Carbonnade beer beef stew

Many cultures have their versions of a beef-in-broth dish. The Flemish take uses beer, but follows the same slow braising method of the French wine-soaked version. Both use bacon to add a smoky, salty note. And both make great comfort food, starting with that first sizzle of onions in butter and ending with buttery broth.

It's the kind of recipe you haul out in the short, cold days at the end of the year, after you've survived your umpteenth family Christmas gathering but aren't yet ready for the lean January purge.

We braved the crowds at the Delacroix-inspired exhibit at the MIA before coming home to fire up the biggest Le Creuset pot with this version. And now it's time to crawl under a pile of throws and pretend we don't have to go back to work and winter snow tomorrow.

Carbonnade

From Saveur “The New Classics Cookbook.” I've cooked some recipes from this book before, courtesy of the library copy. Now I can cook from my own copy, courtesy of Chelsea. Merry Christmas.

Ingredients

2 pounds beef chuck, cut into 2-inch by ½-inch thick slices, salted and peppered

¼ cup flour

4 tablespoons butter, divided

4 slices bacon, finely chopped

3 medium onions, thinly sliced

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 cups Belgian ale

1 cup beef stock

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

3 sprigs fresh thyme

3 sprigs fresh parsley

2 sprigs fresh tarragon

1 bay leaf

Method

Toss seasoned beef with flour to coat. Heat 1 ½ tablespoons butter in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Brown half of beef, turning until browned on all sides. Remove them from the pot as they brown and set aside. Add ½ tablespoon butter and repeat with the second batch. (Or divide it into more batches if you need to avoid crowding.) Remove from pan and set aside.

Add bacon to pan. Cook until fat renders (not until crisp). Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter and the onions, sauteeing until caramelized, about a half hour, and adding garlic when onions are closing in on doneness.

Add half the beer and cook, scraping up brown bits on the bottom of the pan, until it’s slightly reduced. Return beef to pot and add remaining beer, stock, herbs and some salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Simmer over medium-low heat, covered, until beef it tender, about 1½ hours. Serves 4 reasonably well.

Rating: I've made at least one other version of carbonnade before, and like this one the best so far. (Dave, I'm sure, would claim it's because he sacrificed one of his home brews for it.) Taking the time to let the onions reach the caramelized state helps add richness. It's family food, not company food, but that doesn't mean it's not tasty. It makes a rich spoon-coating liquid that splits the difference between a broth and a sauce.