Beef and Beer Stew: A Belgian-Inspired Carbonnade | Everyday Dorie

Early Spring is a transitional season, when mother nature gives us chilly days as well as warm sunny days. One day I make a spring salad. On the next day, I make a stew. Go figure. Lately, my discovery has turned to stews: the likes of the Moroccan tagine and the carbonnade. The tenderness of the meat and the flavorful sauce keep me wanting for more — in servings and the knowhow in equal measures.

The task this week as I cook along with our friends at Cook-the-Book-Fridays is to make the beef and beer stew from Everyday Dorie. I was not too thrilled. I am not a drinker and the wine or beer flavor in the stew is a disincentive. However, being in a group encourages me to go beyond my usual likes and dislikes. That’s a very good thing. Otherwise, I’d have missed out some of the most delicious dishes.

According to Dorie, beef carbonnade is the stew of choice in Belgium and in the north of France. These are the places too cold to grow wine grapes but famed for their beer. Ale, in particular, makes for a heartier stew than wine. Meanwhile, beer is more suited to its original chilly terroir and one that’s welcome as we wait for spring to show up.

Traditionally, the carbonnade pairs beef with slow-cooked caramelized onions. In fact, Dorie says it’s as much about the onions (4 medium yellow onions) as it is about the beef. The stew always has a sweet-sour edge, thanks to the addition of brown sugar (beloved in northern France) and cider vinegar. Playing the sweet-sour card, Dorie ups its punch by adding mustard, tomato paste, allspice, cloves and more thyme and bay leaves than a French cook might.

A lot of ingredients, each brings something to the table

Seasoned like that, the stew has it all: It’s sweet, sour, (just a little) bitter and chocolaty (from the ale), salty and packed with umami. There is not a hint of alcohol in the meat or the sauce. Simply put, this is the best stew that I’ve ever made or eaten. My husband and I are blown away by its incredible and complex flavor. It’s a huge hit!

How beer works in a beef stew:

Beers can add rich, caramel-like flavor to the meat with minimal cooking time. One of the most effective ways to tenderize your meat is by using beer. Beer contains alpha acids and tannins that help break down fibers in meat, making it more tender and flavorful. Marinate using beer for an hour or more is an effective way to go before roasting or grilling the meat.

Belgian ale is the star ingredient

Using beer in a beef stew recipe insures a delicious result. Beer is typically lower in alcohol and lighter in flavor than wine that is often used in stews. Moreover, the use of spices (all spices and cloves in this case) adds unique flavor to the sauce and complements the beef nicely.

Brown ales (Belgian ale, such as Chimay) and stouts are the best options for cooking. A dark beer with a chocolate-like flavor is flavor enhancing.

The longer you cook, the more alcohol cooks out. But you have to cook the stew for about 3 hours to fully erase all traces of alcohol.

Takeaway tips: It’s important to give both the beef and the onions a generous helping of TLC. Here are Dorie’s four tips:

•  Don’t crowd the meat. This is good advice for any kind of stew. Before you place the beef into its flavorful broth, it should be well browned on all sides, even a bit charred. The only way to get good color is to cook the beef in batches, making sure there’s room between each morsel. Crowd the pan, and you’ll steam the meat.
•  Let the meat brown in peace. Put the cubes in the hot pan, then leave them alone. Don’t stir the meat, and don’t turn the pieces until you must. Allow the meat to brown on one side, then turn it.
• If some bits stick to the pan, so much the better. You’ll unstick them when you add the liquid, and the stew will taste deeper and richer for their being there. However, after browning the meat and the oil has gone black, pour it out and lightly wipe the pan (leaving the bits, called the fond). Burned oil doesn’t make anything taste good.
• For the onions, patience is key. Cook them over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until they are the color of caramel. Once you achieve that color, you will get the onions’ distinctive sweetness.

Bring everything to a boil before the slow braise in the oven

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Print Recipe

Beef and Beer Stew: A Belgian-Inspired Carbonnade

By Dorie Greenspan – Serves: 6

Dorie Greenspan's take on the Flemish dish beef carbonnade, a slowly braised stew characterized by an abundance of onions, bacon and a base of Belgian ale. I serve the stew with wide noodles and micro greens.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup flour
• Fine sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 1/2 pounds chuck or other stew beef, cut into 2-inch cubes, patted dry
• 3 tablespoons flavorless oil, such as canola, or more as needed
• 6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic (green germ removed), finely chopped
• One 12-ounce bottle Belgian, abbey or brown ale or beer, such as Chimay
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth
• 2 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar (light or dark)
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste or concentrate
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• Pinch ground cloves
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 cups cubed, roasted vegetables, or as much as you like (optional)
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley, dill, chives, tarragon or mixed herbs, for serving

Instructions

1

Put the flour in a mixing bowl, season generously with salt and pepper and drop in the beef; toss to coat.

2

SEAR THE BEEF: Pour 2 tablespoons of the oil into a 4-to-5-quart Dutch oven set over medium-high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add as many beef cubes as you can without crowding them, first shaking off excess flour. The beef will steam, not brown, if the pan is too full; cook, seasoning each batch with salt and pepper, until browned on all sides. The pieces should release easily from the bottom of the pot. As the meat is browned, transfer it to a separate bowl. If you need more oil to finish browning the batches, add it as needed. Reserve any leftover flour. If the oil in the pot has burned, wipe out the pot, leaving whatever solids (browned bits) have stuck to the bottom of the pot.

3

BROWN THE BACON: Toss the bacon into the pot and cook, stirring, until it has browned and its fat has rendered; transfer to the bowl with the beef.

4

CARAMELIZE THE ONIONS: Add the butter to the pot along with the onions and garlic. Season lightly with salt and pepper; reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are caramel-colored. Be patient; this can take at least 30 minutes. If you had leftover flour, stir it into the caramelized onions and cook for 2 minutes, until it browns and loses its raw-flour taste.

5

While the onions are caramelizing, preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

6

OVEN BAKE THE STEW: Spoon the meat, bacon and whatever juices may have accumulated in the bowl back into the Dutch oven. Add the ale or beer, the broth, brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, tomato paste, allspice, cloves, thyme and bay leaves; increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Taste for salt and pepper, adding more as needed. Cover the pot tightly with aluminum foil, then with its lid, and slide it into the oven. Cook (middle rack) for 21/2 to 3 hours or until the meat is tender enough to cut with a spoon. Discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaves.

7

Serve with wide noodles, buttered or not.

8

When you’re ready to serve, stir in the roasted vegetables, if using, then sprinkle the stew with the chopped herbs. I use micro greens to top it off.

Notes

MAKE AHEAD: The stew can be refrigerated, covered, up to 2 days in advance; reheat over low heat. It can be frozen for up to 1 month

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