Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

dee's barley

Recipe by
Karen Hatch
N Chesterfield, VA

There is a difference between hulled barley and pearl barley. Get hulled barley if possible. It is less processed, nuttier, chewier, yummier, and healthier. This recipe can be doubled, tripled, etc depending on how many you are serving. My mother made this yummy grain side dish for our family frequently. We loved it! Still do! A friend of mine decided to use french onion soup mix made with half the usual water instead of the double strength bouillon, and said it turned out great! I would imagine any dry soup mix made with half the water could be used successfully.

yield 4 -6
prep time 15 Min
cook time 3 Hr
method Bake

Ingredients For dee's barley

  • 1 c
    hulled barley, uncooked
  • 4 c
    water
  • 8
    bouillon cubes

How To Make dee's barley

  • 1
    Can be prepared in oven or crockpot. If using oven, preheat to 300 degrees.
  • 2
    Rinse and pick over barley if needed. Put barley in 1 1/2 quart casserole or in appropriately sized crockpot. It's easiest if you have a casserole (or crockpot) with a lid.
  • 3
    Dissolve bouillon cubes (beef, chicken, vegetarian - your choice) in water. Pour enough bouillon over barley just to cover, reserving remaining bouillon to moisten as needed during the cooking process.
  • 4
    Place covered casserole dish on middle shelf of preheated oven. Cook 3 hours, checking every 30 minutes or so to see if you need to add more bouillon. No need to stir, barley consistency will be better the less it is disturbed. Just part the barley with a wooden spoon to see if the bottom still has bouillon. Barley will continue to absorb bouillon. *If you can't babysit the barley for 3 hours, you can just put barley and part of the bouillon in your covered crockpot on high for an hour, then on the lowest setting for 6-8 hours. If using the crockpot method, you will have to check once or twice to make sure there is enough bouillon to keep the barley moist.* Either way, once most of the moisture is absorbed and barley is cooked, remove from heat source for 30-45 minutes to allow the remainder of bouillon to absorb.
  • 5
    Serve this delicious grain with wild game, beef, pork, poultry, or, if using vegan bouillon cubes, as a hearty vegetarian dish.
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