Recipe: Flemish Carbonnade

Name: Flemish Carbonnade
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 180 min
Total time: 200 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 3.25 lb (1.5 kg) beef, half chuck half skirt, cut into chunks (slices 5 to 6 cm on each side and 1 cm thick); 10.5 oz (300 g) smoked pork breast of good quality without rind; 17.75 oz (500 g) sweet onions (Roscoff style) thinly sliced; 1 bouquet garni; 6 juniper berries wrapped in a small piece of cloth; 0.3 cup (8 cl) good wine vinegar; 1.1 oz (30 g) brown muscovado sugar; 3.2 cups (75 cl) blonde beer of good quality (some make it with brown ale); 1.7 cups (40 cl) prepared veal stock, not thickened; 2.1 oz (60 g) strong Dijon mustard; 3 wide slices of sourdough country bread (Poilâne style); Salt and freshly ground pepper; Butter and oil

By chef patrick Asfaux 4.9/5 (44 reviews) · 🍳 30 made it

Recipe Flemish Carbonnade - Chef Patrick Asfaux — Photo: Aftouch-cuisine

Prep 20 min

Cook 180 min

Total 3h20

Servings 6 serv.

As its name indicates, Flemish carbonnade is a recipe from the north of France.

The carbonnade braises for 2.5 hours at 160°C in blonde beer and veal stock. It's a Northern France and Belgian classic requiring quality beef (chuck and skirt), smoked bacon, and sweet onions. The clever trick: spread mustard on bread slices and lay them on the meat near the end of cooking to absorb the broth and thicken the sauce.

Ingredients for 6 servings

Adjust for

servings

3.25 lb (1.5 kg) beef, half chuck half skirt, cut into chunks (slices 5 to 6 cm on each side and 1 cm thick)
10.5 oz (300 g) smoked pork breast of good quality without rind
17.75 oz (500 g) sweet onions (Roscoff style) thinly sliced
1 bouquet garni
6 juniper berries wrapped in a small piece of cloth
0.3 cup (8 cl) good wine vinegar
1.1 oz (30 g) brown muscovado sugar
3.2 cups (75 cl) blonde beer of good quality (some make it with brown ale)
1.7 cups (40 cl) prepared veal stock, not thickened
2.1 oz (60 g) strong Dijon mustard
3 wide slices of sourdough country bread (Poilâne style)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Butter and oil

Step-by-step directions

1 In a large Dutch oven (Le Creuset style), add 1.75 oz (50 g) of butter and a little oil (or lard), then brown the beef chunks until nicely colored and transfer them to a plate.

2 In the same Dutch oven, add the pork breast cut into medium lardons and the sliced onions. When this mixture has a nice color, lower the heat, add the muscovado sugar to lightly caramelize everything, then pour in the vinegar and let simmer covered for 3 minutes, then transfer to a plate.

3 In the same Dutch oven, layer the onions, then the meat seasoning with salt and pepper at each layer, another layer of onions and finally the last layer of meat, then bury the bouquet garni and the small bag of juniper berries in the center.

4 Preheat the oven to 320°F (160 °C) (gas mark 5).

5 Spread mustard on both sides of your bread slices and, shaping them slightly, place them on the carbonnade so they form a kind of lid. Pour in the beer and veal stock, add liquid until just covered, then cover.

6 Bake in the oven for 2 hours 30 minutes.

7 Your carbonnade is cooked, now remove the bouquet garni and the bag of juniper berries.

8 Serve this Flemish carbonnade with crispy fries accompanied by a good Chimay beer for example, and as in some villages in Flanders, a small bowl of apple compote.

9 We also know that many Belgians replace the slices of white bread with slices of gingerbread, but no matter: with both options possible, the recipe for Flemish carbonnade remains excellent!

10 But did you know for example that you can replace the beef with wild boar, venison, or doe to also get an excellent festive dish?

A chef's advice

Flemish carbonnade is a family dish, meant for autumn and winter Sundays when you have time and want something hearty. It's a weekend staple in Flanders and Wallonia, a centerpiece of Sunday lunch tables. The beef matters: equal parts chuck and skirt, that's the best balance of tenderness and texture. Sweet onions from Roscoff, if you find them, are ideal; otherwise, good-quality large onions work fine. Serve this with a characterful blonde beer (Chimay, Orval, a Trappist brew), not supermarket lager.

Frequently asked questions

Can I swap the blonde beer for a brown ale or dark beer?

Absolutely. Brown ale will give a deeper colour to the sauce, slightly caramelized. Dark beer brings more malt and bitterness. Just avoid very light beers or characterless pilsners, they weaken the sauce.

How long will carbonnade keep in the fridge?

Three to four days, no problem. It's actually better the next day once flavours have melded. Freeze for up to two months: cool completely before wrapping.

Should the sauce thicken on its own or do I need to thicken it?

It thickens naturally thanks to the mustard-spread bread breaking down into the stock and the natural gelatin from the beef and bacon. Don't force it with cornstarch or beurre manié. If it's still thin after 2.5 hours, remove the meat and reduce the sauce hard for 10 minutes.