Classic French Recipes | Carbonnade Flammande

Carbonnade Flammande

Visit the Flemish corner of France in particular, the Nord department with Lille as its capital and on the menu of any self-respecting local tavern (estaminet) you will find a selection of hearty stews that use local beer as a key ingredient. Warming and delicious they set you up for a bit of sightseeing in the often chilly winter destination.

This beef dish is so simple to prepare and will warm the heart on a winter's evening. There are many takes on the recipe. We like the BBC's Hairy Bikers version. But for authenticity use a beer from the Flemish region, there are countless small breweries there.

Ingredients:


1kg shin of beef, trimmed of any sinew, cubed
2 tbsp plain flour, seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper
75g butter
2 tbsp oil
500g onions, roughly chopped
1 sprig fresh thyme, leaves only
3 bay leaves
2 x 33cl bottles dark brown beer
250ml oz beef stock



Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

Toss the beef in seasoned flour.

Heat the butter and oil in a large ovenproof pan with a lid over a medium heat. Add the beef and brown on all sides (do this in batches). Remove the beef and set aside.

In the same pan, cook the onions until browned, then return the beef to the pan.
Add the herbs, beer and stock to the pan, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom.

Put the lid on the pan and place in the oven to cook for two hours, or until the meat is tender and glutinous.