How delicious to cook barley porridge with meat?
Barley is a whole grain that has undergone initial processing, in which there is no husk. In its color, pearl barley is similar to river pearls; people have long called it “pearls”. This is where the name actually came from: pearl barley. Barley porridge was a favorite dish of Peter the Great; it has been popular among the people for centuries.
How to choose cereal?
The cereal is rich in B vitamins, it has extremely useful omega fatty acids. Present in large quantities:
- cellulose;
- trace elements;
- carbohydrates;
- vitamins PP and E;
- the most important amino acids.
When choosing cereals, attention should be paid to how sticky the grains are. If there is such a phenomenon, then this confirms that the quality of the product leaves much to be desired. Probably, the groats were stored in violation of the norms with excessive humidity and violation of the temperature regime. When choosing pearl barley, you should also pay attention to the smell, which should be absent.
The cereal can be stored for one year, after which it is better to throw it away. It is also important when choosing cereals to focus on the color, which should be a natural color. The dish is dietary, barley removes toxins from the body, harmful cholesterol. The combination of barley with meat is an ideal and very popular dish in Russia. Cooking barley at home is easy, tasty and healthy.
Soak
Barley porridge is the champion in terms of the amount of gluten and protein in it. It is recommended to handle the product carefully so as not to lose useful components. Groats are soaked in cold water for twelve hours at night. Two hundred grams of barley have the same amount of warm water. After the procedure is completed, the water is drained, the cereal is washed. You can also do a water bath for 4-7 hours, from this the product turns out to be perfectly crumbly and delicate in taste.
Porridge is often soaked in sour milk or kefir, which also gives the product an original taste. Groats, when soaked, are saturated with moisture, it increases significantly in size, so the product is juicy and soft. Barley is boiled for a short time over high heat, then the fire mode is reduced to a minimum, and the cereal is “heated” for a long period.
Before using pearl barley, it should be laid out on a flat surface, carefully look at the grains. They must be solid, they cannot contain foreign components (for example, small stones).
Proportions and cooking time
After soaking, cereals can be boiled for one to two hours, much depends on the type of cereal. Before pouring the cereal into the pan, you should look at the expiration dates on the package, as well as the date of manufacture. Barley, packaged in bags, is cooked for 50 minutes.
The cereal is poured with cold water. It is left for 3.5 hours until it swells. Drained and placed in a metal container. It is poured with boiling water in the ratio of one glass of barley - three glasses of boiling water. The container is placed on the stove and subjected to heat treatment for an hour, while making the fire minimal.Often, during the cooking process, a small piece of butter is placed in the pan (sunflower oil is also applicable).
There is a fast way to cook porridge. For one serving of cereals, there are 4-5 servings of water. The container is placed on the stove, after boiling it is cooked for 50 minutes. The water is drained, butter or sunflower oil is put (a small amount). The product should cool down and stand for some time. In this case, the container must be covered with a lid.
Cooking in bags
Groats from the package are laid out in a saucepan (a slow cooker is also often used). The contents are filled with water, its level should be a couple of centimeters higher than the contents. Salt is added, the cereal in the bag is processed for 50 minutes. If cooking takes place in a slow cooker, then the “Buckwheat” mode is set. The product in the bags has already been processed properly and does not need to be soaked.
Cooking pearl barley in a slow cooker is a separate issue. Then we reduce the fire to a minimum, cover tightly with a lid and leave the dish to “languish” for about forty minutes. After that, the pan is placed on the stove (without heat treatment) and settled for about thirty minutes.
In a slow cooker
To cook barley in a slow cooker, it is necessary to rinse the product in running water. Soak the cereal in a container for two to three hours. Drain the water, put in a slow cooker (the bottom is pre-treated with butter). Groats are poured and water or milk is added. The mode on the device is set to "Buckwheat". The product is prepared for about an hour (45-50 minutes). The product is being tasted.
When working with a multicooker, it is recommended to pay attention to the fact that the contents do not “run away”. After completing the main procedure, the multicooker switches to the "Heating" mode (8-12 minutes are enough).During this time, the porridge will “fit”, become even softer and crumbly.
in the microwave
Barley can also be cooked in the microwave. Two glasses of warm water are added to a glass of cereal, boiled in a container for half an hour, while the power is 400 watts. If the barley is packaged in bags, then with such a power, a heat treatment of about fifteen to twenty minutes is sufficient.
Soup cooking
Barley is also often added to soups. For the complete preparation of this product, usually one hour is enough. It is also rational to add barley already cooked, then the cooking time will be enough for no more than 15 minutes. It is very convenient to cook in a double boiler. The groats are washed with running water at room temperature. A container with a product filled with water is placed in the refrigerator for six hours.
