Carbonade Flamande - Flemish Beef and Beer Stew/Casserole

"Slow cooked beef with garlic, onions and bacon in Belgian beer - served with Dijon mustard croutons.......absolute bliss! I have eaten this many times on visits to Belgium and it remains a firm favourite, especially when eaten with piles of fluffy mashed potatoes and a glass of fine Belgian beer! This recipe serves two hungry people, but it can be increased to serve a crowd, and works beautifully in the crockpot too. (The recipe is courtesy of Cecile Loubaud and the Batham's Brewery.) NB: Traditionally, the meat should be grilled on a barbecue - hence the name! The word comes from the Italian carbonate (charcoal-grilled)."
 
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photo by JoyfulCook photo by JoyfulCook
photo by JoyfulCook
photo by kc2com photo by kc2com
photo by djmastermum photo by djmastermum
Ready In:
3hrs 15mins
Ingredients:
15
Serves:
4
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ingredients

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directions

  • Preheat the oven to 170C, 340F, gas mark 3.
  • Make sure the pieces of beef are thoroughly dry, using paper towels.
  • In a flame-proof casserole, heat the butter and olive oil. Add the bacon cubes and fry them until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon. Reserve.
  • Make sure your flame-proof casserole is thoroughly heated. Place the pieces of beef and brown them on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon. Keep warm.
  • Place the onions and garlic on the bottom of the casserole dish and cook until transparent (lightly golden). Season well with salt and pepper.
  • Add the sugar and mix thoroughly. Cook until a light caramelisation appears then add the red wine vinegar. Mix thoroughly then cook for 2 minutes.
  • Add the cooked beef and bacon to the dish. Mix carefully to make sure there is a full marriage of the flavours of the meat with the onions.
  • Pour the beer then the beef stock until the meat is entirely covered with liquid. Add the bouquet garni.
  • Cut the slices of bread then spread Dijon mustard on the bread. Cover the meat with the bread.
  • Place in the oven. The carbonade should cook slowly between 2 and 3 hours, or in a crockpot for up to 5 hours on high.
  • When cooked mix the bread thoroughly by breaking it up in the dish, the bread works as a thickener for the sauce. Taste then adjust the seasoning. Serve hot.
  • In Belgium the carbonade will be served with chips/fries/frites. In Northern France, it will be served with either braised chicory in butter or red cabbage.

Questions & Replies

  1. Is this supposed to be covered by the casserole lid before being put in the oven, or does the bread need to dry out?
     
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Reviews

  1. I know that this recipe sad that is serves 2, but when I saw 500g meat, I thought it would easily do 5! and, you know what? It did! Great recipe with great flavors that I will make again! I didn't have Belgian beer, but that didn't seem to matter at all. Thank you for sharing this great dish :-)
     
  2. This is a wonderful stew recipe! We really enjoyed this. I used 1 pound stew meat and substituted 4 ounces diced pancetta for the bacon. We had 4 very large servings which we enjoyed with mashed potatoes as suggested. We will definitely be making this again.
     
  3. great recipe and really easy to prepare.....three cooking steps, pour in the liquid, bread on top and let it cook....i used a cast iron pot for all operations....next time, i plan to brown the meat on a small, indoor grill....the finished product had a wonderful, sweet taste...
     
  4. FT my records show that I reviewed this back in mid June 2010.<br/>It does not show here, must be a "glitch" with food.com.<br/><br/>This recipe is outstanding in flavor and a real family pleaser!<br/>I did not have Belgian beer, I used a Black and Tan ...<br/><br/>Easy and tasty, will make again and again.
     
  5. Followed the recipe to the letter! Absolutely delicious. Thank You
     
    • Review photo by kc2com
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Tweaks

  1. use rye bread instead of french. that's what the flemish do.
     
  2. Served with mashed potato, mashed carrots&parsnips.
     
  3. This is a wonderful stew recipe! We really enjoyed this. I used 1 pound stew meat and substituted 4 ounces diced pancetta for the bacon. We had 4 very large servings which we enjoyed with mashed potatoes as suggested. We will definitely be making this again.
     

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<p><strong><span>The sunflowers in the field behind my house in SW France:</span></strong></p> <p><img title=Sunflowers src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/DSCN8221.jpg alt=Sunflowers width=640 height=480 /><br /><strong><span><br /><br />I am British (English-Scottish), but I was born in South Africa and have lived all over the world, including Hong Kong, Germany, Cyprus, USA &amp; Singapore. I have also been very fortunate to have travelled extensively over the years.........I still have wanderlust! <br /><br />I used to be an English Literature &amp; Art History teacher &amp; lecturer; before that, I trained and worked as a Graphic Designer for many years. I now live in France with my husband &amp; my daughter who has just started university in September 2006. We also have one very chatty Burmese cat Willow, who allows us to live with her here! (I used to have three cats, I recently lost Monty, a beautiful seal point Siamese and before that, Rama, who was a debonair blue point Siamese cat - I would love to have another Siamese cat or cats in the future!)</span></strong></p> <p><em><strong><span>This is my Burmese Cat, Willow, sunning herself on the log pile in the kitchen garden:</span></strong></em></p> <p><strong><img title=My src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/ABaconButtyandSundryFoodPhotos34.jpg alt=My width=640 height=480 /></strong></p> <p><strong><span>Here is my lovely Monty, a seal point Siamese, and Willow, sitting&nbsp;in the kitchen garden last year, and a few months before Monty died; he was 18yrs old:</span></strong></p> <p><img title=Monty src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/AbsolutelySinfulStickyToffeePudding.jpg alt=Monty width=640 height=480 />My</p> <p><strong><span>This is my wonderful old boy, Rama, a blue-point Siamese, who died when he was 20yrs old - excuse the old and much sellotaped photo:</span></strong></p> <p><img title=Rama src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/Rama1stOctober2004164.jpg alt=Rama width=517 height=639 /></p> <p><strong><span>My favourite pastimes are: reading, writing, painting &amp; drawing, photography, gardening, anything creative, walking, travelling, dining out and of course COOKING! 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