Carbonnade flamande or Flemish karbonaden: a strong meat stew with beer and molasses. Serve this stew with a portion of golden Belgian fries!
Now here is another recipe from my culinary heimat!
In English this stew is known under the name of carbonnade flamande.
Or in other words Flemish karbonaden stew, a classic Belgian rich meat stew with beer.
And because of these main ingredients you can also imagine that it is a very popular dish where I come from.
What I love about this recipe is how many versions you can find. It is such a simple stew to make so lots of people make it at home and therefore also have their own special recipe for it.
Carbonnade Flamande Stew
Mine is delicious, and then the carbonnade flamande stew of my brother looks absolutely the same but taste a little different.
I like how people add their own twist to this classic beef stew!
So where does that difference mainly come from?
Well I guess that it is because some use a secret ingredient, or add something that doesn’t traditionally go into this carbonnade flamande stew but is a creative touch!
But first let me tell you something about the meat that I use for the recipe below here.
Pork or Beef
Karbonaden actually is the Flemish name for a specific shoulder and back cut of pork. You might also have heard of its synonym ‘stoofvlees’ as well, which looks very similar to a karbonaden stew.
However because we mainly prepare stoofvlees (which literally means ‘braised meat’) with beef chuck, that stew can be a tad darker in color than the pork carbonnade flamande stew version.
But then these 2 names are quite often used interchangeably.
Carbonade
Anyway, the recipes are more or less the same – only the meat can be different.
Can be, because in France for instance ‘carbonade’ stew is also prepared with beef. Carbonade flamande or carbonnade flamande, the spelling is a little different in French sometimes. And flamande means from Flanders, in this case Flemish kabonaden stew.
Pear Molasses
Here is my Flemish version.
So like I mentioned before: the main ingredients here are meat and beer!
And a special ingredient which makes this stew rich and a tad sweet and sour as well.
I am talking about Belgian pear molasses from a Belgian city by the name of Liege. We call it ‘echte Luikse siroop’ in Flemish which means so much as ‘real Liegeois syrup’.
Liegois Syrup
This sweet and tacky stuff is very popular down there because it is so addictive. As a kid I would spread it on sandwiches or on warm crepes and pancakes.
Delicious!
You can use any kind of pear or fruit molasses here in this carbonnade flamande stew. Or just stick to the brown sugar then, that works out well too. Some people even add a small slice of gingerbread loaf. We call it ‘peperkoek’ here, which literally translates as ‘pepper cake’.
Kruidenkoek is also a Flemish name for it, spiced cake.
Can you find pear molasses around where you live?
How To Serve Carbonnade Flamande Stew
What are some good old side dishes for this stew?
Well I prefer to serve the carbonnade flamande stew of course with a gorgeous portion of golden Belgian fries, a good dollop of homemade mayo and a crunchy green salad on the side.
Or a classic potato mash with a side of buttery carrots and peas.
Crockpot
This Flemish carbonnade flamande stew has to simmer and stew for quite a long time to get as tender and as soft as possible. And because of that then, you can also prepare it in a crockpot or pressure cooker of course!
I hope that you like this recipe!
Enjoy!
Easy Flemish Carbonnade Flamande Beef Stew Recipe
Carbonnade flamande or Flemish karbonaden: a strong beer stew with beer!
- 3 lbs pork or beef chuck (1350 g)
- 1 small onion chopped
- 3 cups Belgian dark ale (720 ml)
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 cups beef stock (480 ml), warm
- 1 tbsp strong mustard
- 1 tbsp pear molasses optional
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 1 clove
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- nutmeg
- pepper
- salt
Add the butter, bay leaves, fresh thyme and clove to a large pan.
- Place the pan over medium heat until the butter has melted. Then fry the herbs and spices for 3 minutes until fragrant. In the meantime dice the meat up into large pieces. Don’t make them too small because they will shrink while stewing. Add the meat to the hot pan.
- Stir and then brown the meat on all sides for 5 minutes. Add the chopped onion to the browned meat. Also add the strong mustard. Season generously with pepper and salt.
- Stir the meat and onions well. Cook for 4 minutes. Then add the brown sugar. Pour in the dark ale and half of the warm beef stock.
- Bring all the ingredients to a rolling boil. Then cover the pan and turn the heat low. Bring the stew to a simmer and cook it for 3 hours. Stir regularly. Add extra water, ale or beef stock if necessary. The meat should be very tender and the beer should almost have disappeared.
- Turn the heat off and let the stew cool down for an hour. Then pour in the rest of the beef stock and add the pear molasses (optional).
Place the pan back over medium heat and simmer the stew uncovered for another hour until you end up with a nice sauce. Then check the seasoning and add extra pepper, salt, brown sugar or mustard to taste. Scoop the carbonnade flamande stew onto deep plates and serve hot with fries.
Very nice dish and my first Belgian recipe I have tried! It was soo good!
Verdomme toch! Het water loopt me letterlijk in de mond. Wat een vreselijk smakelijke foto’s, zeg! ‘Ons bomma’ had ook zo haar eigen receptje voor stoofvlees. Die deed er altijd een klein stukje pure chocolade in. Wanneer ik hier in A’dam voor mijn bezoek weleens Vlaams stoofvlees maak, dan doe ik daar ook altijd een stukje chocolade in. That does the trick, every time! 😉 Sinds ik besloot dat ik een hondje wilde, kreeg ik geen hap vlees meer door de keel. Inmiddels is het bijna zover (dat hondje, dan) en inmiddels ben ik ook alweer een beetje van mijn… Read more »
Thanks dear friends!! Haha once a Belgian always a Belgian so I need my weekly portion of fries… especially when I’m cooking dishes like these with a nice pool of sauce to dip them in! Thanks for your appreciation!! Big kiss xx 🙂