Carbonnade à la flamande
By Jessica – January 28th, 2007
Belgium not only has beautiful scenery, amazing medieval architecture and a fascinating history, it also has some awesome food. Belgian waffles and Belgian chocolates are the obvious examples, along with the inescapable (and irresistible) frites, preferably served with a hefty pot of moules or a juicy steak.
But the country has a host of other delicious dishes to offer as well: creamy soups with fish or chicken (waterzooi); salads and fritters made with North Sea shrimp; endives/chicory baked under a bubbling blanket of ham and cheese; sweet lobster and other seafood; sausages and game; tender white asparagus, waxy yellow potatoes and bright green Brussels sprouts (don’t scoff: Brussels sprouts sauteed in butter with caramelized onions and mustard are delightful).
My favorite Belgian recipe features one of Belgium’s other great gifts to the culinary world: beer. Carbonnade à la flamande is Flemish beef stew in which beef and onions are simmered in Belgian ale until the meat is tender, the onions are sweet and the ale has cooked down into a rich, dark gravy. I imagine carbonnade was as popular in the 14th century as it is today.
The key - as with so many great dishes - lies in taking a few good ingredients and treating them well to create something much greater than the sum of its parts. And those parts are as follows:
- 500 g cubed stewing/braising beef
- 2 slices bacon, chopped
- 3-4 medium onions, sliced
- 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon flour
- 1 bottle Belgian ale
- 500 mL strong beef broth/stock
- 1-2 bay leaves
- pinch of thyme (fresh or dried)
- pinch of allspice (optional)
- salt and pepper
- chopped parsley
- mustard
The basic recipe is very straightforward. You can make the carbonnade either entirely on the stovetop, or you can start it on the stove and finish it in the oven. If you’re going to use the oven, preheat it to 175C/350F.
Season the beef generously with salt and pepper and brown it on all sides in a dash of oil over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed pot or casserole. When the meat is browned, take it out of the pot and set it aside, then deglaze the pot by adding a splash of beef broth and scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Add the broth and bits to the beef, then drop the bacon into the pot and fry it over medium heat until it’s brown. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and set it aside with the beef.
Put the onions in the pot and fry them gently in the bacon fat until they start to turn soft and golden, which will take about 15 minutes. After the onions have been cooking for a few minutes, sprinkle over the brown sugar, which will help them caramelize slightly.
Once the onions are cooked, sprinkle the flour over them and stir it in (a lot of recipes call for tossing the beef cubes in flour before browning them, but I’ve found that you wind up just browning the flour instead of the meat when you do this). Then add the beef, bacon and any accumulated juices to the onions in the pot.
Now comes the fun bit: turn up the heat slightly, and pour in the bottle of ale. It will go all fizzy for a few seconds, but then it will calm down. Add enough beef broth to cover the meat and onions, along with the bay leaf, thyme, allspice if you’re using it, and some salt and pepper.
Bring this to a boil, then cover and place in the oven. Let it cook for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender (if you’re cooking the carbonnade on the stovetop, simply simmer it over low heat for 2 hours; you’ll have to stir it slightly more often to prevent it from burning to the bottom of the pot).
To finish the carbonnade, stir in a handful of chopped parsley and a tablespoon or two of mustard if you’d like. Carbonnade is traditionally served with boiled potatoes or sometimes buttered noodles, but I think Spätzle is really the perfect accompaniment (so carbonnade is from Belgium and Spätzle is from southern Germany—it’s still a match made in heaven). A salad of chicory or endive dressed with a mustard vinaigrette makes for a sprightly accompaniment to balance out the dark, rich carbonnade.
