Stoofvlees — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

Chunks of beef braised low and slow in dark Belgian abbey beer with caramelised onions and a slice of mustard-spread bread, yielding a rich, malty, deeply savoury stew.

Ingredients

1.2kg beef chuck, cut into 5cm cubes
4 large onions, thinly sliced
500ml dark Belgian abbey beer (e.g., Chimay Blue)
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 slices bread
2 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 bay leaves
4 sprigs fresh thyme
Salt and pepper

Instructions

1 Season beef generously with salt and pepper. Brown in batches in hot oil in a Dutch oven. Remove and set aside.
2 Add sliced onions to the pot with a pinch of salt. Cook over medium-low heat for 20 min, stirring occasionally, until deeply caramelised.
3 Return beef to the pot. Pour in the dark beer, scraping up all browned bits from the bottom.
4 Spread mustard on both sides of the bread slices and press them into the stew. Add bay leaves, thyme, brown sugar, and vinegar.
5 Bring to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook at 150°C (300°F) in the oven for 2.5 hours until beef is fork-tender and the sauce is thick.
6 Remove bay leaves and thyme. The bread will have dissolved into the sauce. Adjust seasoning and serve with frites or mashed potatoes.

Did You Know?

Every Flemish family has their own stoofvlees recipe, and the choice of beer is fiercely debated — some swear by Chimay, others by Westmalle or Rochefort.