This winter favourite is a fabulous French dish known as Carbonade Flamande. It involves cooking beef in beer in either a casserole dish or slow cooker.
You can opt for a thinner sauce or add a beurre manié to make it thicker. Don’t forget to have fresh crusty bread on hand for this one.
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Recipe for Carbonade Flamande
Yields: Serves 4 -6
Duration: 10 minutes prep, 2h 40m cooking
Difficulty: medium
Ingredients
2.86lb (1.3 kg) chuck steak or thick skirt fillet end
1 large onion, peeled and chopped coarsely
9.29 fl oz (275 ml) beer
1 bouquet garni (parsley, thyme and a bay leaf)
2 slices of wholemeal or light rye bread
4 Tbsp. pork dripping or pure lard
1 Tbsp. wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. French
mustard
1 Tbsp. sugar
3 tsp. black pepper
3 tsp. salt
How To Make Carbonade Flamande
Prepare the ingredients and begin by chopping up a large onion coarsely.
Cut the beef into large strips around 2 inches (5cm) long.
Over medium heat melt 2 tablespoons of dripping or lard, reserve the extra 2 tablespoons incase the dish becomes dry while browning beef or sautéing onions.
Once the dripping or lard is melted start browning the beef in small batches, once done seperate beef into a bowl.
When all of the beef is browned, check if the dish still has some fat to cook with, if not then add a tablespoon. Slowly cook the onion to translucent, without turning them brown.
If the onions turn too brown, remove and clean out the fat then add the remaining table spoon of dripping or lard along with the onion back to the casserole dish or slow cooker.
If the onions have turned translucent, add beef back to the casserole dish or slow cooker.
Now add beer and enough warm water to cover the beef.
Season with the salt and pepper whilst also adding in the bouquet garni. Spread the french mustard on the bread and then place it over the meat.
Cover casserole dish or slow cooker with a lid and bring it to the boil. Once it has been brought to the boil, drop the temperature to a simmer and cook it low and slow for around 2 hours.
After 2 hours check that the meat is tender, it should be soft and almost ready to fall apart. At this point remove the beef and keep it hot.
Preparing the Carbonade Flamande sauce
The remaining liquid, along with the bread should be forced through a sieve to bind the sauce.
***If a thicker sauce is preferred, at this stage you can make a beurre manié, to add to the sauce. Do this by combining 1 tablespoon of flour into 1 tablespoon softened butter until it resembles a dough, then add it to the sauce. If you prefer the sauce to be thinner, then leave it out.***
In a small pan, add vinegar and sugar over low heat and cook until it forms a dark caramel, making sure it doesn’t burn.
CAUTION: the next step requires 2 tablespoons of boiling water to be added to the caramel, while stirring rapidly. (Be careful not to get it on skin). Once darkened it can be added to the sauce.
Finally add the beef back to the sauce and bring it back gently to the boil again, then lower to a simmer and cook for a further 30 minutes stirring occasionally.
After 30 minutes, take off the heat and serve immediately with fresh crusty bread and a cold beer.
