Carbonnade Flamande (Flemish Stew)

This Belgian Beef and Beer Stew is a beloved classic for a reason. The fantastic and distinctive flavour of the dish is built around lots of browning and caramelizing, but the final steps can be made very hands-off with an Instant Pot or slow cooker.

Course Main Course, Main Dishes

Cuisine Belgian, Dutch, European

Keyword Beef and Beer Stew, Carbonade a la Flamande, Flemish Stew

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1 45

Total Time 2 15

Servings people

Calories 594kcal

Ingredients

2.5 lbs chuck or stewing beef cut into 2 inch (4 cm) cubes
1/3 cup all purpose flour (see note)
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
3 large yellow onions thinly sliced
1 cup Tripel beer (see note)
3 tbsp unsalted butter (see note)
4 slices thick bacon finely chopped
4 cloves garlic minced
2 cups beef stock
2 tbsp brown sugar packed
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp thyme leaves
3 stems parsley plus minced parsley to garnish
1 bay leaf

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Place the beef into a large bowl and cover with the flour, salt, and pepper. Toss/combine until the beef is well-covered on all sides.
Place a large cast iron frying pan or Dutch oven on the stove top over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of butter. Brown the beef in the pan, taking care not to crowd the pieces together (you'll most likely want to work in batches). Once the beef has been well-browned (~3-4 minutes per batch), remove it from the pan and set it aside.
Add the bacon to the now-empty pan and cook until the fat is fully rendered and the bacon is a little bit crisp.
Reduce the heat to low and add the onions, garlic, and remaining butter to the pan. Cook slowly, until the onions are well-caramelized – on average 35-45 minutes. Ensure that your heat is truly low enough; a large coil on a gas stove may still be too hot when set on low, especially as the caramelization stage nears.
Add the beer to the pan and scrape it gently to deglaze any stuck-on bits. Bring the heat back up to medium-high and simmer until the liquid is reduced by about ¼.
Transfer the contents of the frying pan and the beef to an electric pressure cooker, slow cooker, or large Dutch Oven (see next step for cooking variations). Add the beef stock, sugar, vinegar, thyme, parsley, and bay leaf. You may wish to lightly salt the dish at this point, but adjust the final taste closer to the completion point.
Pressure Cooker: Seal and cook at high pressure (manual) for 45 minutes. Allow the pressure to reduce naturally for at least 15 minutes before venting.
Slow Cooker: Cover and slow cook on low for 6-7 hours, or until the beef is very tender.
Stovetop: Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 2-3 hours, or until the meat is very tender.
Remove finished stew from heat and adjust the final taste with salt and, if necessary, a little brown sugar and/or vinegar. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve with bread, potatoes, or (my favourite) fries.

Notes

Flour note: If you need to go gluten-free, you can swap out the flour for a good gluten-free all-purpose blend, or arrowroot powder. As most beers contain gluten, you'll also need to use a gluten-free beer variety.

Beer note: Tripel beers are strong, golden pale ales with a high alcohol content, historically produced in regions of Belgium and the Netherlands, but now produced in the same style in may parts of the world. These beers have a somewhat bitter, slightly sour flavour that contributes a great deal to the typical flavour of good carbonnade. If you can't find a good tripel to use, you can substitute Belgian red or brown beers, or any good quality ale with a nice bitter/sour flavour.

Butter note: if you need to make this dairy free you can substitute and equal quantity of bacon fat or 2.5 tbsp (~35 ml) of vegetable oil.

Nutrition