Cycle 12 – Cycle 242

4 (Sat) September 2021

Carbonnades à la Flamande

2.5

by me

at home

-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

with the Family

Carbonnades à la Flamande is a Belgian dish.  Beef and onions, sliced and braised in beer.  In Julia’s words: “Beer is typical for the Belgian braise, and gives a quite different character to beef than the red wine of the bourguignon.  A bit of brown sugar masks the beer’s slightly bitter quality, and a little vinegar at the end gives character.”

I used American beef, 1.5 kg of ribeye, cut from the bottom end, which is leaner and holds up better to a long braise.

It turned out okay.  The meat was braised in beer for 2.5 hours, at which point it was fork tender.  The braising liquid was poured into a pan and whipped into a gravy, with the addition of red wine vinegar, which did indeed give it a nice tanginess.  Not sure if it was worth the time and effort, but interesting as a one-off.

I should’ve used a Belgian beer (e.g., Stella Artois), but just went with Terra, which I had on hand.  Unlike most Korean beers, Terra is medium-bodied with hoppy flavor, so it worked nicely as an ingredient in the dish, and as an accompanying beverage.

(See also BOOZE)

(See also MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING)

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See also RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)