Flemish Beef and Beer Stew (Carbonnade Flamande)
This Flemish Beef and Beer Stew, most commonly shortened as “Carbonnade”, is the stew of choice in Belgium as well as the North of France. With plenty of beef chunks, caramelized onions, brown ale and the inclusion of brown sugar, this dish has a distinct sweet and salty taste that makes it stand out from the crowd. Its rich glistening gravy and fork-tender beef chunks are pure comfort food, and makes it a perfect dish to indulge in during the cold season. The Origin of the dish. You can assuredly…
- Prep time
- 30 min
- Cook time
- 2 hr 30 min
- Yield
- 6 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 2 1/2 lbs (1.14kg) chuck roast, cut into 1-inch pieces (or other stewing beef cut - see above notes)
- Salt, fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 4 tbsp (56g) butter, divided
- 2 medium yellow onions, peeled and sliced in 1/4 inch thick half rounds
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled, left whole but lightly crushed 3 tbsp (23g) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups (12 oz bottle) Belgian Trappist Ale
- 1 (250ml) cup beef stock
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 ½ tbsp (18.75g) dark brown sugar
Instructions
- 1
Step 1 - Pat the beef cubes dry with paper towel and season them well with salt and black pepper. Let rest to near room temperature for about 30-45 minutes prior to starting cooking.
- 2
Step 2 - On the stove top over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a Dutch-oven. Working in batches, add the beef cubes and brown them, about 3 minutes on each side. Be careful not to overcrowd or overlap any meat cubes or they won’t brown properly. It should take about 3 to 4 batches to brown 2 ½ lbs of beef. Transfer the browned beef to a separate bowl.
- 3
Pre-heat your oven to 325F (163C) with a rack in the middle.
- 4
Step 3 - Lower the heat to medium, add 2 more tablespoons of butter to the Dutch-oven to melt, and add the sliced onions and garlic. Cook for about 10-15 minutes until the onions are browned and caramelized.
- 5
Step 4 - Add the flour and stir for 2 minutes until the onions are evenly coated and the flour starts to brown. This cooks the "rawness" out of the flour.
- 6
Step 5 - Pour in the brown ale and scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Add the beef stock, thyme, bay leaves, brown sugar, browned beef cubes and stir to combine. The liquid should almost cover all the beef cubes.
- 7
Cover with the lid and place in the oven. Let cook for 2 hours, until the beef is fork tender.
- 8
Before serving, adjust seasoning if needed and discard of the thyme and bay leaves.