There are just a few things to take note of if you’re making carbonnade. First of all, the beer: If you can get hold of Belgian ale, I highly recommend using it, even if it is more expensive than your average bottle of beer. I used a Chimay Blue the first time I made carbonnade, and it worked so well that I’ve stuck to it ever since. Chimay Blue is a fairly dark ale which gives the carbonnade a pleasing depth. I’ve tried a Leffe Radieuse as well, which is dark and malty, but I thought it gave the carbonnade a slightly bitter edge. If you can’t get hold of Belgian ale, try some other well-rounded copper ale. I would avoid using a stout, however; beef and Guinness stew is great, but that’s not what this recipe is meant to be.
Also, resist the temptation to add too much butter or oil to the pot while you’re browning the meat and sautéing the onions; otherwise the final product could taste greasy.
The allspice, mustard and herbs are really “optional extras”. For true medieval flair, carbonnade should have a spiced, sweet-and-sour tang to it. To achieve this, some cooks spread mustard on a piece of gingerbread and place the bread on top of the carbonnade; as the carbonnade cooks, the mustard-smeared bread breaks down, thickening and flavoring the stew.
Since I don’t typically have gingerbread lying around my house, I make do with the allspice and a hefty dollop of wholegrain mustard (cloves might be interesting to experiment with as well). It’s also not uncommon for vinegar to be added once the carbonnade is done, but I find that the mustard alone gives the stew enough sharpness. The sugar provides the sweetness, though I’ve also seen recipes that call for a spoonful of red currant jelly for the same effect. And as for the thyme and the parsley: if you don’t have any, don’t fret.
And finally, you may have noticed that the pictures accompanying this recipe clearly show mushrooms in my carbonnade. It’s true, I have on occasion used mushrooms if I happened to have them in the fridge. It works out fine, but if you tip the delicate mushroom/meat balance, you just wind up with beef and mushroom stew. This is okay as far as it goes—but again, it’s not carbonnade à la flamande.
I’ve since decided that “purity of spirit” is what’s called for in a carbonnade. Beef, beer and onions are really all you need to create a hearty winter meal fit for a medieval monarch—or a 21st-century foodie.
Comments
Wow, I’m impressed, the recipe is a decent one and finally Belgian beer is getting its due :) I’m Belgian, but you probably guessed that! Rave on, Erwin.
Thank you - I’m glad to have the approval of a Belgian (and a fellow translator, no less!) :-)
I cooked this for myself last night after discovering this recipe some weeks back and wanted to let you know how wonderfully it turned out. Rich, sweet, and dark. I tried taking some photos of the meal but only have my phone to do so and they didn’t do justice to it. Thanks very much and I’ll definitely be adding Carbonnade à la flamande to my repertoire!
Great, I’m happy it turned out so well! Like most stews, it’s a tough meal to take a good picture of, camera phone or no. But in the end, it’s the taste that counts!
Odool beer (non alcoholic) is supposed to be just as good according to america’s test kitchens, what do you think?
I first saw this Carbonnade recipe on America’s Test Kitchen show today. I think they only used the beef, the onions, beer and some tomato paste. How does that sound to you? I tried getting that recipe but couldn’t. Thanks. Sunday, July 29th at 8:11pm. My e mail address is.. Mammer@optonline.net If you can help me, I would appreciate it.
Hi Madeleine, check out this recipe: http://tinyurl.com/6tcnb It’s a carbonnade recipe from Cook’s Illustrated magazine (associated with America’s Test Kitchen) which uses tomato paste, as you mentioned. It also happens to be one of the recipes I based my own recipe on!
That sounds like an excellent recipe, Jessica. I’ve never actually eaten it with bacon; we usually add some carrots in, which gives it a sweet touch.
People who prefer white meat can also use chicken or turkey. It’s also lighter and goes great with frites :-).
I made this recipe for my boyfriend who is from the north of france. He enjoyed it! This recipe was easy and delicious… I served it with some good old fashioned potato pancakes.
Give it a shot
Ooh, potato pancakes - great idea!
