Carbonnade: Beef, Beer and Onion Stew
Ingredients
3 1⁄2 pounds chuck roast or steaks, cut into 1-inch pieces
Olive oil
2 pounds onions, sliced into 1⁄4-inch half moons (3-4 medium onions)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1⁄2 cups beef broth
12 ounces beer (I used whatever random beer Art picked up last time he bought beer.)
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon cider vinegar or red apple balsamic vinegar (I need to stock up on this stuff.)
Instructions
1. Heat oven to 300*F.
2. Season beef with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1⁄4 to 1⁄3 of the beef to Dutch oven in a single layer. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until one side of meat is well browned, then remove from Dutch oven. Add more oil if necessary and repeat with remaining beef.
3. Reduce heat to medium and add 1 tablespoon oil. Add onions, 1⁄2 teaspoon salt and tomato paste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add flour and stir to coat onions. Cook until flour is lightly browned, about 2 minutes.
4. Stir in beef broth, scraping bottom of pan with wood spoon to loosen any browned bits. Add beer, thyme, bay leaves, vinegar, and beef along with any accumulated juices. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Increase heat to high and bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Cover pot partially with lid then transfer to oven. Cook until beef is tender, about 2 to 3 hours.
5. Remove thyme and bay leaves before serving.
Comments
This recipe is from Tracey’s Culinary Adventures and I found it while looking for a way to use up the chuck roasts and steaks in the freezer. Cuts from the chuck of the cow tend to be great for braising which happens to be one of the only meat preparations that Art Does Not Like. No pot roasts for him, thank you very much! However, we’d gotten some chuck roasts and steaks in our meat CSA, so I needed to use them up regardless of Art’s feelings.
This was fantastic. Very reminiscent of beef stew with great, rich flavors in the sauce. I could easily see adding carrots, celery, and potato cubes to turn this into a heartier beef stew if I ever get to make it again.
I served this with potatoes, but it would work very well over just about any sort of starch. I’ll be having some of the leftovers with rice at some point.
Shown here with BBQ Potatoes.
Internet - Tracey’s Culinary Adventures