Well this is just fair but strays too far from a true Belgian stew - we are going back to our old recipe. Carbonnade should have belgian or similar ale and vinegar - not lemon juice. Take lean stew beef dredged in flour - brown and deglaze pan with broth set aside. Thick slices of regular onions (1.5 pounds) and 6 cloves of garlic crushed - brown on low heat until onions are caramelized - very dark and sweet. Add 2 cans beef broth 2 tsp thyme 2 bay leaves 2 tbsp brown sugar 2 tsps red wine vinegar and 16-24 ozs beer like Bass Ale. Cook 2 hours at 325 take lid off for the last hour to thicken. Add 2 - 3 more tsp red wine vinegar and season with salt and pepper - serve over egg noodles.
I added lots more garlic and used Guinness as the beer. Everything was great until I added the lemon juice at the end which drowned out all the other flavors and was really over-the-top. I'll try the recipe again (and again with more garlic and with Guinness); I'll definitely leave out the lemon juice though.
This is the BEST beef stew recipe I've ever made! I don't know what it was the beer the lemon juice the bacon that gave this stew such a wonderful flavor but it really was wonderful. I did the prep on the stove and then cooked it in the crock-pot. A keeper.
Having no idea what Belgium Beef Stew would turn out to be everyone was pleasantly surprised in the depth of the flavor. Very easy and yet flavorful definitely will make again.
Really unusual but excellent dish. I mean beer and lemon juice? With beef and bacon??? Something about the combination of flavors just makes for a fantastic memorable stew. I would serve this to company.
I recently used this recipe for a beer-themed party. Though it takes 2 hours to cook it definitely has a great flavor. It tastes great with beer bread. I substituted ground beef chuck and it looked a little less classy than it could've but everyone enjoyed it. My only problem was the large amounts of fatty bacon in the stew and also that it was much soupier than I'd thought it would be. I think if I make it again I might use a bit less bacon and a little more flour. I definitely loved the lemon taste mixed with the beer--and I don't even like beer!
This is a tasty rather decadent stew. Another similar recipe suggested topping it with Dijon-smeared pieces of french bread which was yummy and might offset the "soupy" concern some have.
Too much bacon for our taste. It gave the beef a strong smoky flavor.
Very rich warming stew although most British and Irish beef stews also use beer or stout in preperation.
