Carbonnade Flamande is a classic Belgian casserole, traditionally made with beef, onions and herbs, stewed in Trappist beer. Trappist beer is brewed by Trappist Monks (an order of the Roman-Catholic Cistercian Order). According to one of their rules 'ora et labora' ('pray and work'), that states that Trappist Monks have to spend a good part of their day doing manual labour to provide for their own living, as well as to help others, the beer has to be brewed, or brewing has to be supervised, by the Trappist Monks themselves within their Trappist Monasteries, or in breweries in close vicinity to the Monasteries. Amongst several other goods, they produce a variety of Trappist Cheeses, one of them the Chimay 'Grand Classique', a fantastic, semi-soft, buttery cheese with a flavour of yeast or bread crust.
I have never been a big fan of beer, but with all the great beers in the world, I' sure this is due to my ignorance (and maybe my fear of a beer-belly... but seriously, have you ever heard of a wine-belly? Or a Champagne-belly?) But I do very much like Trappist beers. The famous Belgian Chimay 'Capsule Bleu' (= Blue Chimay with the blue bottle cap) for example, used in this recipe, with its beautiful dark colour and rose-flowery, spicy, caramel taste is a real treat.
But not only is it nice to drink, it also lends a unique flavour to this dish. Due to the long cooking time, it blends so well with all the other flavours and spices. So judging by my own taste-buds, I think appreciating the beer in general is not a pre-requisite for liking this dish.
Carbonnade Flamande is one of our favourite cold season Sunday lunch/comfort foods. I like to prepare it on Saturday evening, leave it in the oven at low temperature until late, and then the flavours have hours to infuse overnight, perfect and ready for Sunday lunch. For the same reason it's great for dinner parties and stay-over guests, as you can prepare it completely in advance, but resting assured, like with any stew, that it will only get better as it sits or is re-heated. We have served it for example as New Year's brunch once, and, judging by the faces and the empty dishes, everyone liked it. Provided it is kept at low temperature, in order not to toughen the meat, even during re-heating, it seems almost fail-save to me, and turned out great every time we made it. Just make sure to use a good piece of stewing meat.
Admittedly, I have never eaten a Carbonnade Flamande other than this one. Not sure why I never ordered it in a restaurant. And if this has not raised enough suspicion yet, the recipe I have always used I found on a UK Web site :-) But looking at other recipes I think it's pretty authentic. In any case, it is really delicious... you just have to trust me on that one... ;-)
Recipe Source: 'Carbonnade Flamande', BBC GoodFood
Serves 4:
1.2 kg Carbonnade (stewing beef, lean rump)
3 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
Salt
Freshly milled black pepper
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
250g pancetta
2 carrots
2 onions
1 leek
1 Tbsp tomato purée
350ml beef stock
1 bouquet garni (a small bunch of thyme, parsley stalks, a bay leave and app. 6 pepper corns tied in muslin)
A handful of parsley
Optional: boiled salt potatoes as side dish
Marinate the beef over night (or for as long as possible). This will help to soften the meat, but also penetrate the meat with flavour: to do so, pour the beer in a large bowl. Peel and lightly crush the garlic with the palm of your hand and add it together with 2 bay leaves to the bowl.
Cut the beef into 4 cm cubes, add to the beer and stir well so that the beef is coated and submerged in the marinade. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge overnight. Stir once during this time if possible.
The next day, drain the beef, reserving the marinade. Thoroughly dry the meat with kitchen paper. Put the flour in a large bowl, and season it with 1 tsp salt and freshly milled black pepper. Add the meat to the flour and toss to cover evenly.
Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil over high heat in a large, ovenproof casserole until hot. Shake any excess flour off the meat, then fry it in badges in the hot oil for app. 5 minutes per batch, stirring occasionally, until rich golden brown all over. This will add flavour to the dish. Remove to a plate. Fry the remaining meat, adding a little more oil between batches as necessary, but always making sure that the oil is hot before adding the next batch. Don't worry about any brown bits sticking to the bottom of the pan. They will all come off later when the liquid is added, but really add flavour of the dish.
Lower the heat to medium and fry the pancetta for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp and golden. Scoop the pancetta out with a slotted spoon and set aside with the beef.
Preheat the oven to 150C/fan 130C/300F/gas 3. Peel the vegetable, then slice the carrots and leeks and dice the onions. Add them to the pan and fry over medium heat until they start to brown, stirring occasionally, for app. 12 minutes.
Add the tomato purée and continue to cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the beef back to the casserole, followed by the reserved marinade, including the garlic and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, scraping any sticky bits off the bottom of the pan and stirring them under. Add the beef stock and the bouquet garni.
The bouquet garni can be made from a couple of sprigs of parsley (without leaves), some thyme sprigs, 1 bay leave and 6 pepper corns. Wrap in gauze and tie together with a kitchen string. In case you don't have gauze, you can also just tie up the herbs on their own with the kitchen string, and then put the pepper corns into a tea egg if at hand and add both to the casserole.
