It was this soup that started my lifelong love of adding sour cream to things. The way the tangy, rich cream melts into the hot, beefy broth is a wonder to behold.

Beef and Beet Borscht

(1 inch thick) slice bone-in beef shank

water

onion, chopped

carrots

celery

bay leaf

beets

cabbage

white vinegar,

salt and black pepper

sour cream,

dill,

Cook beef shank in a large soup pot over high heat until browned, about 3 minutes per side; add water, onion, carrots, celery, and bay leaf to the pot, bring to a simmer and cook until meat is tender and falling off the bone, about 4 hours. Strain broth and discard solids.


Combine beef broth, beets, and cabbage in a large soup pot; cook, stirring occasionally, until beets are tender, about 30 minutes. Reduce heat to low; add vinegar, salt, and black pepper.


Serve garnished with sour cream and dill.


Change from orifinal recipe- total prep and cook time:45 minutes. I used to live in Ukraine and I ate borscht several times a week there. This recipe tastes very similar to how they eat it over there. Yummy! I changed the recipe slightly so it was ready after about 35 Minutes of simmering. I used regular old stew meat from the store, browned it along with the chopped onion for a few minutes, then let it rest for 5 minutes while I finished preparing the veggies. I made sure to chop my carrots into smaller pieces since I knew I wouldn't be cooking them for 4 hours. I cut the beets into cube like, solid chunks, and used a half a red cabbage.  I then combined all ingredients, brought to a boil, reduced heat to simmering and 35 minutes later had the Yummiest soup ever. The Bay leaves and sour cream can't be skipped. I added 4 leaves. You are going to have to add a lot more salt than you think you may - the cabbage and beats really suck up the flavoring. I also used some Montreal Steak seasoning - that's powerful stuff and I used 2 tablespoons plus a lot of salt.

Omg.....marry me please!! Chef John Love your recipes would relocate if you would cook for me...LOL
On a serious note-
Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes.

I'm a russian dude and I ate everything from dumplings to pork chop my mom was the best Russian cook ever to heat up a pan so I took in her foot steps and opened a restaurant in Houston Texas and I've been using your soup and your soup got so many fans I made it every day I was tired of looking at it. so I went ahead and and gave it a spoon full it was amazing thanks to your borscht my restaurant is on the map.        many thanks

I simply started with beef stock and cooked all the veggies together in the stock for 1/2 an hour. I also used plain yogurt instead of sour cream. Great and couldn't have been quicker.

Been making borscht since my "from the old country" Gramma taught me 40 yrs ago, this is excellent. While I will still make Gramma's recipe, this is a hearty, and delicious variation. I had to make one change, add the vinegar to the stock while simmering the shank, Gramma told me it draws out the flavor. Another winner Chef John, thanks!

Great recipe. I love beets and this is a winner! I totally agree with Sundances review. Amen. Thank you Chef John.

When I saw your ingredients I knew this was the recipe I had been looking for!  I used everything in your recipe but cooked the beef shanks in the crock pot for seven hours, removed the meat and strained the broth. Refridgerated overnight and was able to remove the solidified fat from the top.  Cooked onions,carrots,celery and 4 whole beets in electric pressure cooker for 20 min. When done I removed the beets, peeled them and cut into matchsticks. Used the immersion blender on the remaining vegetables, added the broth,meat and beets. Added vinegar to taste.  Amazing!!!! So even though my technique was a little different it was basically your recipe!  Thank you so much!!!!!!

When I made this it was my first time making or trying borscht. It was absolutely incredible! I ate everything in my bowl and then went back for seconds and even my husband enjoyed eating it (a MAJOR accomplishment!) And the leftovers are equally good.

I made this for Halloween one year and it was SOOO delicious! LOVE IT!

See how to make simple, comforting beef borscht.

beef and beet borscht

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 4 hours, 30 minutes

Total: 4 hours, 50 minutes

Servings: 8

Author : Chef John

Ingredients

Instructions

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