This time of year I find myself craving comfort food for dinner every single night. Soups and stews, pasta dishes, anything roasted – it’s all good in my book. We don’t eat a lot of red meat, a grilled steak occasionally in the summer, but that’s pretty much the extent of it. Lately, though, I’ve found myself drawn to the beef section every time I’m in the store. I picked up a chuck roast a few weeks ago and made a terrific pot roast recipe (which may eventually make it on here…) and then last weekend I couldn’t resist a package of stew meat that was on sale. Nothing says winter to me like a cut of meat cooked low and slow in the oven over the course of an afternoon until it is so tender it simply melts in your mouth.
After scanning a ton of recipes to utilize my stew meat, I settled on this carbonnade from Cook’s Illustrated. It’s a Belgian beef, beer and onion stew and could not be more simple to make. The only veggies you’ll need to chop are onions so there’s not a lot of prep, and the only real hands-on cooking time is the effort spent browning the meat, which is well worth it for all of those delicious browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Cook’s Illustrated recommends a copper-colored Beglian ale for the stew, which I confess I did not use this time as I didn’t have it on hand. Even with a lesser beer, we still loved the stew. It’s hearty and flavorful – part sweet, part sour – and let’s not forget the amazingly tender beef. I served ours atop mashed potatoes and I highly recommend going that route, but egg noodles would also work.
Carbonnade: Belgian Beef, Beer and Onion Stew
adapted from Cook’s Illustrated
3 1/2 pounds chuck roast, cut into 1-inch pieces
vegetable oil
2 pounds yellow onions (about 3 medium), halved and sliced about 1/4-inch-thick (about 8 cups)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups low-sodium beef broth
1 1/2 cups beer (12-ounce bottle or can)
4 sprigs fresh thyme leaves, tied with kitchen twine
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
Preheat oven to 300 F with a rack in the lower-middle position.
Pat the beef dry with paper towels, then season on all sides with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until very hot. Add about 1/3 of the beef to the pot – don’t crowd the meat, you want it to have space to brown properly. Brown for about 3 minutes on the first side, then flip the meat over and cook until the second side is well browned, about another 3 minutes. Transfer the beef to a bowl. Continue browning the rest of the meat in batches, adding 2 teaspoons of oil for each new batch of meat.
Once all the meat has been browned, reduce the heat to medium and add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to the pot. Add the onions, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the tomato paste. Cook, stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to loosen the browned bits, until the onions are lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the flour and stir to coat the onions. Cook until the flour is lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Stir in the beef broth, scraping the bottom of the pan again to loosen any remaining browned bits. Add the beer, thyme, bay leaves, vinegar and beef (along with its accumulated juices) to the pot. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Raise the heat and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. When the stew reaches a simmer, cover the pot partially, then transfer to the oven. Cook until the beef is fork tender, about 2-3 hours.
Remove the thyme bundle and the bay leaves. Adjust seasonings to taste before serving.
The stew can be made ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container for 4 days.
This was a great dinner, I’m looking forward to having it again real soon!
Yum – I love carbonnade, but I’ve never tried to make it. I’m sure my husband would have the appropriate beer in his beer vault, too! This looks perfect for a winter day.
Never had carbonnade but I intend to change that!! Whats not to love, beer, onions & beef!! This is winter day cooking perfection 🙂
I love the addition of beer to your stew…we, too, love comforting slow cooked beef recipes in the midst of this cold season!
yum, perfect for the weather we’ve been having
This is sooo good! I like it too. The beer gives a very nice taste.
Brindusa@ Cooking with my soul
I’m with you–bring on the comfort foods!! This looks like the epitome of it 🙂
I just have to make this, love the color. really stands out
Perfect comfort food!
Looks good!
WOW how gorgeous is that? I love a good beef stew – boeuf bourguignon is my favorite – but this looks divine as well and I’m sure my husband would adore it. Thanks for giving me a way to put a spin on things!
Yum! What a great dinner… Now I’m wishing I had some stew meat on hand so I could make this for dinner tonight.
If you didn’t want to use beer, what could you sub for that?
I haven’t tried any of these substitutes, but I think nonalcoholic beer, cider or additional beef (or chicken) stock would work.
I’ve made this twice now! Once last weekend and so good I had to make it again tonight. Mixing sweet potatoes in my regular mashed potatoes tonight to see how that tastes.
Just had to say that I made this recipe for a special family dinner yesterday and the guests are still exclaiming about its deliciousness. I did use red wine instead of beer.
Thank you so much!
With beef braised in beer until it is fall apart tender, you just can’t go wrong!
It tastes the best if you use a dark beer, something like a trappist… and I also add a slice of bread smeared with mustard in the end, let it melt into the stew to give it a great texture…. most people over here in Belgium do it that way… it’s deli 🙂
My one was a little different, having used a slow cooker, but this recipe was gorgeous!
http://www.thecooksbelly.com/2012/02/belgian-beef-carbonnade-vlaamse.html
These look fantastic! What an awesome idea I can’t wait to try this!
Thank for sharing the best recipes