flipFlemish Carbonnade with Abbey Dark Beer
Flemish Carbonnade with Abbey Dark Beer
Why this dish? The comfort dish for long creative days. Adam prepares it the day before and reheats it the next noon: a stew that needs no supervision, perfect when you lock yourself in the workshop on Rue de la Senne.
The great Flemish classic: beef slowly braised in dark beer, sweetened with a little brown sugar and mustard spread on gingerbread, which melts and thickens the sauce. Dark, deep, comforting.
Ah, my carbonnade! I tell you straight: you make it the day before, never the same day. I brown my beef pieces well, lay a slice of gingerbread spread with mustard on top, drown it all in a good dark beer — an abbey one, eh, not lemonade — and let it simmer for three hours while I finish my panels. The secret is the spoonful of brown sugar that marries the bitterness of the beer. The next day, reheated, with fries: that's what keeps a cartoonist standing.
- •Beef for braising (chuck, cheek) — for four (meat)
- •Belgian dark beer — enough to cover (sauce base, umami)
- •Onions — a few (aromatic base)
- •Gingerbread — 2 slices (thickener and sweetness)
- •Mustard — to spread (kick)
- •Brown sugar — one spoonful (balance bitterness)
- •Bay leaf, thyme — a bouquet (herbs)
- •Lard or butter — for searing (fat)
Flemish Carbonnade with Abbey Dark Beer
The great Flemish classic: beef slowly braised in dark beer, sweetened with a little brown sugar and mustard spread on gingerbread, which melts and thickens the sauce. Dark, deep, comforting.
Why this dish? The comfort dish for long creative days. Adam prepares it the day before and reheats it the next noon: a stew that needs no supervision, perfect when you lock yourself in the workshop on Rue de la Senne.
Ah, my carbonnade! I tell you straight: you make it the day before, never the same day. I brown my beef pieces well, lay a slice of gingerbread spread with mustard on top, drown it all in a good dark beer — an abbey one, eh, not lemonade — and let it simmer for three hours while I finish my panels. The secret is the spoonful of brown sugar that marries the bitterness of the beer. The next day, reheated, with fries: that's what keeps a cartoonist standing.
Ingredients (period version)
- Beef for braising (chuck, cheek) — for four (meat)
- Belgian dark beer — enough to cover (sauce base, umami)
- Onions — a few (aromatic base)
- Gingerbread — 2 slices (thickener and sweetness)
- Mustard — to spread (kick)
- Brown sugar — one spoonful (balance bitterness)
- Bay leaf, thyme — a bouquet (herbs)
- Lard or butter — for searing (fat)
Ingredients
- Beef for braising (chuck or cheek) — 800 g, in large cubes (meat)
- Belgian dark beer (abbey type) — 33 cl (sauce base, umami)
- Onions — 3 large, sliced (aromatic base)
- Gingerbread — 2 slices (thickener and sweetness)
- Dijon mustard — 2 tbsp (kick)
- Brown sugar — 1 tbsp (balance bitterness)
- Bay leaf and thyme — 2 leaves + 2 sprigs (herbs)
- Butter — 30 g (fat)
- Salt, pepper — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Sear the beef cubes in hot butter until nicely browned, set aside.
- Melt the sliced onions in the same pot until blond.
- Return the meat, add brown sugar, bay leaf, and thyme, salt and pepper.
- Pour in the dark beer to cover, bring to a simmer.
- Spread the gingerbread slices with mustard and place them on top.
- Cover and simmer for 2.5 to 3 hours on very low heat; the gingerbread dissolves and thickens the sauce.
- Adjust seasoning. Even better reheated the next day, served with fries.
How it was made : Carbonnade (stoofvlees in Flemish) has been documented as a popular dish of Flanders since the 19th century. Cooking meat in beer rather than wine distinguishes the cuisine of the North from that of Burgundy. The mustard-spread gingerbread is the traditional thickening trick, without flour.
The contemporary twist : Serve in individual mini pots with a cone of homemade fries stuck in, like a comic strip panel where each bite tells a story.
Adam · Charactorium
