Stoofvlees Belgian Beef Stew Food

CARBONNADE (STOOFVLEES)

Steps:

• Cut the beef into 1 inch (2cm) cubes.
• Mince onions and dice bacon into large pieces.
• Melt the butter and sauté the onions for 10 minutes covered at low heat.
• Add the bacon then increase the heat slightly. Stir regularly but keep covered.
• After 10 minutes, remove everything except the liquid and set aside in a dish.
• Increase to maximum heat then sauté the meat in the uncovered pan. Stir regularly. The meat should be browned on all sides.
• Remove the pan from the heat.
• Put the meat in a dish keeping the juices in the pan.
• Dissolve brown sugar in the remaining liquid and make a reduction. You should have about half of the original liquid.
• Once reduced, turn the heat to low and add the bacon and onion mixture then the meat and stir.
• Add the bouquet garni and cover with the beer. Add a little salt.
• Gently cover the entire surface with gingerbread on which you would have spread mustard.
• Simmer, covered, for 3 hours without stirring, until the gingerbread is melted.
• If after three hours, the juice is too liquid, uncover the pot and continue to simmer.

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

Steps:

• Brown beef and pork in olive oil plus one tablespoon of butter.
• Remove meat.
• Drop onions and sugar into meat drippings and saute till tender.
• Add meat back to onions and fill pan with 5 cups of water.
• Add beer.
• Spread a thick layer of mustard on each slice of bread and lay on top.
• of meat and sauce.
• Cook with a lid on top of stove for 2 hours.
• Stew mixture should cook just at the boiling point.
• Remove lid and continue to cook till liquid has reduced to half and meat is tender.
• Bread should have disolved into sauce.
• Thicken with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water.
• Serve with potatoes, rice, or Belgium (french) fries.

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.

DARK FLEMISH BEER STEW "STOOFVLEES OF STOVERIJ"

Steps:

• Take a big pot with a thick base. Wash the stew meat and remove from tendons. Cut the onions into not too thin slices, mince the garlic cloves.
• Add butter to a frying pan and fry the meat chunks until browned. Add the onion now.
• Fill the herbs and spices into a tea egg so you can easily remove them at the end. Add the dark beer and all the spices to the pot.
• Cover the pot and let it simmer on low heat 2 - 3 hours until the meat is tender.
• Uncover the pot, add the mustard and place the slices of bread on top of the dish. Let it simmer until the desired thickness of the stew is reached. The bread will slowly dissolve and thicken the dish.Add the vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Serve with French Fries.