How to cook barley porridge with stew in a slow cooker?

Everyone knows about the benefits of barley porridge with stew. But not everyone undertakes its preparation.This is due to the rather time-consuming cooking process. If boiled barley porridge like regular cereals, there is a chance of getting a harsh texture with a pronounced bitterness. But in the presence of a multicooker, cooking barley porridge brings only positive emotions. You will learn how to prepare cereals for the multicooker, and what recipes will allow you to make the most delicious barley stew with this stew.

Pearl barley is a rich source of many vitamins and minerals, so necessary for the human body. Nevertheless, this particular product often remains without proper attention. Once, barley was exclusively the food of the poor. But the trend for a healthy lifestyle has done its job, and now barley porridge is introduced in the menu of even the most expensive restaurant.

Due to the fact that slow carbohydrates make up most of the composition of barley porridge, they fill the body with energy and give it a long-lasting feeling of fullness. In addition, pearl barley has the lowest glycemic index among all other cereals. Therefore barley porridge is a dish that should be in the diet of anyone who actively fights with extra pounds.

In fact, barley is recycled barley. Sometimes this product is found on the shelves of supermarkets with the name "barley grits." It should be noted that during the production processing of barley, the cereals lose a significant part of the important vitamins and microelements. Pearl barley is whole grains, peeled from the shell, visually reminiscent of polished. The shape and size of the grains form several categories of this product. The first and second categories include grains of large size, which have an elongated shape. The third, fourth and fifth categories are small-sized kernels that have a round shape.

The most reasonable way to give preference to pearl barley, which is sold in carton packs. The fact is that in cellophane packages pearl barley rather quickly acquires bitterness. This is due to the fact that the barley nucleoli form a small amount of moisture, which is nevertheless sufficient for the harmful bacteria to begin the reproduction process. If you have found sediment or water droplets on the inside walls of the package when purchasing cereals, it is recommended to refuse to purchase this product.

Depending on the grade and category, pearl barley can be of different shades - from beige to light yellow. Sometimes you may encounter the unusual color of barley - green. There is nothing to worry about, it is a rather high-quality grade of this cereal.

Pre-soaking grains of pearl barley is necessary for the cooking process to occur much faster. The total cooking time is influenced by several factors - this is the grain size and the selected cooking method. This product can be brought to the finished state in a couple of minutes, or you can stretch the cooking process up to a full hour.

In order to carry out the process of soaking pearl grains correctly, it is recommended to adhere to the recommendations of experts. To start carefully pick the cereal just like you usually do with buckwheat. Remove the dark grains, various pebbles and remnants of husk that accidentally fall into the package. Put the peeled grains in a deep bowl and cover with cold water. Intensive rinse the croup several times. Most likely, industrial impurities will float to the surface, which must also be removed. Then drain the water. If necessary, repeat the procedure again.

Peeled pearl-barley kernels pour warm water in the calculation of one mug of barley per four mugs of liquid (in this case, water).Soaking is usually done overnight. It is necessary to keep the grain in the water for at least twelve hours in order for the grains to swell up and increase in size. Therefore it is recommended to use dishes with a deep bottom. At the completion of soaking the water gently drains. For this, it is advisable to resort to the help of a colander with small holes.

In order to make barley porridge tasty and appetizing, it is desirable to strictly follow the recommended proportions and focus on the time specified in the recipe. As is known, porridge has two different textures. The dish can be viscous or crumbly. For each consistency, there are certain norms for the ratio of water to cereal. If you want to get a specific texture, respect for proportions is imperative.

So, in order to get a viscous pearl barley porridge, you need to take one mug of cereal and four mugs of liquid. For a crumbly texture, the volume of water used is halved. Thus, one mug of pearl barley will need two mugs of liquid.

