Barley Soup

Ingredients

• 2 lb shin of beef
• 0.25 lb pearl barley
• 1 large bunch parsley
• 4 onions
• 6 potatoes
• salt
• pepper
• 4 quarts water

Method

Beef shin is a collagen-rich cut that needs sustained braising to become tender and to enrich the broth with gelatin. Cold-start the shin in the pot with water — this is worth doing properly. Bring to a rolling boil, let it run for two minutes, then drain and rinse the meat under cold water. This blanching step removes the impurities that will otherwise cloud the broth and leave a metallic edge. Wipe the pot clean.

Return the blanched shin to the pot with fresh cold water. Roughly chop the onions — no need to peel them; the skin adds colour and tannin to the stock. Add them whole to the pot along with the pearl barley, which will thicken the broth as its starches leach into the liquid. Bring to a steady simmer — not a rolling boil now, but an active one with regular small bubbles breaking the surface. This is the working temperature for simmering beef: vigorous enough to break down collagen into gelatin, gentle enough that the meat doesn't shred into stringy fragments.

After 90 minutes, add the potatoes cut into rough chunks and the parsley tied in a loose bunch (keep it whole so you can fish it out later). Season moderately with salt — remembering that as liquid reduces, saltiness concentrates. Continue simmering for another 90 minutes, until the shin yields immediately to a fork and the barley has swollen and begun to thicken the broth into something between soup and stew.

The final 30 minutes of cooking should see the surface of the broth darken slightly as the meat's proteins coagulate. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Remove the parsley bundle and the shin itself. Shred the meat coarsely, discarding fat and sinew, and return it to the pot. This is not a refined soup — it should have body and weight, with visible shreds of beef and soft potato holding its shape in a cloudy, golden broth. Serve in deep bowls with good bread for soaking.