Recipe: Flemish beef and beer stew

Posted Feb 25, 2007 in Cooking with Beer

It’s pretty easy to find ways to cook with beer thanks to the “internets,” but it’s rare to find a specifically Belgian recipe. The Belgians are known to eat some of the healthiest foods in Europe and this hearty winter recipe uses not a generic beer, but recommends cooking with two of the tastiest of Belgians, the Trappists.

From About Beer:

It’s tempting to use Guiness or a Scotch ale from this recipe. But this is a Flemish, or Belguim, recipe so try it at least once with a good Belgian ale like Chimay or Orval.

(Adapted from Betty Crocker’s New International Cookbook)

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 pound lean boneless beef one inch thick
  • 1/4 pound bacon
  • 3 medium onions, sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 3 tbs flour
  • 20-24 oz beer (2 regular bottles of beer minus a few sips)
  • Bay leaf
  • 1 tbs packed brown sugar (reduce if you’re using a sweeter beer)
  • 2 tps salt
  • 1/2 tps thyme
  • 1/4 tps black pepper
  • 1 tbs vinegar
  • Parsley for garnish
Preparation: 
Cut the beef into 1/2 inch wide by 2 inch long strips. Cut bacon into 1/4 inch pieces and fry in your stew pot or Dutch oven until crispy. Remove the bacon. Leave the fat. Cook the onions and garlic in the fat until they are tender. Remove the onions and garlic. Leave the fat. Brown the beef in the rest of the fat.
Add the flour add stir until the beef is coated. Gradually stir in about a cup of the beer. Add the bay leaf, brown sugar, salt, thyme and pepper and stir. Mix in the onions and garlic. Add enough beer to completely cover.
Boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours until the beef is tender. Remove the bay leaf and stir in the vinegar. 

Serve on a bed of buttered noodles or rice. Sprinkle with the bacon and parsley.

Source: About Beer recipes

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