This is just what I’ve been wanting to make. The last time I tried it, I didn’t use Belgian ale and I didn’t really think it was worth repeating. I hope I can find the ale you recommend because I can see what a difference it makes. Have you posted anything about how to make great spaetzle? Thanks for confirming my suspicion about dredging beef before browning. Thanks for all the good hints. Do you have a blog?
Hi Linda - I haven’t yet posted anything about Spätzle, but that’s definitely on my list of things to write about here!
I do indeed have a personal blog at http://wordridden.com - but unfortunately, I’m almost as bad about updating Wordridden as I am about updating this site… :-(
Which one of the hundreds of Belgian beers do you recomend? What size bottle? I’m going to make this in a week and a half and would like to know your thoughts. thanks.
I’ve searched for this recipe after hearing about it Garrett Oliver’s ‘The Brewmaster’s Table’. The book is a must if you’re looking to match beer with food and for this Belgium dish he reccomends cooking and matching it with a Belgium dubbel or Flanders brown ale. The Chimmay Red is a dubbel but I’m sure the slightly stronger Blue works wonders as well! I’ll let you know how it turns out when I try it in a few weeks.
I made a fantasic vegan version of this using seitan (wheat-meat) and by omitting the bacon - thanks
Cool, it’s great to know that even such a meat-oriented dish like this can be adapted for a vegetarian or vegan diet!
I’ve made this recipe multiple times over the past couple months and have gotten nothing but rave reviews. I opt for putting mustard smeared gingerbread on top while it cooks instead of the allspice. I do double batches and freeze some in individual containers- when I know its going to be a cold day, I thaw it out and bring it to work for lunch to warm me up. Its definately going to stay in my cooking rotation, especially over the cold months.
I just made this (sans bacon because I didn’t have any) and it was fantastic - my friends thought so too. I served it with sauté potatoes, which seemed to go quite well! Thanks a lot.
Great article- super well written and informative. I have read in Escoffier’s recipe for carbonnade flamande he calls for "using stout or old Lambic". The hardly-hopped sour beers could add depth of flavor without bitterness. Cheers!
OK, that sounds absolutely incredible! I was looking for a pot roast recommendation in the Good Eats group on Live Journal, and someone there pointed me here. I hope to find a decent ale for it tomorrow, we’ll see how it turns out!
BTW, you mention Tucson. Do you ever eat at El Charro when you’re there? It’s one of my favorite restaurants and salsa sources. There’s also an excellent salsa that is sometimes carried at Albertson’s (again, when you’re state-side in Tucson) called Arriba, they have a medium-hot chipotle salsa that is great.
I haven’t been to El Charro yet, but I’ve heard that it’s good. I’ll have to try it out next time I’m in Tucson. Thanks for the tip!
And I’ll definitely look out for that Arriba salsa - I adore chipotle chiles!
I am from Belgium and my mother use to cook it with onion,brown beer ,bundle of fresh thyme ,bay leave and parsley tied together and fews prunes, salt and pepper its was very tasty and everyone love it.
Like a lot of people I’m finding your variations a little late… but TASTY.
I too lacked the gingerbread, but I substitued quatre epice.. the cloves were a little much, I found, but added a nice body that /would/ work if the balance could get dialed in…
finally got the chance to make this dish! it taste amazing, i did it without mushroom, thanks for this yummy recipe!
Thank you for this recipe! It was delicious, and thanks to you! ;)
I made this last night and it turned out great. I dropped in two medium slices of fresh french bread, liberally coated with dijon mustard. Great meal! I also cooked in an extra slice of bacon, and served it in a bowl ith red potatoes and french bread on the side.
BTW - No bottle size was mentioned, but I would assume that the author used a small bottle of Belgian ale. I always buy Chimay Bleu in the large 750 ml (wine bottle) size. That way, there was plenty of beer to use for the recipe and the other half went into my Trappist glass!
I might try it with St Bernardus Abt 12 next time. It’s one of my favorite beers, and I find it to be a bit more flavorful and full-bodied than Chimay (which is also a favorite).
