Flemish BEEF CARBONNADE

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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So happy to serve this for my Master Indy.

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