Vegetable Beef Soup

I make it in big batches when I do make it and use whatever beef is on sale. I use to use oxtails for making soup, but for some reason they've gone through the roof in price. Last time I saw them they were almost $10 a lb. and that is insane.

Sometimes it's chuck with the fat content, but I've used rump or sirloin roasts and other tougher cuts of meat because it's going to cook long enough to get the meat tender.

I'll start by cubing the meat, seasoning it and browning it off to get a nice sear on the outside.

As far as vegetables, I use the following to get things started:

Diced onion
Diced bell pepper
Diced celery
Minced garlic (to your liking)
Canned diced tomatoes
Canned tomato sauce
Beef or chicken stock
Water
Worcestershire Sauce
Soy Sauce
Hot Sauce

For fresh vegetables besides the trinity, I use:

Diced turnips
Diced potatoes
Diced zucchini and yellow squash
Cubed cabbage

Frozen vegetables are also used and I get the bags of carrots, corn, lima beans, green beans, etc. I will also use some of my frozen homemade stewed okra that I put up from my summer garden. This will help thicken the soup a bit and make it more hearty.

As for cooking it:

After the meat is browned and removed from the pot, I'll toss in the trinity to cook down a couple minutes, then the garlic. Then add the tomato products, stock, Worcestershire, soy and hot sauce and put the meat back in the pot.

For the vegetables, I put the ones that will take the longest to cook and get tender in first and that is pretty much most of them except the squash since they get soft pretty quick.

I like a lot of vegetables in my soup and to look at my pot when I first begin, you'd think there's too much in there. But as they cook down, they release a lot of liquid and it comes out just how I like it.

Total cook time is around 2 hours since I cook it on a low boil.

I also use a heat diffuser plate between my gas burner and pot to more evenly distribute the heat so you don't get scorching in the bottom of the pot.

When done, that is when I check for salt and other seasonings and adjust from there.


Edited to add this:

Don't cook the soup until all the vegetables are soft. Leave a little bite to them because they will continue to cook in the pot once you turn off the fire.

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Thank you. Sounds great I’m making this

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You're welcome.

I always make enough to put a good bit in the freezer for later use. But know that some of the vegetables like potatoes, squash, carrots and turnips will get kind of soft from freezing them, but it's still got plenty other good stuff that stays firm and heat us real good.

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gumbo2176

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Recipe looks good! I also use Knor's base powders for most of my stocks to add a little kick. You can get large containers of them at Mexican markets (chicken/tomato/beef)

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I also use Knor's base powders for most of my stocks to add a little kick.

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I make my own stocks and cook them for at least 12 hours. When done and left to cool and refrigerate, my chicken, turkey, beef, stocks will set like jello and are packed with a ton of flavor.