Carbonnade Flamande is a beloved Belgian stew, renowned for its tender beef slow-cooked in dark beer with onions and aromatic spices. This hearty dish captures the rustic flavors of Flanders, offering a comforting and robust meal perfect for warming up on chilly days or sharing with loved ones.
Carbonnade Flamande is a classic Belgian dish with deep historical roots in the Flanders region, where it originated as a hearty comfort food for working families. Traditionally, it was a way to transform tougher cuts of beef into a succulent meal by slow-cooking them with local ingredients.
Preparation begins by browning beef chunks, then simmering them gently with sliced onions, aromatic spices, and a generous pour of rich, dark Belgian beer. The beer not only tenderizes the meat but also imparts a distinctive malty sweetness and depth of flavor. Sometimes, a touch of mustard or a slice of bread is added to thicken the sauce.
What makes carbonnade Flamande especially interesting is the harmonious blend of savory, sweet, and slightly bitter notes, resulting in a robust stew that’s both comforting and full of character—a true celebration of Belgian culinary tradition.
This carbonnade recipe from Simply Recipe is a moderately simple yet time-intensive project, requiring careful browning of the beef and caramelization of the onions before a long, slow simmer of 2 to 3 hours. The deep flavor profile is built on the hearty, malty notes of dark Belgian ale and the concentrated sweetness of the slow-cooked onions, providing a robust, comforting base. The stew achieves its signature complexity through a balance of sweet and sour, enhanced by the pungent tang of whole-grain mustard and a touch of brown sugar.
I follow this recipe not only for the slower method, but also when I use my Instant Pot to shorten the cooking time, using the Stew mode which only takes 40 minutes.
Carbonnade Flamande
Ingredients
- 3 ½ pounds chuck roast, cut into 1-inch pieces
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoons butter, divided
- 3 medium yellow onions, sliced ¼ inch thick (about 8 cups)
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups chicken or beef broth
- 1 ½ cups (12 ounces) Belgian beer (such as a Dubbel or Abbey Ale)
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Directions
- Pat the beef dry with paper towels, then season well with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in batches, brown the meat, without stirring, about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer the browned beef to a separate bowl.
- Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to the Dutch oven and reduce the heat to medium. Add the sliced onions and ½ teaspoon of salt; cook until the onions are browned, about 15 minutes.
- Add the flour and stir until the onions are evenly coated and the flour is lightly browned, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in the broth and scrape the bottom of the Dutch oven to loosen any browned bits. Stir in the beer, thyme, bay leaf, the browned beef with any accumulated juices, and salt and pepper to taste. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a full simmer.
- Reduce heat to low, partially cover, and let cook for 2 to 3 hours until the beef is fork-tender. (Alternatively, you can cook it in the oven at 300°F/150°C.) Stir occasionally, scraping up anything that is sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- About 30 minutes before the stew finishes cooking, add the whole-grain mustard and brown sugar. Adjust seasonings to taste.
- Discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.
- Serve with mashed potatoes, buttered noodles, or French fries.
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