Flemish-style beef stew with beer

Working in Brussels for so long, I though it was about time I tried cooking a bit of the local cuisine. And what better place to start than with Flemish-style beef stew with beer.

A visit to Amazon and a copy of The Food and Cooking of Belgium by Suzanne Vandyck later and it was off to the kitchen, bottles of Belgian Brown Beer in hand.

Ingredients

• 500g / 1/4 lb of Braising Steak cubed
  
• Plain Flour
• Butter
• Olive Oil
• 1 Large Onion Diced
  
• 2 Garlic Cloves pealed and chopped. Whack them with the flat of your hand or a knife blade (careful) prior to pealing.
  
• 1 or 2 330 ml/11 1/2 fl oz bottles of Dark Belgian Beer such as Chimay (I used Chimay Bruin), plus a few more bottles for drinking.
  
• A bouquet garni lashed together of 3 sprigs of thyme, 6 of parsley and 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
• 2 tbsp Brown Sugar
• 2 or 3 slices of rustic bread
• 2 tbsp (ish) of Dijon Mustard
• A fistful of fresh parsley chopped
• Salt and Freshly Ground black pepper

Preparation

• First add a couple of pinches of salt (if possible Maldon Sea Salt) and 6 or so turns of a pepper mill to a food bag containing a couple of tablespoons of flour.

• Add the meat in batches to the flour, shaking the bag, in a closed state to coat. Shake off any excess flour and put to one side. If you run out of seasoned flour before the end, hey it's not the end of the world as we know it, add some more.
  

• Heat a good knob of butter and add a tbsp or two of olive oil to a large flame proof caserole dish, preferably cast iron, over a medium to high heat.
  

• When sizzling add the meat and brown in batches. As with the flour, add a tad more oil if it runs out. Put the browned meat to one side on a plate.
  

• Add the onion and cook on a low heat for about 6 to 8 minutes till soft, then add the garlic and give it another 3 minutes. In this time stir, shake and otherwise agitate your veggies to stop them burning.

• Return your browned meat to the pan and combine with the onions.

• Add enough beer to just cover the meat. If like me you used one and a half bottles, hurrah, celebrate by drinking the remainder.

• Bring the mixture to just below boiling point, then add the herbs vinegar and sugar. The sourness of the vinegar should be offset by the sweetness of the sugar. Have a taste, as with Thai cooking, if too sour add more sugar, if too sweet, add more vinegar. If just right, fantastic!

• Cover and cook over the lowest heat your hob can muster, stirring every now and then. If your herbs went in loose, try to keep the together, it makes removal easier.
  

• After an hour and a half, or when the meat is tender, remove the herbs (hey I did warn you).
  

• Slice your bread, if unsliced, carving off enough to cover the surface of your stew in a single layer. Spread with a generous amount of the Dijon mustard and lay mustard side down on the surface of the stew. Spoon over some of the liquid, cover the pot and leave to cook for a further 20-30 minutes.

• The bread should by now have absorbed some of the juices and dissolved to thicken the stew. If needs be help the dissolving along with the aid of a spatula.

• Taste and if needs be add some more salt and pepper to taste.

• Serve with fries, mashed potato or breads, sprinkling the chopped parsley over the stew for garnish.

• For drinks to serve with it, I'd reccomend more of the beer you used in it's cooking.
  

• If you've got them, also serve with Belgian pickles, or a suitably rustic local equivalent.
  

This stew was wonderful and thoroughly recommended. If you do it some time, make the effort to get a good quality Belgium Brown beer to use in it. It makes all the difference. It also warrants a damn fine piece of braising steak, in my case I paid a visit to Edinburgh farmers market to get some quality coo.

I'd also strongly recommend that you get yourself a copy of The Food and Cooking of Belgium. This is a marvelous cookery book, doing full justice to what has to be one of the most underrated cuisines on Earth. Beautifully illustrated it delves into the history, culture and traditions of Belgian food, before launching into 60 mouth watering recipes. The author, Suzanne Vandyck, was born in Belgium and runs a cookery school, Worldchefs, specialising in world cooking. Check out their website at www.worldchefs.net, there a few recipes there for you to try (after giving the beef stew a go that is).

Stay tuned for my next foray into the wonderful world of Belgian cooking. Coming to a table near me soon.

Eet Smakelijk!