Pickle Soup with Stewed Meat and Pearl Barley
Thick, rich, and aromatic - simple, quick, and tasty! Pickle Soup with Stewed Meat and Pearl Barley turns out hearty, with a deep and bright flavor. This soup is a lifesaver when you need to make a nourishing lunch quickly. The stewed meat replaces the long process of simmering broth, while the pearl barley gives the soup its distinctive thickness and richness.
Updated : 18 May, 2026
Easy
More than 1 hour.
Ingredients
3 liter
Water
300 grams
Canned meat
400 grams
Potato
300 grams
Salted cucumbers
150 grams
Carrot
100 grams
Pearl barley
1
Onions
1 tablespoon
Tomato paste
2 tablespoon
Vegetable oil
to taste
Greens
to taste
Salt
to taste
Dry spices
0.5 cup
Brine
Table
Table of volume measurements:
- teaspoon - 5 ml
- dessert spoon - 10 ml
- tablespoon - 20 ml
- glass - 200 ml
Preparation
Step 1
Prepare the ingredients. The base of this soup is pickles. It is better to use fairly salty pickles so the soup has a richer flavor. What kind of stewed meat is best for this soup? Stewed meat from any kind of meat will work. The main thing is that the ingredients list should contain nothing except meat, salt, and spices, and the meat content should be at least 80%. With this amount of ingredients, the soup turns out thick. If you do not like thick soups, add about 0.5 liter, about 2 cups, more water.
Step 2
To help the pearl barley cook faster, soak it beforehand. Rinse it several times, pour warm water over it in a ratio of 1:3, and leave it for 1.5 to 2 hours. After that, drain the water through a sieve to wash away the starch and reduce the sliminess and cloudiness typical of pearl barley. Leave the grains to drain while you prepare the other ingredients.
Step 3
Peel the onion and potatoes. Finely chop the onion so it cooks down better. Cut the potatoes into medium pieces.
Step 4
If you are using pickles with a tough skin and large seeds, peel them and remove the seeds. Keep in mind that this will reduce their weight, so take more of those pickles to begin with. Peel and wash the medium carrot. Grate the pickles and carrot on a coarse grater. This way the vegetables will release their juices better.
Step 5
Take a 5-liter pot. It will be easier to stir the soup in a pot of this size, and it will not boil over. To speed up the process, bring the required amount of water to a boil over high heat with the lid on. Add the pearl barley to the water, bring it back to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium. Cook for about 10 minutes.
Step 6
Add the chopped potatoes to the pot and cook for 15 minutes over medium heat.
Step 7
Pour vegetable oil into a skillet heated over medium heat. Fry the onion first. After about 5 minutes, add the carrot, stir, and leave it for another 5 minutes. The fried onion and carrot release their flavor better. Add the tomato paste and the grated pickles to the vegetables. Stir and simmer for another 5 minutes. This way, the pickles will give the soup a brighter flavor.
Step 8
Put the sautéed vegetables and the stewed meat, broken into small pieces beforehand, into the pot. Add the spices and bring the soup to a boil. After 10 minutes, taste it. If it needs more salt or acidity, add some pickle brine. Add it in small portions and taste after each addition. If you add too much brine, it is easy to spoil the soup’s flavor. If everything tastes right, remove the soup from the heat and let it rest for about 10 minutes under the lid. Enjoy your meal!
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