Beef Stew From Flemish Belgium Or Vlaamsche Stooflees Food

CLASSIC FRENCH FLEMISH BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a large bowl, toss together the beef, flour, salt, and pepper.
• Heat the canola oil and butter in a large, roomy pan and brown the beef in it on all sides in batches. If you add all the beef at once it will lower the temperature too much and the meat will boil rather than sear. Carefully watch the beef to make sure it doesn't burn though, but give it enough time to develop a nice, rich brown color-the caramelized sugars will greatly enhance the stew's flavor.
• Place all the beef back in the pan once browned and add the onions, garlic, brown sugar, parsley, bay leaf, and thyme and stir thoroughly. The onions will pick up a bit of the browned bits in the bottom of the pan.
• Raise the heat under the pan and stir in the beer and add enough beef stock to cover the beef in the pan. Bring to a boil, then cover the pan, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until the beef is tender. Keep checking to make sure the beef is simmering and not boiling dry. If it seems a little dry, add a touch more stock. The liquid in the pan also should be thickening slightly.
• Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the apple cider vinegar. Let the stew stand for 10 minutes before serving. Portion into heated bowls with the potatoes and salad on the side.
• Enjoy! Note: If you are able to make this stew a day or two in advance, you will find it is even better. And, if this dish is not already magnificent, it freezes beautifully, so make a large batch and store it in the freezer. It will keep well for up to six months. Defrost thoroughly before reheating.

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.

STOOFVLEES (BELGIAN BEEF STEW)

Steps:

• Glaze the onion in margarine in a large skillet.
• Add the beef and cook until it has browned.
• Add all of the beer, the beef, the chocolate and the bay leaf.
• Spread the mustard onto the slices of peperkoek or bread and place in top of the meat.
• Add salt and pepper to your taste.
• Leave to cook on low heat for at least 1 1/2 hours, but the longer it cooks the better it tastes, stir from time to time preventing it to burn. The sauce should have a pretty thick consistency.
• The leftovers of this recipe can be frozen or the recipe can easily be doubled.
• Enjoy!

FLEMISH BEEF STEW

Steps:

• In medium saucepan over moderate heat, melt butter. Add beef cubes and sauté, tossing occasionally, until lightly browned on most sides, about 4 minutes. Transfer to medium bowl (do not clean saucepan) and add flour, salt, and pepper. Toss to combine, then transfer to slow cooker.
• In same saucepan over high heat, bring 1 cup ale to boil, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan. Pour over beef in slow cooker. Stir in remaining 2 cups ale, onions, garlic, brown sugar, mustard, thyme, bay leaves, and cloves. Cover and cook on low 6 hours. Add bread and continue cooking until meat is tender and sauce has thickened, 2 to 3 hours more.
• Stir in lemon juice. Garnish with basil or parsley and 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).

FLEMISH BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Pat beef dry and sprinkle with pepper and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Heat oil and butter in a wide 6- to 8-quart heavy pot over high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown beef in 2 to 3 batches (without crowding), turning over once, until dark brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
• Add onions and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt to pot and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally and scraping up brown bits from bottom of pot, until pale golden, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to moderately low and cover pot, then cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are golden, about 10 minutes more.
• Add beef along with any juices on plate, bay leaves, and beer and bring to a simmer.
• Meanwhile, spread 1 tablespoon mustard on each side of bread slices, then place bread on top of stew. Simmer stew, covered, until beef is very tender, about 2 hours.
• Just before serving, stir bread into stew, breaking it up with a spoon, until it is incorporated and stew is thickened. Season with salt.