Carbonnade
Carbonnade is a dish that comes from Belgium and the north of France. Large pieces of beef are slowly simmered in beer with carrots and onions. Here's a personal version.
2 hours 45 min.
Easy
6 people
8 IngredientsLast modified on: November 13th 2011
1 kg beef
2 
2 
5 tablespoons 
2 tablespoons 
1 litre beer
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 35 min.
Cooking: 2 hours 15 min.
All in all: 2 hours 45 min.
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - 10 min.
Cut 1 kg beef into large cubes.
Stage 4 - 10 min.
Pour 5 tablespoons olive oil into a large heavy-based pan on high heat.
When hot, add the pieces of meat and fry until browned on each side (do not salt, as this will bring out the juices, which will stop them browning).
When browned, remove the meat from the pan and transfer to a plate to wait.
When hot, add the pieces of meat and fry until browned on each side (do not salt, as this will bring out the juices, which will stop them browning).
When browned, remove the meat from the pan and transfer to a plate to wait.
Stage 5 - 2 min.
Use the same pan, which should now contain just a little fat, and fry the chopped onions with salt and pepper for 1 or 2 minutes, stirring from time to time.
Stage 7 - 1 min.
Add the diced carrots.
Stage 8 - 3 min.
Add 1 litre beer, then salt and pepper.
Stage 9 - 2 hours
Turn the heat down to minimum and leave to simmer for about 2 hours...
Stage 10
...until the beer has reduced to make a thick and tasty sauce. At the same time the meat will have become very well cooked tender.
Remarks
For the beer, I advise you to use a dark beer which will give stronger flavour.
In the so-called "Flemish" carbonnade, a little brown sugar or a slice of gingerbread spread with mustard is added to the dish. But, I don't feel that either is necessary.
For more flavour, you can add a beef stock cube.
Carbonnade is one of those dishes, like boeuf bourguignon for example, which is even better when it is reheated.
In the so-called "Flemish" carbonnade, a little brown sugar or a slice of gingerbread spread with mustard is added to the dish. But, I don't feel that either is necessary.
For more flavour, you can add a beef stock cube.
Carbonnade is one of those dishes, like boeuf bourguignon for example, which is even better when it is reheated.
And to drink?
The same beer as you add to the dish - a Belgian beer, of course!
I prefer "Mort-Subite" Geuze ("sudden death"!), but you can use a dark beer like Chimay, or a British-style mild or strong ale.
I prefer "Mort-Subite" Geuze ("sudden death"!), but you can use a dark beer like Chimay, or a British-style mild or strong ale.
Keeping: Several days in the fridge in a sealed container.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
| Proteins (gr) | Carbohydrates (gr) | Fats (gr) | Energy value (in k-calories) | Energy value (in k-joules) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole recipe | 190 RDI=70 % | 200 RDI=20 % | 280 RDI=40 % | 4,020 RDI=200 % | 16,840 RDI: 200 % |
| Per 100 g | 6 RDI=3 % | 7 RDI=1 % | 10 RDI=2 % | 150 RDI=7 % | 620 RDI: 7 % |
| Per person | 30 RDI=10 % | 30 RDI=3 % | 50 RDI=7 % | 670 RDI=30 % | 2,810 RDI: 30 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 6 people : 12.05 €
- Per person : 2.05 €
Change currency: 
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Beer
Like these other recipes: Ch'ti mussel tarts, Endive and beer soup, Welsh (French Welsh Rarebit), Gratin du Nord, ... See them all 4
Beef
Like these other recipes: Two-stage beef chuck , Boeuf (beef) bourguignon, Upside-down Parmentier, Taos hotpot, How to slow cook meat, ... See them all 10
Olive oil
Like these other recipes: Thin endive tart, Aperitif rolls, Pasta with mushrooms, Potato and two ham gratin, Crispy rolls with chicken and leek, ... See them all 513
Onion
Like these other recipes: Gratin Parmentier, Chicken "cantina", Veal Marengo, Eggs en Cocotte à la Française, Mushrooms on toast, French style, ... See them all 148
Other recipes you may also like
Creamy risotto with vegetables
Risotto is one of the many delights of italian cooking... Here is a version with vegetables cooked separately, and their stock used to cook rice. Delicious, as you will see...June 12th 2011387 K5 2 hours 55 min.
Brioche dough
It's a soft and rich dough, with butter and eggs which give a smooth and incredibly tasty brioche. This is the basic recipe for brioche dough, used for all other brioche-based recipes on the site.September 16th 2020525 K 44.2 14 hours 30 min.
Herb salad
Herb salad is a small salad made with leaves of all kinds of aromatic herbs, it's highly flavoured, and should be considered almost as a condiment. It really is a salad, the leaves are not chopped.October 13th 2010228 K4.6 25 min.
Real custard sauce (crème anglaise)
Real custard or vanilla sauce consists of egg yolks beaten with sugar and cooked slowly in vanilla milk. It is the base or the accompaniment for many desserts.January 17th 2018418 K 24.3 45 min.
Fruit coulis (fruit purée)
Contrary to what people usually think, coulis is not just a simple fruit purée with sugar. Of course, this is the general principle, but it's possible to make something much better and more refined. This recipe is for a strawberry coulis (see below for other fruits): how to make it, but also how...October 20th 2012776 K 43 25 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-03-30)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Follow this recipe
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.
The 1 comment already posted on this recipe