Pressure Cooker Beef and Barley Soup

Instructions

1. Make the Beef Broth: Heat the oven to 425°F. In a large roasting pan, rub the tomato paste over the beef bones and beef shanks. Add the onions, garlic, carrots and celery to the pan. Put the pan in the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Turn the beef and aromatics and roast for another 15 to 30 minutes, until the beef and aromatics are browned. Scrape everything from the roasting pan into the pressure cooker pot. Add the thyme and peppercorns to the pot and cover the bones with water – 8 to 12 cups of water, or whatever reaches your pot’s max fill line. Lock the lid on the pressure cooker and pressure cook on high for 75 minutes in an electric PC, 1 hour in a stovetop PC. Let the pressure come down naturally, about 30 more minutes. (The water holds a lot of heat, so it takes a while for the pressure to drop. If you get impatient, you can quick release the heat after 15 minutes.) Scoop the solids out of the pot with a slotted spoon, setting aside the meat from the beef shanks to shred, and then pour the broth through a fine mesh strainer. Skim the fat from the top of the broth as best you can. (This is easy if you refrigerate the broth overnight; the fat rises to the top and solidifies, so you can scrape it off in big chunks). Use 2 quarts of the broth and the shredded meat in this recipe, and freeze the rest of the broth in 2 cup containers.
2. Saute the aromatics: Wipe out the pressure cooker pot, then put it back over medium heat (sauté mode) and melt the butter. When the butter stops foaming, add the onion, celery, carrot, thyme, and salt. Saute, stirring occasionally, until the onion turns translucent, about 5 minutes.
3. Cook the soup: Stir the shredded beef and the barley into the cooked aromatics. Pour in the 2 quarts of beef broth we saved, stir in the tomatoes, and lock the lid on the pressure cooker. Pressure cook on high pressure (manual mode) for 18 minutes in an electric PC, 15 minutes in a stovetop, and then quick release the pressure. (Or, if you have the time, pressure cook for 15 minutes in an electric PC, 12 minutes in a stovetop PC, and let the pressure come down naturally, about 20 more minutes.)
4. Season and serve: There is very little salt in this homemade broth, so you will need to add salt to season the soup. Add salt until the taste picks up – it goes from flat and boring to sweet and delicious. (I add at least 2 teaspoons of kosher salt to get the broth where I want it.) Stir in fresh ground black pepper and serve.