
Beef carbonnade – Northern France’s answer to beef bourguignon. She’s moody, darker, more mysterious and less obvious than her red wine addled cousin with the added bonus of slow cooked onion that only adds to her intrigue. It’s heavenly and what I now deem an absolute meal rotation necessity, one that shows just how glorious a bit of chuck steak can be with a bit of slow cooked love and attention.

KATRINA MEYNINK
Beef Carbonnade – Serves 8-10
INGREDIENTS
2-3 tbsp olive oil
knob of butter
3 onions, peeled, finely sliced
1-1.5kg whole chuck steak, cut into very large chunks (approx. 4cm)
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp salt
8 French shallots, peeled
6 tbsp chopped soft herbs (I used flat leaf parsley, tarragon, chives, thyme) reserving some for serving.
2-3 dried bay leaves
1 tbsp brown sugar
800ml dark ale
1 cup (250ml) beef stock
To serve:
2 tbsp capers
more chopped fresh herbs
crusty bread for dunking

Method
Preheat oven to 150°C.
Add the olive oil and butter to a Dutch oven and place over medium heat, once the butter has just started to melt and fizz, add the sliced onions. Immediately turn the heat to low and cook until the onions are soft and translucent and not taking on any colour. Season with sea salt flakes.
Remove the onion, turn the heat back to medium/high. Place the flour and salt in a medium sized bowl and toss the chuck pieces in the mixture to coat evenly. Add some more olive oil, sear and caramelise chuck on all sides and then add the shallots. Add the cooked onion, remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Cover with the lid and pop in the oven for approx 4 hours or until the meat is gloriously soft and yielding and the liquid has reduced to a lovely sauce like consistency. It helps at the 2 hour mark to check the liquid – you want to ensure it hasn’t evaporated too quickly. You may want to remove the lid if you need the liquid to evaporate slightly. Taste and adjust for seasoning before serving.
Scatter over fresh herbs and capers to serve. Best served piping hot and glorious, ready for crusty bread dunking.
