I tried a new recipe we had not had before last weekend, called carbonnade flamande. Carbonnade flamande (Flemish beef stew) is a traditional Belgian dish. It’s a hearty and flavorful stew made with beef, onions, beer, and spices, typically served with fries or crusty bread for dipping. We chose to eat with fries. 🙂
The dish is characterized by its rich, sweet-sour flavor profile, which comes from slow-cooking the beef with onions and beer until tender. The use of beer, usually a Belgian ale or stout, not only adds depth of flavor but also helps tenderize the meat during the cooking process. It also has vinegar, a bit of sugar, and herbs. It is topped with capers and more herbs.
We really enjoyed this dish. It was sort of halfway between German sauerbraten, and American pot roast, learning more towards pot roast. I loved the capers on top for the pop of flavor and salt. Dipping the fries in the gravy was a treat and would definitely serve with fries again. As with any pot roast type meal, it takes about 3 hours to cook the beef so plan for a day when you have some time.
Carbonnade Flamande
Ingredients
- 2-3 lbs chuck roast cut into chunks
- 2 tbsp oil
- 4 onions finely sliced
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp vinegar I used red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 tbsp capers or more to taste
- 4 tbsp mixed fresh herbs I used parsley, thyme, and tarragon
- 13.5 oz Belgian dark ale
- bay leaf
- salt and pepper
- fries for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 F. In a dutch oven or other heavy oven safe pan with a lid, heat 2 tbsp of oil over high heat. Add half the cut up beef and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Allow to brown well before stirring, then brown on all sides. Move to a plate and repeat with the rest of the meat.
- In the empty pan, add the butter and onions and reduce the heat to medium. Sprinkle with salt and allow the onions to cook, stirring occasionally for at least 15 minutes. They should be browned and starting to caramelize.
- Return the meat and juices to the pan and sprinkle with the flour. Mix well. Add the vinegar and beer, as well as the herbs and bay leaf. Season with more salt and pepper. Add water if needed until it almost covers the meat. Bring to a boil and put the lid on. Transfer to the oven and bake for 2-3 hours until the meat is falling apart. Check the liquid level during cooking and if it gets to low where it might burn, add a little water. You want a gravy at the end, so don't water down too much.
- Remove the bay leaf and serve with fries, sprinkled with capers and fresh herbs.