The thing that makes this soup extra delicious is that I use a good quality, tender steak. This will greatly reduce the cooking time. I use a homemade steak rub for the seasonings, but you can substitute salt & pepper to taste if you prefer. It is a thick & hearty soup, perfect for a cool fall afternoon.
It all starts with basic soup ingredients, carrots, onions, celery, beef broth, tomatoes, frozen mixed vegetables and of course, steak. I use a sirloin tip steak.
I cut the meat into fairly small pieces, maybe 1/2″ cubes.
After everything is chopped and diced, the cooking can commence. First step is to brown the meat.
When browning meat you don’t want to crowd the pan. Brown the meat in several small batches. Since this meat is in fairly small pieces, a single layer in the pan works well. Leave a little room between the pieces so it browns evenly.
An interesting thing about meat, it always has added water. Let the meat release its water completely and then it will brown properly.
After the water evaporates you can see the little brown bits on the bottom of the pan that will add extra flavor. Stir the meat until it has a nice brown crust on it.
This is what it will look like when it is all browned.
In the same pot, saute the onions, celery & carrots together until the onions are translucent.
Add the broth, tomatoes, mixed vegetables and simmer until all the vegetables are tender.
Thicken the soup with a roux made with butter & flour. Add the roux to the hot soup and stir until it is all mixed in. At this point, add about 1 Tbsp. of Kitchen Bouquet to give the soup a dark, rich color if desired. Simmer about 15 minutes to allow it to thicken.
I like to serve this with crusty bread. A single batch is plenty for my family. When serving a crowd I just double it. This is a very popular soup among my guests.
- 2 pounds steak, cubed in ½" pieces
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 cup carrots, diced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- ½ bag frozen mixed vegetables
- 2 15 oz cans diced tomatoes
- 2 quarts broth, beef
- 2 tsp steak seasonings
- 1 Tbsp Kitchen Bouquet
- ½ cup flour, to thicken before serving
- 1 stick butter
- In a large soup pot, using a small amount of olive oil, sauté the steak in small batches, until evenly browned.
- In the same pot, saute onions, carrots & celery until onions are translucent.
- Add beef broth, diced tomatoes, frozen veggies, and sauted steak.
- Bring to a simmer and cook 30 minutes (uncovered) or until veggies are tender.
- Add steak seasonings.
- To thicken: Combine butter & flour in a small saucepan, cook for about 1 minute. Slowly add to the soup while stirring. For a darker, richer soup color, add the Kitchen Bouquet. Simmer at least 15 minutes more to allow soup to thicken more, then serve.
- Note: Instead of using a butter roux you can also make a slurry with flour & water to thicken the soup.