Then the contents are poured into a colander and washed again with running water. The groats are placed in the capacity of the double boiler, filled with water, two glasses of water are enough for one glass of groats. The contents are boiled for 20-30 minutes. Then the almost ready dish is mixed again and cooked for half an hour.
Readiness is easily determined by the level of softness of the cereal. If necessary, the heat treatment can be extended for another twenty minutes by adding a little water.
In a rice cooker
Barley is also often cooked in a rice cooker. The product must be washed in running water, putting it in a colander. Then everything is transferred to a container and left for two hours. Rinse again in running water. Fall asleep in a rice cooker, pour water. The “Cooking” mode is set on the device. Within an hour the product will be ready. If the cereal is not soaked, then the time for heat treatment will take up to two hours.
After the completion of the main process, the cereal undergoes heat treatment in the "Heating" mode for a couple of tens of minutes. After completing all the manipulations, the porridge will be juicy and crumbly.
As a recommendation, we can mention: you can activate barley cooking in a simple way. When water boils, it merges, a new portion is poured. Then the water boils again, the fire is reduced to a minimum, after which the dish will cook much faster.
cooking recipes
The recipe for barley porridge with meat (beef, pork or chicken) is extremely simple. It is best to cook porridge in a roaster. Barley can burn quickly, but it is not recommended to open the lid during cooking. From meat, lean pork is most often used, beef is also suitable, the taste will not deteriorate from this. Meat and vegetables give the porridge a unique taste, it becomes juicy and crumbly. What are the advantages of barley porridge dishes:
- inexpensive;
- nutritious;
- satisfying;
- contains many useful trace elements.
For one of the most common pork barley recipes (cooking time 1 hour 20 minutes, for 5 servings), you will need:
- 420 g lean pork;
- 250 g pearl barley;
- 1 turnip;
- 1 carrot;
- 4 garlic (teeth);
- seasoning;
- refined sunflower oil.
And for barley chicken on the stove, you will need the following components:
- barley - 350 g;
- chicken meat - 250 g;
- onion turnip - 1-2 pcs.;
- carrot - 1 pc.;
- salt, seasoning, bay leaf.
To prepare the cereal, you can soak it in water for a while or roast it in a pan. Ignition is a more efficient method, it takes only 8-12 minutes. The meat is cut into thin slices. If a dietary dish is required, then fillet should be bought. In case you want to make the dish juicy, then drumsticks are added.It is better not to use wings, there is little sense from them, little meat.
Onions and carrots are prepared in advance, finely chopped and fried, spices are added. Chopped chicken pieces are added. When all the contents of the pan are almost ready, boiled pearl barley is added. Some water is also added. All contents are put on a slow fire and languish for about twenty minutes. The pan should be cast iron (highly desirable), with high walls.
It should be carefully monitored so that the dish does not burn or dry out; for this, the right amount of warm boiled water should be added.
It is good to cook barley in a pressure cooker, the product in it boils especially well. In a pressure cooker, it is possible to make a classic dish - exactly the same as it turns out in a Russian oven. Another plus is that in a pressure cooker, the dish cannot burn or “run away”. While cooking, you can go about your business. The multicooker has a timer, so everything will be ready without the participation of the human factor.
Very good to cook in a pot. Clay is a special material that meets all international standards. In a clay pot, the product is perfectly baked. Barley can be called one of the best products, which is prepared in a clay container with high quality. First, the cereal is boiled. Meat and fried vegetables (onions, carrots, etc.) are placed at the bottom of the pot, mushrooms can also be added. The container is filled with boiled cereals, salt and seasonings are added. Then the pot is placed in the oven on a slow fire and “languishes” for forty minutes. All contents are saturated with juices, they cannot escape, the fire is too small.
Barley can also be cooked in a cast-iron cauldron with thick walls.The temperature in the oven should not exceed two hundred degrees, so that the porridge does not burn. Before serving, a small cube of butter is placed in each container, thanks to which the porridge will be crumbly and juicy. It is best to put a pork neck in a pot, it is moderately fatty, the dish will turn out tasty and juicy. It is also permissible to put lean beef.
It is appropriate to serve salads and sauerkraut, which is seasoned with vegetable oil, to the dish.
Barley with meat is often preserved for the winter, in jars, this also makes a delicious meal. Hot porridge is laid out in glass jars treated with boiling water (most often they are liter or 0.5 liters). Then the jars are placed in a large pan in which the fabric lies. Hot water is poured, it reaches almost to the bend, processing takes place for half an hour, then the cans are rolled up.
Barley is often cooked in a cauldron. The dishes should have thick walls, then the contents have a particularly high-quality heat treatment. Stewed beef and barley, cooked in an autoclave, also have an amazing original taste. You can also make porridge with minced meat.
For information on how to cook barley with meat, see the following video.