Brisket Barley Soup with Crispy Kale

Name: Brisket Barley Soup with Crispy Kale
Total time: 3 h 30 min
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 3 pounds brisket, fat trimmed, cut into 1-inch cubes; 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt, more as needed; 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper, more as needed; 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed; 3 leeks, thinly sliced; 2 celery stalks, diced; 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 3 thyme sprigs; 2 bay leaves; 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks; 2 parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks; 2 medium turnips or kohlrabi, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes; 2/3 cup pearled barley; 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar, more as needed; 10 ounces Tuscan kale (1 large bunch or 2 small), ribs removed and leaves sliced 1-inch thick

By Melissa Clark

Total Time: 3½ hours
Rating: 4(126)
Comments: Read comments

Making soup out of brisket has a major advantage over the usual braising: Because you are cooking the meat submerged in broth, it stays juicy. As it simmers, the brisket cubes soften enough so you can cut them with your spoon. The chewiest thing in the soup will be the barley, but in a good way. Some slabs of brisket comes more thoroughly trimmed than others, so you may have to do some knife work when you get it home. But fear not, if your broth ends up a little greasy, just chill it and then spoon the fat off the top when it’s cold.

Featured in: Brisket Is Coming to Dinner, in a Soup

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings

3pounds brisket, fat trimmed, cut into 1-inch cubes
1½tablespoons coarse kosher salt, more as needed
1½teaspoons black pepper, more as needed
3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed
3leeks, thinly sliced
2celery stalks, diced
2garlic cloves, finely chopped
3thyme sprigs
2bay leaves
2carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch chunks
2parsnips, peeled and cut into ½-inch chunks
2medium turnips or kohlrabi, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
⅔cup pearled barley
2teaspoons white wine vinegar, more as needed
10ounces Tuscan kale (1 large bunch or 2 small), ribs removed and leaves sliced 1-inch thick

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Season brisket with 1 tablespoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Step 2
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add brisket in batches and cook, turning occasionally, until well-browned, 8 to 10 minutes per batch. Drizzle in additional oil if pan seems dry. Transfer browned meat to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Add leek, celery and garlic to pan; cook until soft, about 7 minutes.
Step 3
Return meat to pot. Pour in 12 cups water, thyme, and bay leaves. Bring liquid to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, part covered, for 1 hour. Stir in carrots, parsnips, turnips, barley and remaining ½ tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Simmer until barley is cooked through and meat is tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour more. Stir in vinegar. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary.
Step 4
Just before serving make the kale: heat oven to 450 degrees. Make sure kale is very dry, then toss kale with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and a pinch of salt. Spread it out on one or two baking sheets. It should fit in one layer without crowding. Roast until leaves are crisp in places (some spots will still be soft), 5 to 10 minutes. Serve kale on top of soup.

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Ratings

4 out of 5

126 user ratings

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Comments

Alix7 years ago

Just watched the video on the Times website about this soup and it says just add enough water to cover! Wished I had watched the video before I added 12 cups as per directions above. Very watery. But I will try to boil it down and rescue it.

Meta7 years ago

Given the 3 lbs of brisket and barley, I didn't find this to be too much water. Need to cook the barley for 15 minutes before adding vegetables and cooking 45 minutes. Also simply added the kale at the end and cooked until wilted. The crispy kale wasn't worth the effort.

meg s4 years ago

I riffed on this to positive results. Instead of cutting up the brisket initially, I seared the brisket whole. I added the meat to the soup as indicated in the recipe, but took it out after an hour and then cut it up and added back to soup. I also added 1 1/2 lbs chopped mushrooms after softening the leeks and celery. Lastly, I cooked the barley separately since I intended to freeze a lot of the soup, and will add cooked barley when ready to serve - so as not to have soggy barley.

Bruce1 year ago

Wonderful! I only did about 1/3 of the portions and loved it. Will do it again, next time to impress a gathering...

Robyn K3 years ago

I made this as written. Supposedly, putting the brisket in soup prevents it from becoming dry, but mine was dry. Also, the current insane price of brisket made this a $40 pot of soup. The second time I made it, I used chuck. Less expensive and it didn't dry out.

Chris3 years ago

Our family LOVES this soup. I have made it countless times to rave reviews. It will be the centerpiece of our 1st night of Hanukkah along with latkes. THANK YOU for this wonderful soup

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