As mentioned earlier, the preparation process of this product can take from several minutes to a full hour. The total cooking time takes from fifty minutes to one and a half hours, provided that the grits are not soaked before. Consider all the options for making barley and the time taken for this process. It is worth noting that all the following temporary indicators are approximate and may increase or decrease depending on the grade of cereals and the chosen method of cooking. Provided that the barley is not subjected to pre-soaking - the dish will be prepared for at least sixty minutes. Soaking allows you to significantly reduce the cooking of this cereal - cooking porridge does not take more than forty minutes. In finished packages, barley is brought to the finished state in forty-five to fifty minutes.

Well, in the case of the use of the multicooker, the barley porridge can be cooked in as little as forty minutes. It is worth noting that cereal after twenty-five minutes can be ready. Many powerful multicookers are able to bring this type of cereal in such a short period. Therefore, it is advisable to periodically approach the multicooker and check the dish after the first thirty minutes - perhaps it is ready.

Choosing the right cereal and processing it, you can start cooking and, for example, cook it. But first it is worth remembering about another important component - the stew. It is worth saying a few words about this product. As in the case of pearl barley, choose a stew is not easy. A wide range of products offered will easily confuse an ordinary buyer. First, pay attention to the product packaging and its contents.

On a quality product will always be marked GOST. This is evidence that the product complies with state quality standards. Never purchase a product with a swelling lid. This may be a signal that the spores of botulism bacteria are actively developing there. They distinguish one of the most dangerous poisons in the world, the name of which is botulinum toxin.

We turn to one of the easiest recipes for barley porridge with stew.

First you need to acquire the following ingredients:

• one mug of barley;
• two carrots;
• one head of onions;
• jar of stew;
• two liters of clean water;
• salt, black pepper;
• vegetable oil.

After preparing the cereal, pour a small amount of vegetable oil into a multicooker bowl and fry the previously chopped vegetables. Cutting onions and carrots should be prepared for fifteen minutes with the activated mode "Frying" or "Fat". It is permissible to add slices of tomato, they will give a spicy final dish. Tomatoes can be replaced with a few tablespoons of tomato paste. Add stew to the roasted vegetable sliced. It should be noted that beef meat will serve as the best batch for pearl barley. But you may use any. The croup is added next, but it is recommended to scald it with boiling water beforehand. This guarantees getting rid of the bitter taste.

Water is poured over the contents of the multicooker. The previous multicooker mode is replaced by “Quenching”. Depending on the equipment model, the names of the modes may vary. But also for the preparation of this dish suitable programs such as "Pilaf" and "Buckwheat." The cooking time set in the programs is fixed, and, as a rule, does not exceed sixty minutes. Some multicookers are made in such a way that the program continues to work until the water evaporates. Fifteen minutes before the completion of the regime, it is advisable to add salt, pepper and your favorite seasonings. After the time the barley porridge with stew pieces is gently mixed and left to infuse for a few minutes. Ten to fifteen minutes would be enough.

On a note! Some practice steaming barley inside a thermos. To begin with, the preparation of cereals for cooking (soaking, washing and cleansing of impurities). Inside the thermos barley must be at least twelve hours, during this period she will have time to reach the state of readiness. This method of "cooking" resembles the process of cooking barley in a slow cooker, but is longer in time.

Most recipes for barley porridge with stew, involving the use of multicooker, are quite similar in steps. Only the ingredients change. For example, the following recipe proposes to abandon vegetable cutting, replacing it with an ordinary clove of garlic. Two mugs of pearl barley are washed and placed in a multicooker container, several cloves of peeled garlic are placed on top. Then the entire contents are poured with water or pre-cooked broth. One of the modes specified earlier is activated. After that, you need to wait for the completion of the program (from forty to sixty minutes). Next, open the lid and gently stir the porridge, add the required amount of stew.

When deciding to use broth, it is necessary that it matches the type of meat in the stew. For example, only beef broth is used for beef stew.

To learn how to prepare delicious barley porridge with stew in a slow cooker, see the following video.