the Beef:
Add the garlic, oregano and tomato paste to the pot and stir. Cook for 30 seconds until aromatic. Add a bit of the beef broth to the pot to deglaze all the brown bits at the bottom. Add the meat back to the pot, then the beef broth and water and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to a medium, cover the pot and cook for about 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you want to cook this for so long that the beef becomes tender, it will melt in your mouth.
Add Barley and Cook:
Add the barley to the pot, cover it and cook for another 30 minutes or until the barley is cooked through. Make sure you stir occasionally so the barley won’t stick. If you find that the soup is too thick add more water as necessary until you get the desired consistency, though this is quite a thick soup.
Finish and Serve:
Remove the soup from the heat and garnish with fresh parsley before serving.
TIPS
- You’ll want to use low-sodium beef broth, just to reduce the sodium in the soup a bit!
- I usually put my beef and flour in a large Ziploc bag, close it, and shake the heck out of it until each piece of meat is covered in flour. You can also use a bowl to stir everything together.
- It’s important to brown your meat in a bit of oil because this will create those brown bits in the bottom of your pan which will really give the soup that rich flavor! Trust me, those brown bits are where it’s at!
- If you can’t find barley, use rice or couscous instead.
- Feel free to incorporate any veggies, herbs, or spices you see fit!
Related Post: chicken with red peppers
Leftovers
Store leftover beef barley soup in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
REHEATING
Reheat either in the microwave at 30-second intervals, stirring in between, or on the stovetop over medium heat.
FREEZING
You can also store your leftovers in the freezer for up to 6 months. I find it’s easiest to first transfer the soup to the fridge to thaw overnight, then heat it up using your preferred method.
Health Benefits of Beef
Beef is an important part of the diet, containing nutrients necessary for the normal growth and development of children, adolescents and adults. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, (USDA), beef provides a number. The health benefits of beef have been celebrated throughout the ages. Today we’ll look at the scientific and historical reasons why beef has proven itself to be one of the greatest foods ever to exist.
1. Beef is High in Protein and Helps Improve Muscle Mass
Eating protein every day is important, our bodies need it. Proteins supply the building blocks our bodies need (called amino acids) that help us repair and build muscle, bone, skin, hair, cartilage, and more. Daily protein also helps our bodies main our lean body mass, also known as muscle mass. And, of all the nutrients, proteins are very satiating and help make us feel fuller longer, preventing unnecessary cravings.
Beef is packed with health-promoting amino acids, and it’s one of the single biggest sources of protein in the human diet. For instance, a 6oz (170g) portion of 80% lean beef provides 46g of protein. Should we opt for a leaner variety of beef, the protein content increases! That is why at Five Star Home Food, we provide Certified Angus Beef.
2. Beef is Extremely Rich in Minerals
Beef is also very rich in minerals like potassium, phosphorous, magnesium, and iron. In fact, a 6oz portion will give you (%DV):
- Copper 10%
- Iron 18%
- Magnesium: 7%
- Phosphorus: 40%
- Potassium: 10%
- Selenium: 50%
- Zinc: 65%
For people with certain mineral deficiencies, beef is an excellent source of nutrition!
Related Post: Best Beef For Kebabs
3. Eating Beef Helps Prevent Iron Deficiency Anemia
One nutrient deficiency worth mentioning is Iron Deficiency Anemia (IDA). According to Dr. Ian Griffin, “Iron deficiency remains a major public health issue even in a developed country such as the United States.” Currently, iron deficiency affects 10% of the population, with half of this deficiency IDA. It can be traced to changes in the quality of dietary intake, and one of the reasons Five Star Home Foods provides only the best quality Angus-certified beef.
4. Beef Contains Carnosine
Another advantage of eating beef is that it provides an abundance of carnosine, 50% more than other proteins like poultry. Carnosine (beta-analyl-L-histidine) is created by combining the amino acids alanine and histidine. It is found throughout the body and has several important roles in human health, most notably in exercise performance and muscle mass balance.
What Does Carnosine Do?
For one thing, carnosine has anti-glycosylation properties. What this means is that carnosine reduces the harms of a process called ‘glycation,’ directly related to human aging. Carnosine is also helpful in exercise performance and skeletal muscle homeostasis, and it even boosts the immune system and can reduce inflammation. The compound is also thought to help prevent lipid peroxidation within our cells.
5. Beef is Full of Vitamins
There are many important nutrients in beef, and those present in significant amounts include the range of B vitamins, which are vital to energy metabolism (amount per 6oz 80/20 beef %DV):
- Vitamin B1 6%
- Vitamin B2 20%
- Vitamin B3 45%
- Vitamin B5 17%
- Vitamin B6 42%
- Vitamin B12 152%
- Folate 3%
Additionally, beef also contains smaller amounts of vitamins E and K. Of importance, Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is an essential nutrient only available from animal foods. This vitamin also has a wealth of benefits that include skin improvements, positive mood, better sleep, and neural regeneration. It’s important to realize that in
Related Post: ground beef for breakfast
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What Is the Best Beef for Beef Barley Soup?
The best beef for this soup is stewing beef! You can find it readily available in all grocery stores. It comes already cut into cubes, ready for you to just cook with it. If you cannot find stewing beef, go for collagen-rich cuts such as chuck or short rib. These cuts of beef are usually tough if you cook them for a short period of time, but become ultra tender when slow-cooked over a long period of time.
What Is Barley?
Barley is a grain that is very similar in size and texture to brown rice. There are several different types of barley, so you’ll have to test them out to decide which is your favorite!
Can I Make This In Advance?
Absolutely! You can make this soup in advance, and store it in the fridge or freezer in an airtight container until ready to serve. Just keep in mind, if you make this ahead of time, don’t add the barley until the day you serve it!! See “Leftovers/Freezing” for full instructions.
Can I Make This In The Crockpot?
Yes! This beef barley soup can be made in a crockpot. Cook for either 4 hours on high, or 8 hours on low.