What
really gives this meal its distinctive character is the addition of
brown sugar and a dash of cider vinegar, a sweet-sour combination
that plays beautifully against the caramelized onions and rich beer.
The
classic Belgian/Flemish beer-and-beef Carbonnade is sure to be a hit
in your household - especially since you can easily adapt it to your
kitchen, and to many dietary restrictions. Once you've finished the
initial skillet-based flavor-building steps, it can be finished with
an electric pressure cooker (e.g. Instant Pot), slow cooker, or on
the stovetop. It's easily made dairy-free, and with a bit of
effort, it can be made gluten-free as well.
We
start off with a cooking technique that will come in very handy for
all your sauce and gravy making!
Ingredients:
2.5
lbs chuck steak (or any cuts of beef suited to slow cooking)
4
onions (finely sliced)
1
TBS butter
1
TBS vinegar
1
TBS brown sugar
1
TBS flour (toasted)
1
tsp Better Than Bullion – beef flavor
1
tsp Old Bay seasoning
13.5
fl oz Belgian dark ale ()
tbsp
of oil for frying meat
Salt
and pepper to season
Some
extra water as needed to top up
====
How (and Why) to Toast Flour
Toasting
flour before you use it cooks out the raw taste so that it lends a
nutty, more complex flavor. Use toasted flour to thicken soups or
make roux for sauces.
The
longer you cook flour, the darker it gets in color and the deeper it
becomes in flavor.
Directions:
Line
a baking pan with foil. This will come in handy.
Measure
out a cup of flour and spread in an even layer. You can toast your
flour at any temperature in the 300°F
to 400°F
range, so just heat the oven to whatever temperature you need it to
be at for your recipe.
Once
you’ve preheated, just pop the pan into the oven and allow the
flour to toast, stirring once halfway
through.
At
350°F,
flour
will take about 10
minutes total.
Stir after 5
minutes.
As with anything that’s prone to easily burn, keep a close eye on
things; the flour should be nutty smelling and reach a slightly
deeper/more golden shade of its original color. Then, allow your
flour to cool as you proceed with preparing the other elements of
your recipe or storing what you don't need right away.
Storage
is easy by picking up the foil and shaping into a funnel. Then pour
into a seal able jar for use in sauces and gravies.
Flemish
Beef Carbonnade Directions:
Preheat
the oven to 300
°F.
Cut
the beef into thin steaks by cutting in half sideways and season them
with salt. Thinly slice the onions.
Bring
a Dutch oven with a tablespoon of oil to high heat, then sear the
meat to a brown color on each side. Do this in stages to avoid
overcrowding the pot. When done transfer to a dish and sprinkle the
toasted flour over the meat and cover with foil. Turn the heat down.
Add
a nudge of butter to the pot and cook the sliced onion (make sure the
heat is not too high) for at
least 15 minutes,
stirring from time to time. The onions need to be almost
caramelized. Add a tsp of “Better Than Bullion” Beef flavor and
1 tsp of Old Bay seasoning to the onions as they cook. Once cooked,
set them aside in a bowl.
Now
layer the ingredients in the pot.
Start
with a layer of meat followed by a layer of onions.
Repeat
the process with the rest of the meat and onions.
Pour
the vinegar over the meat, followed by the brown sugar, and finish
with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Pour
the beer into the pot followed by the meat juices remaining in the
dish on which the meat was reserved after browning.
Finish
off by adding water if needed. The liquid should just about cover the
ingredients.
Place
the lid on the pot and put it in the oven. Cook for 3
hours
until the meat falls apart.
While
that cooks: Prepare the dumplings by adding to a pan of cold water
and heat to a boil for 6 mins.
Here
we serve some sweet-sour green beans and a pineapple casserole.
====
Pineapple Casserole
A
sweet, savory, Southern casserole recipe with pineapple, buttery Ritz
crackers and sharp cheddar cheese traditionally served with baked
ham.
Ingredients
1
20-oz can pineapple chunks or tidbits in juice
¼
cup reserved pineapple juice
¼
cup flour
½
cup sugar
1½
cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
¼
cup melted butter
1½
cups butter cracker crumbles, divided
Instructions
Lightly
spray a shallow 1-quart baking dish with oil or rub with butter. A
small pie plate works great!
Drain
pineapple, reserving ¼ cup juice. If there isn’t quite enough
juice, just add OJ or water.
Combine
reserved juice and flour in a bowl then mix until smooth. Add sugar,
drained pineapple and cheese then stir until combined.
Gently
stir in half of the cracker crumbles then spoon mixture into baking
dish.
Stir
remaining cracker crumbles with melted butter then spread evenly over
pineapple mixture.
Bake
alone side of the beef
for
30
- 35 minutes
or until cheese is melted and crackers are starting to brown.
=======
Sweet and Sour German Green Beans with Bacon and
Onions
German
green beans feature crisp-tender green beans warmed in a sweet and
sour sauce with bacon, onions, cider vinegar and brown sugar. It
makes a delicious healthy low carb side.
Ingredients
1
pound frozen green beans, or caned
4 slices bacon, diced
¼
cup onion, finely chopped
2
TBS apple cider vinegar
2
TBS water
1
TBS brown sugar
¼
tsp salt
1
tsp whole grain mustard
Instructions
Chop
the onions, and dice the bacon.
Zap
the green beans in a microwave according to package. Or if using from
the can, drain well.
In
a large frying pan, cook the bacon pieces for 4 minutes until almost
crispy. Add the onions and saute until they begin to soften.
Add
the cider vinegar, water and brown sugar to the bacon and onions and
stir. Let simmer to reduce slightly. Then measure the whole grain
mustard into the pan.
Lastly,
add the green beans and stir to coat. Cover and let heat through.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
=======
When
the meat is cooked, serve each portion sitting on a nest of dumplings
and have some onions spread on top.
*Instead
of dark ale you can use beef broth, chicken broth, mushroom stock,
apple juice, apple cider, root beer, or coke.
If
you decide to use soda or juice in place of the beer called for in
your recipe, expect your dish to be a bit sweeter than it would if
the beer was used. This
is easy enough to remedy with a bit of vinegar or lemon
juice.
Just taste your recipe and adjust it a splash at a time until you're
happy with the results.
Using
a broth as a beer substitute will add a wonderful depth of flavor to
your recipe, but it could also add some sodium. Use a sodium-free
broth
or consider omitting the salt called for in your recipe until you've
had a chance to taste the dish. You might find that the broth has
added all the salt you need.
For
our music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFxMaeaBjGg
Wooden Heart
So
happy to serve this for my Master Indy.
socialslave
To
satisfy and restore.
To
nourish, support and maintain.
To
gratify, spoil, comfort and please,
to
nurture, assist, and sustain
…..I
cook!
Please
buy slave's cookbook:
The
Little Black Book of Indiscreet Recipes by Dan White
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F315Y4I/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_vAT4sb0934RTM
via @amazon
