Burgundy Barley Beef Stew

“Taste is “very good;” I will definately make this one again. Prep work took about one hour. Good variety of vegetables. I cooked it on High for 5 hours and 30 minutes. However, it was very, very thick–not like a stew at all. When I served the leftovers, I added TWO CUPS of beef bullion broth and it still wasn’t enough. I will reduce the barley to 1/4th cup next time and add more celery and mushrooms and double the wine and beef broth.One helpful fact I noted in my Rival Crock-Pot booklet was the ability to make a recipe the night before and store it in the “removable” stoneware container in the refrigerator, covered with pastic wrap, with no change in cooking time. And since the prep time is considerable, I will do this the next time.”

“I really liked this.I especially liked the barley in it.I guess you had changed it to 1/4 cup by the time I did it.My stew was not too thick (in fact I used a little corn starch to thicken it a bit) but sure was good.I put this together the night before and cooked it all day.So easy and good.Thank you Erin.”

“I cooked this recipe over an open fire for 50 people, in a 20L pot at a camp party recently. It was such a hit! I used the serving converter but had slightly too small a pot for all the ingredients for 50 servings. My recipe went more like this: 1/3 cup flour 4 1/4 teaspoons salt 2 1/8 teaspoons pepper 8 lbs stew meat, cut into 1 inch pieces (I used 5 lbs beef and 3 lbs pork) 5/8 cup canola oil 8 1/3 small onions, chopped 16 2/3 stalks celery, chopped 25 cloves garlic, minced 2L beef broth 8 cans diced tomatoes, undrained 5 lbs carrots, cut into 1/2 inch pieces 30 red potatoes (cut into 1 inch pieces) 5-6 cans sliced mushrooms 2 cups barley 4 cups red wine 4 1/4 teaspoons oregano 4 1/4 teaspoons thyme 4 1/4 teaspoons basil I cooked the meat, onions, garlic, and celery and stored it in the fridge for a day in a big plastic bowl with a lid. I measured out all the herbs, barley, and stock (I used powder and added water to make 2L) and kept them in ziploc bags. The rest I just brought cans of and opened them when I assembled all the ingredients. Then we set up the pot over the fire and let it cook for about ten hours. It was delicious, and I highly reccomend it for any sort of potluck/camp out, it works great!”

“Very good.It didn’t make a huge amount, which was nice.The barley was a good addition to it as well, and thickened it up nicely.”

“This was is a great stew.I made as stated except had to thicken with some cornstarch/water.Next time I will use more barley since we like it and that also should take care of the thickening.Looking forward to another cold fall/winter day.Thanks”

“Huzzah!My first ever recipe using my brand new crockpot!It rained really hard all day (Portland OR in November) and I had to ‘winterize’ the yard so coming in after hours in the wet and cold to the wonderful smell was topped by the actual meal.Great flavor.I used diced tomatoes that had additional garlic already in the can (making almost a little TOO garlicky); other than that, followed recipe directly.My wife and I both decided we want more barley, so I think next time I make this I will increase the barley to 1/2 cup.This is a keeper and idiot-proof.Thank you for sharing, Erin!Follow up note:We finished the leftovers a couple of days later simply reheating and ladling over a bowl of quick mashed potatoes (the idiot-proof kind you can buy in bulk at Costco and the like).Even better!My wife thinks I really know what I’m doing in the kitchen.Thanks for the assist!:)”

“Tmis is so good I made a double batch the second time. If you prefer the stew on the thicker side (or you like barley as much as I do), use the 1/2 cup barley. “

“My family truly enjoyed this stew.I was surprised that the prep. time was about an hour but well worth it.Mine turned out to be more of a soup than a stew. This recipe is a keeper.I served it with a side salad and HawaiianSweet Bread.”

“Thanks for the comments!I, too, found the stew to be very thick, so among some other variations, i reduced the barley quantity from 1 cup to 1/2 cup prior to posting.Now I went ahead and changed it to 1/4.Hopefully that should make it just right!To speed up the prep, I bought as many vegetable as possible already sliced/chopped, and kept the baby carrots whole.”

“I thought this stew was great.I love barley and the red wine made it not the same old stew.I will make this again.”

“Pleasantly surprised.I didn’t bother with the first three steps and everything turned out great.Also, I omitted the potatoes and had lima beans in there instead, only because the only barley I had was one of those barley/lima bean soup mixes.Thickness was just right, which I was a little worried about, but it turned out fine!”