Flemish Beef Stew – Stoofvlees
Flemish beef stew is Belgium’s national dish, and it’s no wonder. The stew features tender and hearty beef, smothered in a full-bodied sauce made with dark beer, mustard and syrup. It’s simply amazing with Belgian fries and even better when enjoyed the next day and makes for a great warming dinner on cold evenings.
Enjoy!
Flemish Beef Stew – Stoofvlees
Flemish beef stew is just as it sounds… a tender, slow cooked beef… but it is made Flemish by the beer they simmer it in!
Ingredients
- 1 kg stewing beef cut into cubes
- 2 large onions chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- fresh thyme a few sprigs
- fresh flat-leaf parsley a few sprigs
- 2 cloves
- 2 slices brown bread
- 2 tbsp sharp mustard
- 2 tbsp Loonse stroop or any other thick red currant syrup
- 1 l dark beer
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- butter a few knobs
- vegetable oil
- sea salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- Begin by melting a knob of butter over medium heat in a large cast iron casserole pan. Add in a splash of vegetable oil and once the mixture has heated up throw in the diced onion, sautéing it until it sweats and turns lightly golden.
- Transfer the onion in plate or container and reserve for later.
- Heat up another tablespoon or two of butter in the same casserole dish. Season the meat well with salt and pepper and add it to the pan. Brown all over, working in batches if necessary. Give it about 3-4 minutes per batch. Place the browned meat cubes in the same dish with the onions.
- Once we've finished with the meat, it's time to deglaze by adding the dark beer in the casserole pan. Turn the heat up to high until the it starts to boil and remove any residue from the bottom of the pan.
- Pour the Loonse Stroop/syrup in the pan and wait until the mixture simmers again.
- Now add the onion and beef back into the pan along with the bay leaves, thyme, parsley and cloves. Stir everything together to mix all the ingredients and let it come to a gentle simmer.
- Take the 2 slices of brown bread and spread 1 tablespoon of mustard on each one and place them with the mustard side down on top of the stew. The bread will soften and break apart into the stew and thicken up the sauce nicely.
- Allow the stew to simmer for 1 ½ hours, uncovered. Gently stir the pot every half an hour or so, then cover the casserole with a lid and give it another 15 minutes on medium low heat. Set aside.
- Take out the bay leaves and the thyme and parsley sprigs and pour in a tablespoon of vinegar before giving everything another good stir.
- At this point you can either allow it to cool slightly and enjoy it immediately, or you can leave it aside to sit for 12 hours or overnight. Resting the stew lets it develop its flavors to the fullest, so it will taste better, but we can't blame you if it smells too good to wait!
- Enjoy!
Notes
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