History
Flemish stew, called stoofvlees or stoverij in Dutch and carbonnade flamande in French, is a beef or pork stew made with beer and mustard, popular in Belgium, the Netherlands and French Flanders. In East and West Flanders dried prunes are often added, and the beers used include Oud Bruin, abbey brune and Flanders red. In Bruges Cambrinus cooks its carbonnade with its house beer Gambrivinus and serves it with apple sauce and fries, and 't Nieuw Walnutje and Gran Kaffee De Passage list a Vlaamse stoverij.
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Common allergens: Gluten
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 1kg beef shin or chuck, in 4cm cubes
- 3 onions, sliced
- 33cl dark Belgian abbey ale
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 bay leaves, 2 sprigs thyme
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 slices bread spread thickly with mustard
- Beef dripping or oil, salt, black pepper
Method
- Pat the beef dry, season well and brown in batches in the dripping. Set aside.
- Soften the onions in the same pot for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the flour and cook 2 minutes.
- Return the beef with the ale, vinegar, sugar, bay and thyme, and enough water to almost cover.
- Lay the mustard bread on top, crust up, to melt into the sauce.
- Cover and braise at 150C for 2.5 hours until the beef shreds with a fork.
- Stir the dissolved bread through, adjust salt, pepper and a splash more vinegar to balance.
Tip from the editors. Make it a day ahead; the sauce deepens overnight. Serve with double-fried frites cooked in beef fat.
Where to eat vlaamse stoofvlees
Vlaamse stoofvlees in Bruges
Cambrinus ★ 4.2
Cambrinus at Philipstockstraat 9 in Bruges is a beer cafe with a selection of twenty beers on tap, from Trappist ales to Lambics, and shareable snacks.
DrinkTwenty beers on tap, from velvety Trappist ales to fruity Lambics
FoodShareable snacks
TipThe kitchen at the cafe is open Wednesday to Sunday from 18:00 to 21:00.
't Nieuw Walnutje ★ 4.0
't Nieuw Walnutje at Walplein 3 in Bruges has been run since 2017 by Glenn and Lynn Vanden Broucke, serving tapas and classic dishes with a modern twist.
OrderThe tapas, or the classic dishes with a modern twist.
TipAt a top location with a beautiful view, it pairs tapas with a fresh beer or a refined glass of wine.
Gran Kaffee De Passage ★ 3.9
Gran Kaffee De Passage at Dweersstraat 26 is part of a hotel, where chef Reinart Swertvaegher and his sons Emile and Baptiste cook classic Flemish dishes.
TryClassic Flemish dishes, some with an international touch.
TipThe building began as a factory where the first Precisie television was made, later a hostel, before it became Gran Hotel and Gran Kaffee.
More cities are in research. Want vlaamse stoofvlees covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.