Carbonnade a La Flamande

Name: Carbonnade a La Flamande
Cuisine: European, Mediterranean, French
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon goose fat (or oil of your choice); 250 grams smoked lardons or 16 slices smoked bacon, snipped into strips; 4 onions (chopped); 2 teaspoons ground allspice; 2 teaspoons dried thyme; 1½ kilograms shin of beef (in approx. 4-5 cm cubes); 50 grams plain flour; 625 millilitres beef stock (cube or concentrate is fine); 4 teaspoons wholegrain mustard; 3 tablespoons soft dark brown sugar; 625 millilitres dark belgian beer (or other dark ale); 4 bay leaves; 1 teaspoon Maldon sea salt flakes (or half teaspoon pouring salt); 1 pinch of black pepper

Instructions

There is something about cooking the classics that feels like coming home and this comforting Belgian casserole is a reassuringly simple recipe — I scarcely bother to sear the meat — that feeds a huge tableful of people cosily. And — always music to my ears — it is at its best if cooked ahead, cooled and then refrigerated before being reheated. A final note: it is the shin of beef that makes this stew so sweetly succulent; by all means substitute regular stewing beef, if you must, but it will never cook to the melting softness of shin.

Updated at: Fri, 07 Nov 2025 14:34:38 GMT