This was served as part of the third course at the Ymir 2025 feast, as the base for Duck Two Ways.
What, Where, When
- Pearl barley cooked in duck stock with mushrooms and thyme — the starch base of a duck-and-grain feast plate.
- Barley is firmly attested at Norse sites in Greenland; the oven-braise technique is modern convenience.
Discussion
Barley is a well-documented grain in Norse food archaeology. Remains from Norse farms in South Greenland include barley consistently, and the grain’s presence in midden deposits and settlement contexts establishes it as a significant component of the Norse diet in the North Atlantic colonies. This is stronger documentation than some of the other dishes on this menu, as the ingredient’s presence in the Norse kitchen is not in question, and barley cooked in broth with aromatics is a reasonable reading of what a Norse cook might actually have done with it. The modern part, however, is the specific technique: a covered oven-braise at 375°F for an hour not exactly a method available to a Viking-age farmstead. A period cook would have cooked barley in a pot over a fire, probably with more stirring and more variable results. The results are similar even if the technique is different.
The recipe calls for duck stock from the accompanying duck dish, the grain absorbs the duck flavor, and the bird and the starch coordinate. However, I also served a vegan variant by replacing the stock with mushroom soaking liquid, water, and a little olive oil; the vegetarian version does not taste like the duck version, but is still savory and rich.
The mushroom blend — fresh mushrooms in several varieties plus a small amount of rehydrated dried mushrooms for depth — is chopped and divided between two uses: most of it cooks into the barley, and a small reserved portion is used as a pan-fry garnish in the duck dish. The single mushroom prep serves both recipes.
Barley with Mushrooms
Pearl barley oven-braised in duck stock with a sautéed mushroom blend and thyme. Serves 4 as the base for duck, or stands alone as a side. Vegetarian variant included.
Ingredients
- Mushrooms:
1 oz (about 1 small package) dried mushrooms (porcini, mixed forest, or similar)
1 cup hot water, for rehydrating
1¼ lb mixed fresh mushrooms (white, cremini, portobello), roughly chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
Salt, to taste
- Barley:
1 lb (about 2½ cups) pearl barley
5 cups hot duck stock (from the Duck Two Ways recipe, or substitute a rich chicken stock)
2½ tsp kosher salt
Directions
- Rehydrate the dried mushrooms: place them in a heat-safe bowl and pour the hot water over them. Let sit 20-30 minutes until fully softened. Lift the mushrooms out with a slotted spoon and chop roughly. Carefully pour off the soaking liquid into a measuring cup, leaving behind any sandy sediment in the bowl — this liquid is useful flavor. Set both aside.
- If you are also making the accompanying duck dish, reserve about 4 oz of the chopped fresh mushroom mixture for the duck’s mushroom garnish — that quantity cooks in the pan where the breasts were seared. The remaining ~1 lb goes into the barley.
- Sauté the mushrooms: heat the olive oil in a large skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped fresh mushrooms (minus any reserved for the duck) and the rehydrated chopped dried mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have released their liquid, that liquid has cooked off, and the mushrooms have begun to brown at the edges — 8-12 minutes.
- Add the chopped garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Stir in the thyme leaves and season with salt to taste. Remove from heat.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a 3-quart Dutch oven or similar oven-safe covered pot, combine the sautéed mushrooms, pearl barley, and salt. Pour over the hot duck stock (it should be at a simmer or near it when it hits the barley — if it has cooled, reheat it first). The liquid-to-barley ratio is 2:1 by volume, so 5 cups liquid for 1 lb / 2½ cups barley.
- Cover tightly and bake at 375°F for about 1 hour, until the barley is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Check at 50 minutes; if the barley is not yet tender, return it to the oven covered for another 10 minutes.
- Uncover, fluff gently with a fork, and taste for salt. The barley should be tender but still have some chew — it is meant to be a substantial base rather than a mushy porridge. Serve warm as the bed for duck, or as a side on its own.
- VEGETARIAN VARIANT: Replace the 5 cups duck stock with the reserved mushroom soaking liquid (about ¾-1 cup), water to total 5 cups, and 2 tablespoons additional olive oil. The oil roughly matches the fat content the duck stock would have contributed. Proceed with the recipe as written. The vegetarian version is darker-tasting and less savory than the duck-stock version but works well as a standalone dish.
Bibliography
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Steen Henriksen, Peter, et al. “In the Search for the Origin of the Barley at Norse Farms in Greenland.” Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, vol. 59, Nov. 2024, p. 104767. ScienceDirect, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104767.
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