Scotch Broth
There’s nothing better than a hearty bowl of Scotch broth. Delicious, traditional Scotch broth is the best for using up leftover lamb and getting the most out of your lamb roast.
This is a family recipe so everything is from scratch. Bones and all are simmered for hours to make a stock full of flavour.
What makes this soup so amazing is a fresh batch of veggies cooked to perfection along with plenty of pearl barley that makes this soup stick to your ribs.
Scotch Broth
Ingredients:
For Broth:
Leftover Lamb, Bones & Meat (leave meat on the bone) (About 500g-1kg)
2 cups water
4 cups chicken broth (900mL)
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp thyme leaves
1 tsp celery seed
1/4 tsp marjoram
1 large carrot, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 onion, quartered
parsley
salt
pepper
Soup ingredients:
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 medium potatoes, cubed
1/2 cup pearl barley
1 onion, diced
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tbsp parsley
1 tsp celery seed
1/3 tsp marjoram
Directions:
Place all broth ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.. Lower to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 1.5-2 hours.
Strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer into another large pot.
Recover edible lamb from the bone and discard the rest of the solids.
Chop lamb into small pieces and place in broth along with the soup ingredients.
Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 1 hour or until barley is cooked and soup is thickened.
*Note: If you have the bones leftover from a lamb shoulder or leg then you probably have enough soup bones to work from.
**Note: I normally use fresh herbs, it’s about 3 sprigs thyme, a small handful of parsley, and a sprig of marjoram if you are going with fresh.

Scotch Broth
Ingredients
Broth Ingredients
- Leftover Lamb, leave meat on the bone, Bones & Meat
- 2 cups water
- 4 cups chicken broth, 900mL
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp thyme leaves
- 1 tsp celery seed
- 1/4 tsp marjoram
- 1 large carrot, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 onion, quartered
- parsley
- salt
- pepper
Soup Ingredients
- 1 medium carrot, chopped
- 2 medium potatoes, cubed
- 1/2 cup pearl barley
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1 tbsp parsley
- 1 tsp celery seed
- 1/3 tsp marjoram
Instructions
- Place all broth ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.. Lower to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 1.5-2 hours.
- Strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer into another large pot.
- Recover edible lamb from the bone and discard the rest of the solids.
- Chop lamb into small pieces and place in broth along with the soup ingredients.
- Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 1 hour or until barley is cooked and soup is thickened.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
Thanks for the recipe,i would like to try this sometime it looks delicious !
Sounds good, but would have to make it with beef since we don’t eat lamb.
Despite my sister-in-law being a Scot I don’t believe that I’ve ever had Scotch broth, perhaps because I’m not a fan of pearl barley.
We do a similar soup in Iceland and often use rice instead of barley or even just skip it completely.
Sounds soooo good, I make my own chicken and beef broth, they taste so much better then store bought!
This was my first attempt at making scotch broth. I cobbled together two recipies I found on Pinterest. This one for the base stock is just fine, but roasting the lamb bones first makes all the difference. Plus the house smells amazing! This is such a great soup, so much lamb and veggie goodness and of course the pearl barley. Works for a dinner as well as lunches. Thank you Elizabeth!
Would the bone from a bone in leg of lamb be good or would I need more bones?
Leg of lamb is fine, you will need about 2 lbs of meat and bone.