Barley Risotto

The recipe comes from Cooks illustrated: "Best light recipe" (?). (See the included images of the recipe.)


The official recipe implies that roughly 50 minutes of cooking time will be needed once the first broth has been added. I, however, had it going for at least 70 minutes and it still turned out very firm (firmer than al dente). Was it the particular batch of barley that made it so slow to cook? Should the heat have been higher? (I feel like I kept it at a very vigorous simmer.)

Nonetheless, the result was hearty and satisfying, especially with the beef short rib leftovers that I threw on top.