No small debt is owed to Everybody Eats Well in Belgium, though I've tweaked the recipe to my own tastes. Early versions of this recipe used North Coast Brewing's Old Rasputin imperial stout, though I've also had success with Newcastle and Bell's Best Brown.
2lb Good stew beef {Chicago: Paulina Meat Market. New Paltz: Jack's Deli, on Main Street.}
1lb Button mushrooms, stemmed {save the stems for stock}
2 Large carrots
2 Medium onions
1 750 ml bottle of a Belgian dobbel - Chimay Red, Affligem, etc {I use Ommegang}
1 Shot of framboise or cassis lambic {save the rest for dessert. I prefer cassis, and find framboise cloying}
Pinches of thyme, marjoram, basil, rosemary, that sort of thing
Dredge yer beef in flour, salt and pepper.
Brown the beef in a big iron skillet, and mind you don't cook it. Place browned chunks in a stew pot or dutch
oven.
Dice the onions finely and brown them in the same pan. Try to get them close to the color of the beef, without burning
{low heat and a lot of stirring helps}.
While browning the onions, crack open a bottle of beer. Nothing too strong, what? Pour it in a proper glass. Enjoy a
few sips and get to work on the carrots and mushrooms.
I like to peel the carrots lengthwise with a peeler, so I end up with these nice, long orange ribbons, and eat
any small chunks that I can't peel easily. Toss the ribbons in the pot.
Check on the onions. Have some more beer. Do NOT check your email or work on beats.
Pat the mushrooms clean with a dry {or barely damp} paper towel. Put the stems aside, and drop the mushroom caps whole
in your stew.
When the onions are brown, pour them into the pot. No need to scrape the pan, you're not done with it, yet.
Put the pan on a low-medium flame, pour the entire bottle of Belgian ale into the skillet. You're deglazing this bitch!
Run your spatula around in the pool a few times to catch any stuck onions or roux. When it's about to boil, pour it all
into your pot and scrape the skillet clean.
Put a lid on the pot and simmer for like three hours, at least. Four's even better. Stir every 20-30 minutes.
About fifteen minutes before serving, add your pinches of herbs and spices, crack open that lambic and pour a shot of it
in there. Trust me, it works wonders.
You now have manna from heaven, and the best Saint Stephen's/Boxing day lunch imaginable.
Subsequent experiments have yielded Nachos Belgium, but you probably don't want to know...
But if you must, toast some locally-made tortilla chips, cover with hot stew and shavings of quality English farmhouse cheddar from Neal's Yard Dairy, and broil until the cheese is bubbly. Serve with something hoppy, or something malty; it works both ways.