Flemish beer beef stew (Carbonnade flamande)

The first time I ate Carbonnade Flamande, in a little cave-like restaurant in Brussels' Grande Place, I hate it. I found the texture repelling, and the beer flavor put me off. Now I would eat it every single day. What happened in the meantime? I guess 11 years of living in Belgium, a Flemish wife, and a lot of beer ingested: that's what happened.

Every Belgian family has its own perfect recipe of this beef Flemish stew. My wife's makes no exception. This is her family's recipe: the secret weapon is the bread smeared with mustard, which is added to the stew and let to dissolve slowly: it adds a flavor dimension that I haven't found in any recipes. The bread you use is important: there is no need to go fancy on the bread, even stale bread will work, but please: do not use the spongy, packaged disgusting thing that US supermarkets call bread: use real bread.

Since we are in the US, we have also made this in the slow cooker and it works perfectly. So I am giving you that option in the cooking notes.

A word about the beer to use: traditionally you should be using a red Flemish beer. What we use at home here in Chicago is a beer called Duchesse de Bourgogne, which - in spite of its French name - is Flemish. You can find it at Whole Foods or at Binny's. Let me warn you: it is expensive. But this is a beer flavored stew, and if you are saving money on the beer, I suggest you go and cook something else. I am serious: the beer gives 70% of the stew's flavor.

If you can't find it, ask your beer vendor if he/she can suggest a red Flemish ale for a Belgian stew. If he/she is any good, he/she should pick one for you that is sweet enough to help the caramelization that needs to take place in the stew, but not sweet enough to turn this dish into a dessert. If any Belgian reader is reading this and wants to chip in with advice on the best beer to use, by all means please do.

Tuscan Foodie's wife's Carbonnade Flamande
(PRINT OR DOWNLOAD THIS RECIPE)

Ingredients:

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter (2oz/60g)
• 4 slices of good quality bacon (about 4-5oz/100-150gr), roughly chopped
• 2 yellow onions, thinly chopped
• 2 teaspoons of dark brown sugar
• 2 minced gloves of garlic
• 3 tbsp of all purpose flour
• 3 lb (1.5 kg) of beef, chuck steak or round steak, fat removed, cut into pieces 2-3 inches/4-7cm wide
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 16 oz / 500ml of red Flemish beer (see notes above: Duchesse de Bourgogne would be perfect)
• 2 slices of bread (see notes above)
• 2 tbsp of yellow mustard 
• salt and pepper

How to make it

• Melt 2 tbsp of butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Throw in the bacon and cook until crisp, but not burnt. Turn the bacon often. This should take 5-10 minutes. 
• Add the onions to the bacon in the skillet, add the sugar and cook until the onions caramelize, turning into a deep brown color. This will take 30-40 minutes, and you will need to stir now and then. This process is key: you are creating the sweet/caramelized flavor which will be a key component of the stew. Be patient: certain onions take longer than others to caramelize. 
• When the onions are brown, add the garlic, cook for 2 minutes and set the whole mixture aside on a plate. 
• While the onions cook, mix flour, salt and pepper in a plate or in a zip-lock bag: add the beef pieces and coat in flour (in a zip-lock it is easier). 
• Using the same skillet in which you cooked the onions and the bacon, melt the remaining 2 tbsp of butter. Add the beef pieces, making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Brown the meat on all sides. This will take 10-20 minutes: depending on the size of your pan, you may need to work in batches, adding butter as necessary. Browning the meat is also key, because it locks in the flavors. 
• When the beef is browned, remove it from the pan, and set it on a plate. 
• Add the beer to the skillet, and deglaze it, scraping its bottom with a wooden spoon: you want to make sure that all the brown pieces of meat that are stuck to the pan get loose: they are flavorful and you want them in your stew. Cook and stir until the beer boils. 
• Put the meat, the onion/bacon mixture, the beer in a large Dutch oven on the stove top, or in a slow cooker. Add the two slices of bread smeared with the mustard to the stew: the bread will dissolve while the stew cooks. 
• Dutch oven on the stove-top: cook covered for two hours, on very low fire. Stir now and then, to make sure to dissolve the bread.
• Slow cooker: cook covered 6-7 hours on low. Stir towards the end to make sure to dissolve the bread.  

How to serve it

Serve this with french fries or roasted potatoes or even roasted sweet potatoes. A beer - better if the one you have used for cooking the stew - is a must!