Beef and ale casserole (carbonade flamande)

An ale and beef casserole originally from Belgium. Best served immediately, when hot.

• serves

  4

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  2:30 hours

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 150 ml olive oil
• 1 kg chuck roast, cut into 2cm pieces
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled, left whole but lightly crushed
• 1½ cups (12 oz bottle) Belgian Trappist Ale
• 1 cup (250 ml) beef stock
• 1 bouquet garni
• 4 carrots, peeled and cut into 4
• 100 g butter, diced
• 100 g speck, rind removed, diced into 1cm cubes
• 4 eschallots (French shallots), peeled and kept whole
• Salt
• Pepper

Instructions

1. On the stove top over medium-high heat, heat oil in a Dutch oven. Working in batches, add the beef cubes and brown them, about 3 minutes on each side. Be careful not to overcrowd or overlap any meat cubes or they won’t brown properly. Transfer the browned beef to a bowl. Then take out excess fat from the Dutch oven.
2. Lower the heat to medium then cook onions and garlic in the Dutch oven until soft but not burnt. Deglaze with Belgian beer then add the beef back in. Add the beef stock and bouquet garni, bring to the boil then simmer covered until beef is fork-tender, about 2 hours.
3. Meanwhile, place carrots in a pot and cover with cold water. Cook until carrots are soft enough for pureeing. Drain, reserving liquid, then leave to cool down slightly.
4. Blend carrots to a smooth puree, adding liquid if necessary. Set aside.
5. In a small sauce pan, melt half butter then sear the speck. Remove from pan and drain excess fat.
6. In the same pan, add more butter then add the eschallots. Colour eschallots until golden all over then take some liquid from the stew and braise the eschallot until tender. Set aside and keep warm.
7. When the beef is ready, drain and reserve the liquid. Take out the bouquet garni and vegetables.
8. Place the liquid back in the Dutch-oven then add carrot puree. Whisk until incorporated. Reduce liquid slightly, until desired consistency.
9. When sauce is ready, place the beef, speck and eschallots back in the pot. Bring to the boil, season with salt and pepper then serve immediately.

 

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.