Carbonnade


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.
227 K 4.6/5 (36 reviews)
Grade this recipe:
Keywords:
Last modified on: November 13th 2011
For this recipe: Comment Send to a friend Ask me a question Follow Printable Diaporama
For 6 people, you will need:

Change to the quantities for:
Change measures:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 35 min.
Cooking: 2 hours 15 min.
All in all: 2 hours 45 min.
When should you start or finish this recipe?
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.
Carbonnade : Stage 1
Cut 1 kg beef into large cubes.

Stage 2 - 5 min.
Carbonnade : Stage 2
Prepare and chop 2 onions.

Stage 3 - 10 min.
Carbonnade : Stage 3
Prepare and chop 2 carrots.

Stage 4 - 10 min.
Carbonnade : Stage 4
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.

Stage 5 - 2 min.
Carbonnade : Stage 5
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 6 - 3 min.
Carbonnade : Stage 6
Return the cubed meat to the pan and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons flour.

Stage 7 - 1 min.
Carbonnade : Stage 7
Add the diced carrots.

Stage 8 - 3 min.
Carbonnade : Stage 8
Add 1 litre beer, then salt and pepper.

Stage 9 - 2 hours
Carbonnade : Stage 9
Turn the heat down to minimum and leave to simmer for about 2 hours...

Stage 10
Carbonnade : 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.
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.
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 recipe190 RDI=70 %200 RDI=20 %280 RDI=40 %4,020 RDI=200 %16,840 RDI: 200 %
Per 100 g6 RDI=3 %7 RDI=1 %10 RDI=2 %150 RDI=7 %620 RDI: 7 %
Per person30 RDI=10 %30 RDI=3 %50 RDI=7 %670 RDI=30 %2,810 RDI: 30 %
The % figures are calculated in relation to the Recommended Dietary Intake , or RDI of 2,000 k-calories (or 8,400 k-joules) per day for a woman
Possible allergens in this recipe: Gluten
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)
Other recipes you may also like
Tiramisu
Tiramisu
Classic italian recipe (the name means "pull me up" or more poetically, "take me up to the sky"). It's similar to a charlotte in its structure: layers of flavoured biscuits between layers of smooth cream.
July 27th 2013515 K5 50 min.
Real custard sauce (crème anglaise)
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 2018436 K 24.3 45 min.
Confectioner's custard (Crème pâtissière, or French pastry cream)
Confectioner's custard (Crème pâtissière, or French pastry cream)
Quite similar to crème anglaise but much thicker. It is used in many pastries like choux pastry (pâte à choux) or millefeuille.
January 27th 2017778 K 313.8 40 min.
Chocolate sauce
Chocolate sauce
This rich smooth chocolate sauce, with its full flavour, is one of the indispensable ingredients of profiteroles, but it can be used with many others desserts.
February 21th 2011321 K 24 35 min.
Five hours poultry
Five hours poultry
Perhaps simplest recipe on this site, but what a result! The idea is to cook the bird, without fat, at low temperature, covered, and for a long time. In this way, the poultry cooks so as to be almost like a "confit": soft and very tasty. The effect is more spectacular with duck because it is a rather firm meat, tough even, but with this method it can be cut with a fork like a confit. This recipe is applicable to big poultry too, it's also a response to questions like "How to cook a turkey?" or...
January 27th 2012554 K3.8 5 hours 15 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com

Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-11-02)

*Your e-mail Your first name or nickname
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Posted by:
I am not a leaving thing
The 1 comment already posted on this recipe
  • I have stumbled upon this dish in many cookbooks, JH but I never seen an actual picture! It looks delicious!!! Thank you for sharing...
    Posted by Louise november 14th 2011 at 23:20 n° 1

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.
I am not a leaving thing
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.

Back to top of page