Beef carbonnade
- Published: 29 Apr 20
- Updated: 18 Mar 24
If you’ve never heard of or tasted this classic Flemish beef stew, you’re in for a treat. Beef and onions are slow-cooked for hours in dark beer sharpened with mustard until rich, flavoursome and tender. It’s a taste sensation.
Want another slow-cook beef recipe? You can’t beat a classic beef casserole.
- Serves 6
- Hands-on time 20 min,oven time 2½-3 hours
Ingredients
- Olive oil for frying
- 250g British outdoor-bred bacon lardons
- 2 onions, sliced
- 1kg British chuck steak, trimmed, cut into 3-4cm chunks (see tips)
- 3 tbsp plain flour
- 2 fat garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard, plus extra to serve
- 1 x 330ml bottle Belgian beer (see tips)
- 400-500ml beef stock
- 4 fresh thyme sprigs
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
- Skinny oven fries and/or crusty bread to serve
Method
- Heat the oven to 150°C/130°C fan/gas 2. Heat a splash of olive oil in a hob-proof casserole (with a lid) and fry the lardons for a few minutes until starting to crisp and release their oil. Add the sliced onions and stir to coat, then fry gently for 10 minutes until softened.
- Meanwhile, heat a splash more oil in a large frying pan. Working in batches, brown the beef all over, then set aside on a plate (see tips). Stir the flour into the onions, then add the beef and any juices, the garlic, tomato purée, mustard, beer, 400ml stock (add a little more if the meat isn’t covered), herbs and sugar. Bring up to a simmer, then cover with the lid and cook in the oven for 2½-3 hours until the meat is tender.
- Remove the bay leaves and thyme, then serve with extra mustard, fries and/or crusty bread for mopping up the gravy.
- Recipe from April 2020 Issue
Nutrition
- Calories
- 421kcals
- Fat
- 19.9g (6.5g saturated)
- Protein
- 40.7g
- Carbohydrates
- 15.5g (8.5g sugars)
- Fibre
- 1.6g
- Salt
- 1.9g
delicious. tips
Make the carbonnade up to 2 days in advance, then cover and chill. Or freeze for up to 3 months in an airtight container, then defrost fully overnight in the fridge. To serve, reheat on the hob until piping hot.
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Made my first Delicious Magazine recipe of this Beef Carbonnade and it was so flavoursome! I made it the day before to heat up after the long walk during lockdown. We had our with baked potatoes. Yum.👌👌