Flemish beef and beer stew (carbonade flamande)
Carbonade flamande
Contains allergens
- Author
- Equipo Cocinoa
- Preparation time
- 4 hr
- Servings
- 6
Summary
A medium-difficulty recipe for 6 servings. It takes about 4 hours to make. Each serving has about 481 kcal. It is nut-free.
Belgium's best-known beef stew: the meat is braised slowly in dark abbey beer with plenty of onions, a touch of brown sugar and vinegar, and a slice of mustard-spread bread that melts into the sauce and thickens it. Served with chips or mash.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Wheat flour
- 2 slices Bread (thick, from a country loaf or sandwich bread, crusts removed, or spiced honey cake)
- 40 g Butter
- 4 u Onion (large, thinly sliced (about 800 g))
- Salt (to taste)
- Black pepper (freshly ground, to taste)
- 2 tablespoons Sunflower Oil
- 4 sprigs Thyme (fresh, or 1 teaspoon dried)
- 2 leaves Bay Leaf
- 2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 200 ml Beef Stock (or water)
- 1.2 kg Beef Shin (or chuck or beef cheeks, in 4 to 5 cm chunks)
- 2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard (or any strong mustard)
- 750 ml Dark Beer (Belgian abbey-style brown ale, malty and slightly sweet, not too bitter)
- 2 tablespoons Cider Vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
Instructions
Pat the meat thoroughly dry with kitchen paper and season it. Heat the oil in a cast-iron or heavy-based casserole over high heat and brown the meat in three or four batches, without crowding the pan, until it is well browned on every side. Set it aside on a plate.
20 min
Lower the heat to medium, add the butter to the same pot and tip in the onions with a pinch of salt. Scrape the bottom with the spoon to lift the browned bits and cook them gently, stirring often, until soft and caramel-coloured.
25 min
Return the meat with its juices, sprinkle over the flour and stir for a couple of minutes so it toasts. Pour in the beer a little at a time, scraping the bottom, and add the sugar, vinegar, bay leaves and thyme. If the meat is not almost covered, add the stock.
5 min
Spread the bread slices with mustard on one side and lay them on top of the stew, mustard side down, without pushing them under. When it comes to the boil, cover and simmer over very low heat until the meat falls apart when pierced, about 2½ hours.
3 hr
Uncover and stir: the bread will have dissolved and thickened the sauce. Remove the bay leaves and thyme stalks. If the sauce is too thin, simmer it uncovered for a few minutes; taste and adjust the salt, pepper, sugar or vinegar until the sweet and sour are in balance.
10 min
Leave the stew to rest for a few minutes and serve it with chips, mashed potatoes or bread.
Notes
Carbonade flamande (stoofvlees in Dutch) is the beef stew of Flanders and the whole of northern Belgium: families make it at weekends in autumn and winter, and chip shops and brasseries serve it all year round with chips and a bowl of mayonnaise. The secret is the beer: a dark Belgian abbey-style ale, malty and slightly sweet, gives body and a toasty depth; avoid very bitter beers and stouts, which turn the sauce bitter as it reduces. The brown sugar and vinegar balance that bitterness, and the slice of bread spread with mustard dissolves as it cooks and thickens the sauce with no extra flour. In Belgium spiced honey cake (peperkoek) is often used instead; if you can find it, the sauce comes out sweeter and spicier. Shin and cheek, with their gelatine, turn more tender and silky than lean cuts; cut them into large chunks so they do not fall into shreds. If you prefer the oven, once it comes to the boil put the covered pot in at 150 °C for the same time. Like every stew, it tastes better the next day: it keeps for 4 days in the fridge and freezes for up to 3 months in its sauce. Reheat it gently with a splash of water.
More information
Nutrition facts481 kcal per serving
Nutrition facts
- Protein43 %47 g
- Carbs19 %21 g
- Fat37 %18 g
The percentage shows how much of the calories each macronutrient provides.
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 481 kcal | 98 kcal |
| Protein | 47 g | 9.6 g |
| Carbs | 21 g | 4.3 g |
| Fat | 18 g | 3.7 g |
One serving is about 492 g of raw ingredients; values per 100 g are based on that weight.
Estimated from the ingredient list · Values may vary depending on cooking method and product brand.
Guide indicatorsDifficulty, quality and data reliability
Guide indicators
- Estimated difficulty73/100
- Recipe completeness65/100
- Nutrition reliability
- Medium
Calculated automatically from the ingredients, steps, time and community feedback. They are not a guarantee.
StorageKeeps 4 days in the fridge
Frequently asked questions
- How long does Flemish beef and beer stew (carbonade flamande) take to make?
- It takes about 4 hours in total.
- Which allergens does Flemish beef and beer stew (carbonade flamande) contain?
- It contains cereals containing gluten, milk, mustard and sulphites. It may contain traces of celery. Always check the labels of the products you use.
- How long does Flemish beef and beer stew (carbonade flamande) keep in the fridge?
- Up to 4 days in the fridge, in a closed container. It can also be frozen.
- How many calories does Flemish beef and beer stew (carbonade flamande) have?
- About 481 kcal per serving, with 47 g of protein, 21 g of carbohydrates and 18 g of fat. This is an estimate worked out from its ingredients.
- Which diets is this recipe suitable for?
- It is nut-free.
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