My belly-warming winter recipe for Beer, Barley, Turkey & Vegetable Soup is an ode to my recipe for Beer Beef & Barley Vegetable Soup, I have to say it’s just as delicious with a tad fewer calories. Combining Turkey, Amberbock Beer, Barley, Carrots, Celery, Peas, Green Beans, and Onions with just the right spices to make it the delicious belly-warming soup of the season.

This is a fairly simple recipe that consists mainly of chopping and waiting for this delicious soup to finish cooking, which takes about 1 hour to cook. The recipe can also be scaled down easily, or increased. It freezes well so go ahead and make the big batch x2, you’ll be glad you did it’s so tasty.

 Beer Barley and Turkey Vegetable Soup

• 32  ounces low sodium chicken broth
• 12 ounces Amberbock beer (2 bottles)
• 16 ounces of water
• 1  and  1/2 cups  barley
• 2 pounds of leftover turkey, dark or white meat
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2  tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon of thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• kosher salt, to taste
• ground pepper, to taste
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cups sliced carrots
• 2 cups fresh or frozen green beans
• 1 cup of fresh or frozen peas
• 4 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1 cup fresh or frozen corn, optional
• kosher salt, to taste
• ground pepper, to taste

Directions

1. In a large Dutch Oven add 32 ounces of chicken broth, 12 ounces Amberbock beer, and 16 ounces of water. Bring to a low boil, add 1 and 1/2 cups of organic barley, diced turkey that you have leftover, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon of thyme, 2 bay leaves, kosher salt, and pepper to taste. Cook 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. After cooking 25 minutes reduce to a low simmer and add 1 large chopped onion, 2 cups sliced carrots, 2 cups green beans, 1 cup of frozen peas, and 4 stalks of chopped celery, 1 cup of corn (optional) — simmer 20 to 25 minutes.
3. Serve with crusty buttered bread and a nice cold Amberbock
4. Enjoy

Most Commonly Asked Questions with Answers 

I don’t have organic barley at the house, but I have a quick cook pearl barley, what should I do?  You can use the quick cook version by adjusting how you cook this recipe. It takes only 10 minutes to cook a quick cook barley, so just simply add your barley the last 15 minutes of cooking versus in the beginning.

I don’t like Bock Beer, what should I do?  There are two clear choices on this matter, either add a beer you enjoy–or omit the beer completely by adding more low sodium beef broth or water in place of beer.

I have children, is this safe to serve my little ones for dinner? I am not qualified to tell you how to raise your children, I never received  “The Parent of the Year Award” so this one’s on your Mom or Dad, I can tell you that alcohol burns when foods are cooked and it mostly becomes a flavoring versus a meal that’s going to inebriate you or your child. If desired, simply add more low sodium broth or water in place of the beer.

I do not condone alcoholic beverages, and I would never add them to my food, what should I do? This one’s simple, omit it and replace with low sodium broth or water in place of the beer.

I don’t eat some of the ingredients you have listed, what should I do? Replace the ingredients you do not eat with ingredients you enjoy, or simply omit the offending ingredient. Recipes are merely a guideline,  my recipe is not etched in stone so feel free to enjoy your dinner your way.

 Gmo’s concern me… I have read some corn may be considered GMO, what do I do? The corn is an optional listed ingredient, you can simply omit the corn.

© Heidy L. McCallum and The McCallum’s Shamrock Patch, 2018-2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material or photos without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Heidy L. McCallum and The McCallum’s Shamrock Patch with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. You may not copy and paste recipes to share on Social Platforms, please use share buttons provided.