Season the Carbonnade with salt and freshly milled black pepper and bring to the boil, then remove immediately from the heat. Cover with a lid and leave to cook in the oven for 2 hours, stirring once halfway through. Through the low temperature the meat will cook slowly and the meat fibres have time to relax, resulting in tender meat.
After 2 hours check if the meat is fork-tender, which means it should be easy to divide a piece with the fork. Depending on the beef used, cooking times may vary, so if necessary just leave it in the oven a little longer. Tip: when the Carbonnade is cooked it may be cooled and frozen for up to 1 month. To re-heat, add 100ml beef stock to the sauce.
Once the beef is fork-tender, scatter over the chopped parsley (or a couple of thyme leaves for decoration) and serve family-style inside the casserole. Goes well with boiled salt potatoes, mash or jacket potatoes, and buttered greens. And of course a glass of nice and cold Chimey on the side.
Serves 4:
1.2 kg Carbonnade (stewing beef, lean rump)
400ml Blue Chimay (or another Trappist ale)
3 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
Salt
Freshly milled black pepper
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
250g pancetta
2 carrots
2 onions
1 leek
1 Tbsp tomato purée
350ml beef stock
1 bouquet garni (a small bunch of thyme, parsley stalks, a bay leave and app. 6 pepper corns tied in muslin)
A handful of parsley
Optional: boiled salt potatoes as side dish
1) Marinate the beef over night: Marinate the beef over night (or for as long as possible). This will help to soften the meat, but also penetrate the meat with flavour: to do so, pour the beer in a large bowl. Peel and lightly crush the garlic with the palm of your hand and add it together with 2 bay leaves to the bowl. Cut the beef into 4 cm cubes, add to the beer and stir well so that the beef is coated and submerged in the marinade. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge overnight. Stir once during this time if possible.
2) Drain the beef, reserve the marinade: The next day, drain the beef, reserving the marinade.
3) Dry the beef: Thoroughly dry the meat with kitchen paper.
4) Coat the beef with flour and season: Put the flour in a large bowl, and season it with 1 tsp salt and freshly milled black pepper. Add the meat to the flour and toss to cover evenly.
5) Sear the meat: Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil over high heat in a large, ovenproof casserole until hot. Shake any excess flour off the meat, then fry it in badges in the hot oil for app. 5 minutes per batch, stirring occasionally, until rich golden brown all over. This will add flavour to the dish. Remove to a plate. Fry the remaining meat, adding a little more oil between batches as necessary, but always making sure that the oil is hot before adding the next batch. Don't worry about any brown bits sticking to the bottom of the pan. They will all come off later when the liquid is added, but really add flavour of the dish.
6) Fry the pancetta: Lower the heat to medium and fry the pancetta for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp and golden. Scoop the pancetta out with a slotted spoon and set aside with the beef.
7) Preheat the oven to 150C/fan 130C/300F/gas 3.
8) Brown the vegetables/Mirepoix: Peel the vegetable, then slice the carrots and leeks and dice the onions. Add them to the pan and fry over medium heat until they start to brown, stirring occasionally, for app. 12 minutes.
9) Add the tomato purée: Add the tomato purée and continue to cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
10) Add the beef, deglaze with the marinade: Add the beef back to the casserole, followed by the reserved marinade, including the garlic and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, scraping any sticky bits off the bottom of the pan and stirring them under.
11) Add the stock and Bouquet Garni: Add the beef stock and the Bouquet Garni. The bouquet garni can be made from a couple of sprigs of parsley (without leaves), some thyme sprigs, 1 bay leave and 6 pepper corns. Wrap in gauze and tie together with a kitchen string. In case you don't have gauze, you can also just tie up the herbs on their own with the kitchen string, and then put the pepper corns into a tea egg if at hand and add both to the casserole.
12) Season and simmer: Season the Carbonnade with salt and freshly milled black pepper and bring to the boil, then remove immediately from the heat. Cover with a lid and leave to cook in the oven for 2 hours, stirring once halfway through. Through the low temperature the meat will cook slowly and the meat fibres have time to relax, resulting in tender meat.
After 2 hours check if the meat is fork-tender, which means it should be easy to divide a piece with the fork. Depending on the beef used, cooking times may vary, so if necessary just leave it in the oven a little longer. Tip: when the Carbonnade is cooked it may be cooled and frozen for up to 1 month. To re-heat, add 100ml beef stock to the sauce.
13) Serve: Once the beef is fork-tender, scatter over the chopped parsley (or a couple of thyme leaves for decoration) and serve family-style inside the casserole. Goes well with boiled salt potatoes, mash or jacket potatoes, and buttered greens. And of course a glass of nice cold Chimay on the side.
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