Flemish Beef Stew Cooked in Beer

"From Ruth Van Waerebeek's "Everybody Eats Well in Belgium." Use a rich, dark and slightly bitter beer, such as Rodenbach, or a dark Abbey ale. Serve with French fries or boiled potatoes, applesauce, and beer."
 
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photo by Queen Dana photo by Queen Dana
photo by Queen Dana
Ready In:
1hr 10mins
Ingredients:
11
Serves:
6-8

ingredients

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directions

  • Season the beef cubes with the salt and pepper and dredge with the flour. Shake off any excess.
  • Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large heavy skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the beef cubes and sauté until nicely browned on all sides. Work in batches so as not to crowed the beef cubes, or they will steam instead of sauté. Add 1 tablespoon of butter, if necessary. Transfer the beef cubes to a heavy Dutch oven.
  • Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter to the skillet and melt over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 15 minutes. If necessary, raise the heat toward the end of the cooking time. It is important to brown the meat and onions evenly to give the stew its deep brown color. The trick is to stir the onions just enough to avoid burning them but not so often as to interrupt the browning process. Combine the onions with the meat in the Dutch oven.
  • Deglaze the skillet with the beer, scraping with a wooden spoon to loosen any brown bits, and bring to a boil. Pour the beer over the meat. Add the thyme and bay leaves.
  • Simmer, covered, over low heat until the meat is very tender, 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Before serving, stir in the red currant jelly and vinegar; simmer for 5 minutes. This sweet-and-sour combination will give this hearty stew its authentic Flemish flavor. Remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Taste and adjust the seasoning and serve.

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Reviews

  1. We really enjoyed this recipe! We were able to reduce it and adapt it for a slow cooker. we used a belgian style ale (homebrewed), and the flavor was great. very hearty. made for PAC 2010
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

My most cherished cookbook is Ruth Van Waerebeek's Everybody Eats Well in Belgium. It has been my inspiration for most of our family's special occasions and holiday meals and it was through exploring this book that cooking and entertaining became such a pleasurable hobby for me. The book is out of print, but I contacted Ruth to express my appreciation and ask her permission to include her recipes here. In her words: "My main concern when I wrote this book, was exactly that, that people around the globe would be able to taste these wonderful Belgian flavors! So, I don't have any objection that you post the recipes on the web."
 
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