Name: Beef Carbonnade
Cook time: 5 h 30 min
Total time: 5 h 30 min
Yield: 4–6 Servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: Boiled noodles or potatoes (optional); 2 tablespoons fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley; 2 bay leaves; 1 bottle (12 ounces) ale or lager beer; 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar; 1 tablespoon fines herbes, or heaping ½ teaspoon each thyme, oregano, sage, rosemary, and basil; 2 slices salt pork or bacon, finely diced; ¼ cup flour; ½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 3 pounds beef chuck, trimmed of excess fat and tendon and cut into ¼-inch-thick slices; 5 large onions, halved and cut into thin slices

Preparation info

4–6
Servings

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
6 hr

Appears in

Art of the Slow Cooker

By Andrew Schloss

Published 2008

About

Brittany is the England of France: pubs replace bistros, beer trumps wine, and carbonnade is their boeuf bourguignonne. Carbonnade takes advantage of the high moisture and sugar content of onions, simmering them until they collapse into a sweet, pungent syrup. Add a bottle of beer, the richness of well-exercised beef, some brown sugar, a few herbs, and several hours in a slow cooker, and you’ve got the heartiness of a British stew tweaked with a bit of je ne sais quoi.