Carbonade Flamande (Traditional Flemish Beef Stew)

Ingredients

• 1 kg beef (chuck, brisket, oxtail)
• 5 slices gingerbread
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 L brown beer
• 400 g onions
• 250 g diced smoked bacon
• mustard
• butter
• olive oil
• thyme
• 5 cloves
• 5 juniper berries
• 2 bay leaves

Method

Braising beef in beer is the backbone here. The long simmer — four to eight hours depending on the cut and your stove — breaks down collagen into gelatin, which thickens the sauce naturally without flour or cornflour. The beer provides both acidity and depth; use a brown ale or a lambic with enough character to stand up to the meat and spice. Pale lagers are too thin.

Cut the beef into 50g chunks — large enough to hold texture through hours of cooking, small enough that they finish tender rather than fibrous. Heat a cast-iron or heavy-bottomed stainless pot until it smokes slightly, then sear the beef in batches, about three minutes per side, until deeply browned. This isn't colour for show; the Maillard reaction creates savoury depth. Set the meat aside. In a separate pan, sweat the diced bacon and onions in butter over medium heat for eight to ten minutes until the onions are translucent and the bacon fat renders — this builds umami.

Pour about 200ml of beer into the empty pot, scraping the browned sediment from the base with a wooden spoon. Return the meat, then add the bacon and onions, the brown sugar, and the remaining beer. The sugar amplifies the umami and cuts any harsh bitterness. Spread mustard on the gingerbread slices — mustard acts as a flavour bridge, its pungency complementing the spices — then crumble them into the pot. The gingerbread dissolves during cooking and acts as a thickener whilst adding warmth from the spice. Tuck in the thyme, bay leaves, cloves, and juniper berries. The cloves and juniper are assertive; don't double them. Season with salt — about a teaspoon — but hold back; you'll taste again at the end.

Bring to a bare simmer, then cover and transfer to a 160°C oven. Check after two hours; the surface should barely bubble. Cook until the beef breaks apart under light pressure from a wooden spoon — usually four to six hours. If the sauce looks thin after the meat is done, remove the lid, raise the temperature to 180°C, and simmer for another thirty minutes. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon and taste of deep beef, not beer.

Serve with buttered mash or stewing-friendly bread to catch the sauce.