Recipe Belgian beef stew

[valedevento]

I am from Belgium and we make a great beef stew with beer, it is popular and you can find it in every restaurant. It is easy to make, but it takes a few hours to cook. It is usually served with fries or potatoes and a salad.

You use diced beef for stews, don't take a prime steak for this dish, we usually use shoulder meat or rib meat. It's OK to use tougher meat since it will be soft after hours of stewing. Brown the pieces of meat in a pan, no need to cook them, just give them some color. Season with pepper and salt. Take a big pot and fry up some onions in butter, add the meat and 2 cans or bottles of dark ale beer. Add water until the meat is covered. Add some fresh rosemary, thyme and bay leaf. Put the lid on and let it simmer for 3 to 4 hours until the meat is soft and falls apart. About an hour before it is ready, add a slice of dark bread covered with mustard. The bread will thicken the sauce and the mustard adds flavor.

Enjoy!

 

[Berties]

Carbonades flamandes ,hope,the spelled my is ok ,is this similar to your recipe?
As we,have had it on bikes tours through your country
Shin is a ideal cut for this

 

[Morning Glory]

I am from Belgium and we make a great beef stew with beer, it is popular and you can find it in every restaurant. It is easy to make, but it takes a few hours to cook. It is usually served with fries or potatoes and a salad.

You use diced beef for stews, don't take a prime steak for this dish, we usually use shoulder meat or rib meat. It's OK to use tougher meat since it will be soft after hours of stewing. Brown the pieces of meat in a pan, no need to cook them, just give them some color. Season with pepper and salt. Take a big pot and fry up some onions in butter, add the meat and 2 cans or bottles of dark ale beer. Add water until the meat is covered. Add some fresh rosemary, thyme and bay leaf. Put the lid on and let it simmer for 3 to 4 hours until the meat is soft and falls apart. About an hour before it is ready, add a slice of dark bread covered with mustard. The bread will thicken the sauce and the mustard adds flavor.

Enjoy!

So when you say dark bread, do you mean rye bread? And does the bread completely dissolve into the stew?

 

[valedevento]

Hi morning glory, you can use any kind of bread you want, rye bread is fine, wholemeal is too. The bread dissolves completely yes, it thickens the sauce If it is not dissolved, just cook the stew a bit longer.

 

[valedevento]

Carbonades flamandes ,hope,the spelled my is ok ,is this similar to your recipe?
As we,have had it on bikes tours through your country
Shin is a ideal cut for this

Yes, it is the same

 

[Delftse Post]

I make this a lot. Typically I use Westmalle Dubbel beer and for bread use ontbijtkoek which has a lot of rye in it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontbijtkoek

 

[winterybella]

Hi morning glory, you can use any kind of bread you want, rye bread is fine, wholemeal is too. The bread dissolves completely yes, it thickens the sauce If it is not dissolved, just cook the stew a bit longer.

This sounds so interesting to me adding the bread. I learn something everyday here. I have used potatoes for thickening some of my stews and have read of baking soda, flour and the like for thickening but never bread. Makes a lot of sense though.

 

[valedevento]

This sounds so interesting to me adding the bread. I learn something everyday here. I have used potatoes for thickening some of my stews and have read of baking soda, flour and the like for thickening but never bread. Makes a lot of sense though.

We do it quite regularly, thickening with bread, in Belgium. We also do a stew with rabbit and dried plums that we thicken with bread

 

[winterybella]

We do it quite regularly, thickening with bread, in Belgium. We also do a stew with rabbit and dried plums that we thicken with bread

I stumbled on some rabbit here recently and once I realised it was rabbit I put it back in the freezer. I am not good at working with rabbit. I still see them as pets. I think my husband is going to prepare that one himself.

 

[valedevento]

I stumbled on some rabbit here recently and once I realised it was rabbit I put it back in the freezer. I am not good at working with rabbit. I still see them as pets. I think my husband is going to prepare that one himself.

I understand, we don't usually eat rabbit, but it is normal in Belgium. I had a rabbit growing up, so for me it is also more a pet rather than food. But then again, some people have chickens as their pet!

 

[winterybella]

@valedevento, I have vague memories of my folks having chickens as a child and me probably slicing a head or two. Not a happy recollection. My brother kept rabbits when I was a child and my memories are of me watching them nibble away as I fed them. My husband said he wanted to cook while I was away since he knows it's a little tough for me to handle. Around here it can be an expensive delicacy.