Thanks for your recipe. I believe that you are correct regarding flouring the onions instead of the beef—the end result is much tastier than flouring the beef.
Definitely going to try this recipe. I went to a place called Spinnekopke in Brussels and had probably the best meal I have ever had, Carbonnade au Lambic. So they just made this stew but used a local Belgium lambic beer. The sauce was just absolutely amazing. I have been on a quest to try and reproduce this ever since and I think this recipe is my first step. Look forward to trying it out!
I’ve been making carbonnades for years, but your method is best! I served it the other night with dumplings - took it out of the oven and put it on the burner, dropped in dumplings and simmered covered for 20 min. (just used Bisquick but this would work with spaetzle). Glazed carrots on the side and really got rave reviews. Thanks!
Thank you for this recipe. Your instructions are great. In Calgary we had blizzard conditions all day so this was the perfect choice for supper. Everyone loved it.
Thank you for this recipe. Your instructions are great and I just want to try this with some beer that I purchased from Local store but do you think if I can use the weiss beer type "Hoegaarden" for example instead of Belgian ale that you’ve mentioned above along with your explanation
Hi Henry, in principle I think a wheat beer (particularly a dark one) would work fine in this recipe, but Hoegaarden is so light and citrusy that I’m not sure I would use it for a beef stew - maybe save it for a fish stew or some mussels and try to find a darker beer for the carbonnade instead. Good luck!
Thanks for the info. I just made this today with a recipe from a cookbook. It asked for dark beer, and while I liked the recipe I definitely felt that Guiness Stout made the stew have a bitter aftertaste. Next time I am trying Chimay, now that I know this is Belgian ale stew…should have browsed the internet before starting the cooking…live and learn!
I almost had all of had all the ingredients to make this. I had to use a different beer because I used my last Belgian beer to steam mussels with the night before. I also did not have any fresh herbs. Regardless, it turned out very well. I served it with potato pancakes.
I had some small mushrooms on hand, but decided to omit them. I think the greatest charm of this recipe is the very minimal number of ingredients bringing a very strong, rich flavor. This will be a staple in my house this winter.
The beer I used was Fullsail Wassail. It reminded me more of the stews I had when I was in Prague though rather than the food I ate in Brussels. http://www.fullsailbrewing.com/wassail.cfm
Thank you for the recipe.
Have been making carbonnade for a number of years, always synthesizing a number of recipes. Yours is the best I’ve come across.
Made it tonight with a few mods: used a lot more beer than in ur recipe — most of a 750 ml bottle of Ommegang, an America abbey style ale.
Also I found the stew was a little thin after 1.5 hours so cooked for last 30 minutes with lid off in oven and then finished on the stovetop, stirring in 1cup or so of finely chopped sourdough bread. After 10 minutes or so it all dissolved and really thickened the dish nicely.
Well done!
This was just what I’d been looking for…used Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball Ale (rich, sweet and moderate hops) and added threes slices of hearty bread slathered with whole grain dijon mustard, which thickened everything beautifully when it cooked in. Hard to believe so few ingredients gave such a complex and hearty flavor. Kudos!
I stumbled across this whilst searching for a crossword puzzle! It sounds great and can
t wait to try it,didnt know the Belgians had such a variety of food(shows how ignorant I am). Thankyou! Regards, Terry Webster, Ipswich, England.Jessica - I have made this for my inn guests various times! Great for a cold night here in the mountains of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The last time I used an artisanal beer - Backer Brown - which is flavored with chocolate in combination with a regular local beer and the results were incredible. The slow cooking allowed the chocolate flavors to meld into the others so that it was not too obvious, but it gave a rich, dark, deep something that really put the sauce over the top. Thanks. Um abraço forte. Peter
That’s wonderful, Peter, thank you for letting me know! I like the thought of guests at an inn eating big bowls of carbonnade on a chilly night in the mountains. :-)
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