Belgium Beef Stew Recipe 425

BELGIAN BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Blanch the bacon for 1 minute in boiling water. Drain.
• Place bacon and butter or margarine in a large covered pot or Dutch oven. Cook over medium heat until bacon is browned. Add onions; cook until golden. Add garlic, and cook for 1 or 2 minutes; take care not to burn the garlic. Remove bacon mixture from pot, and set aside.
• Add beef to the fat left in the pot, and brown on all sides. When meat is browned, return bacon mixture to the pot. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Add enough beer to just barely cover the meat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, and cover. Cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Remove pot from heat, and stir in parsley, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Serve hot.

BELGIUM BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Dredge the meat in the flour. In a Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Brown meat in butter, then add the onions and fry until glazed. Stir in water and vinegar. Season with thyme, bay leaves, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Mix in the beer. Spread mustard over bread, then add the bread and the carrots to the meat. Cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Mix in the brown sugar (two tablespoons is a minimum! A lot of people prefer more).

BELGIAN BEEF CARBONNADE

Steps:

• Preparation: Remove any excess fat from the beef and cut it in large cubes. Dice onions. Peel carrots and slice into coin shape pieces.
• Pour olive oil into a Dutch oven or large stew pot over a medium flame. Add diced onions and cook for about 3 minutes until they begin to sweat.
• Add the cubed beef and continue to cook about 5 minutes, making sure all the sides of the beef are brown.
• Sprinkle the brown sugar over the beef and onions. Continue to cook a couple minutes to caramelize a bit.
• Add the red wine vinegar, the beer, thyme, bay leaves, parsley and carrots. The liquid should cover the meat and carrots with about 1 cm (1/2 inch) on top. Stir. Reduce the flame, cover the pot, and let cook for about 2.5 hours. Be patient and let your stew cook slowly. Do not stir frequently.
• After 2 hours of cooking check the liquid level in the pot. If there is not much liquid for a sauce, add some water and continue to cook. Check the meat for its tenderness after 2 hours. The fork should enter the meat easily without the meat falling apart. Once it's tender go to the next step. Don't worry if the meat is ready before the time indicated above. Mine is usually done after 2.5 hours. [If you are making this dish in advance to reheat later, remove from the stove when the meat is still a little firm so that it becomes tender when reheating.]
• Add the mustard and stir.
• If the sauce is too thin, prepare a roux by mixing the flour and the butter together to make a smooth paste. Add the roux into pot and cook over low heat a few minutes to thicken up the sauce.
• Add salt and black pepper and adjust herbs to taste. You should be able to taste the meat.

STOOFVLEES (FLEMISH BEEF STEW)

Steps:

• Peel and roughly dice the onions.
• Melt a knob of butter and about 1 tbsp of oil in a large (preferably cast-iron) casserole over medium heat. Sauté the onions until soft and just starting to brown. Remove from the casserole and put into a large container.
• Add 1 to 2 more tbsp of oil to the casserole. Season the beef and add the meat to the casserole. Brown the beef cubes over medium heat in batches. (About 7 to 8 pieces of meat per batch should do the trick.) Once browned, add each batch to the onions.
• Add the Loonse stroop/syrup and beer to the casserole and turn up the heat. Bring to a boil and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the casserole.
• Once the stewing liquid comes to a boil, add the onion and beef cubes back to the casserole, along with the cloves and bouquet garni. Give the stew-to-be a good stir and bring to a simmer.
• Next, spread 1 tbsp of mustard on each slice of bread and place both slices (mustard side down) on top of the stew. (They'll disintegrate completely, adding flavour to the stew and thickening the sauce.)
• Let the stew simmer (uncovered!) for 1.5 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Then pop a lid on and simmer for another 15 minutes. This adds a touch more moisture back to the casserole, which the dish will need. Remove from the heat.
• Remove the bouquet garni (and cloves, if you can find them). Add the tablespoon of vinegar, and give your stoofvlees a good stir.
• Now comes the most difficult part. Leave it alone for at least 12 hours (with the lid on). The flavours will build up even more. It can be eaten straight away as well, but it will always taste better the day after.

CARBONNADE FLAMANDE (BEEF AND BEER STEW)

Steps:

• Marinate the beef with the beer, the garlic, the bay leaves and a pinch of salt for at least two hours, or overnight.
• Drain the beef and reserve the marinade. Pat dry the beef with paper towels.
• In a dutch oven, heat the olive oil until pipping hot. Fry the beef in batches, until golden brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove the beef cubes and reserve.
• In the same dutch oven, fry the bacon until golden and crisp. Reserve with the beef.
• Add the onions, a pinch of salt and fry in the bacon grease, until caramelized (around 10 minutes).
• Add the flour and cook for about 2 minutes until the flour is cooked and the onions are coated.
• Add the beef broth and scrape the bits stuck in the bottom. Add the reserved marinade, the beef, the bacon and the thyme.
• Cook for 1.5 hours.
• Add the brown sugar, the parsley, some fresh pepper and the mustard. Cook for 30 minutes.
• Sprinkle some fresh parsley on top and serve with fries.