Rustic Beef Soup
Like Beef Stew and Beef Noodle Soup, this has to be one of our favorite soups at home.
It's perfect on a fall day when the air is cool and the leaves are starting to fall. You can make a pot of this soup, and leave it on the stove all day on Sunday until it is gone. Serve it with French bread and everyone will be happy.
I love making soups that are delicious and filling when the weather starts to get cool. It gives me something warm to eat without the feeling that I'm a glutton.
It is also a great addition to sandwiches on game day. Set out a spread of luncheon meats, bread, and this soup. Your friends and family will be grateful you did.
You can keep it on the low setting on a smaller stove eye, or keep it in a slow cooker on warm.
This soup is so hearty, it can be part of your dinner lineup for the week.
You can make the meat portion ahead of time, seal it, and freeze it. That way when you want this delicious soup on the fly, put everything together and quickly have a delicious pot of beef soup.
You can also use a slow cooker to finish your soup. Doing it this way lets you take your time and also gives it a home to staw warm all day while you come back to it over and over again.
- 1 gallon Beef Stew Meat (See recipe below)
- 4 cups Beef Broth (I like to use Ramen Beef Broth from White Oak)
- 3 cups Carrots (Sliced, frozen)
- 2 pounds Potatoes (Red Bliss, russte, or a mixture (peeled))
- 2 cups Celery (Sliced)
- 1 gallon Water
- 2 tablespoons Salt (Morton Coarse Kosher Salt)
- 1 teaspoon Thyme (Dried)
- .5 teaspoons Oregano (Dried)
- 5 pounds Beef Chuck (Cubed)
- 2 cups Onions (Fresh, chopped)
- 4 ounces Beef Fat (Or Avocado oil)
- 1 tablespoon Garlic (Minced)
- 750 milliliters Red Wine (One that you would drink)
- 2 Each Bay Leaves (Dried)
- 1 teaspoon Thyme (Dried)
- 1 teaspoon Oregano (Dried)
- 2 tablespoons Salt (Morton Coarse Kosher Salt)
- 2 teaspoons Black Pepper (Ground)
- Beef Soup Meat Instructions
Select the chuck roast based on your liking. Look for even marbling. I don’t like a lot of fat on my beef in stew or soup so I trim it, and I look for pieces where the veins of fat are very definable so they are easier to trim away, but don’t throw them, they are valuable pieces that I will show you how to use Cooking With Fat.
First, we’ll trim the beef and cut it into large cubes from 1-2 inches each. Nothing fancy just give them all an even size cut. Don’t cut them too small though or they will fall apart and all you will be able to make is chipped beef. It would still be delicious but your choice of usage would start to narrow.
Whether you are using a Ninja Foodi or a Dutch oven, saute the onions in the beef fat. Add the garlic but be careful not to burn the garlic. Sautee until garlic is lightly golden.
Add wine and simmer this mixture until the wine is reduced by about half.
In a separate 12-inch cast iron pan, melt 4 oz of beef fat on medium-high.
Then add the beef to the hot pan and brown on all sides.
Add browned beef and seasonings to the Foodi or Dutch Oven
*Wine usage: The use of wine is optional and adds a great flavor to the meat, but you can simply omit the wine and this step, and replace it with 1 cup of water.
Foodi Method
On the Foodi, put the pressure cooking lid on, lock it into place, and turn the steam valve to close. Select pressure cook, set the time to 45 minutes, and hit the Start button. When the 45 minutes is over let the Foodi go on a slow-release for 15 minutes. When 15 minutes pass, move the steam valve to release and quickly let the rest of the steam out before opening the lid. DO NOT OPEN LID until all steam has been released and the red pop-up release indicator has dropped.
Remove the insert pot from the Foodi and let it cool on the stove or rack.
Dutch Oven Method
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Cook for 1 hour and reduce oven to 275 and cook for 3 additional hours.
- Finishing the Beef Soup
Start with a gallon of cold water in a 8qt stockpot.
Add salt.
Peel and dice the potatoes into large 1-inch cubes, and add the potatoes to the water. Bring water to a boil, and cook until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Check the potatoes for tenderness.
When the potatoes are tender, remove them from the water and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Set them aside.
Add the carrots and celery to the same potato water and simmer for 20-30 until tender. Drain and set aside
In a separate pot, place the beef broth and batch of Beef Soup meat in the pot and bring to a simmer.
Add the carrots, celery, thyme, and oregano and let simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Add potatoes to the pot then turn off the heat and serve.
Use this recipe to make Beef Stew, beef tips and noodles, or Beef and rice. Serve with a nice salad and buttered garlic french bread.
