Comments on: Flemish Beef and Beer Stew (Carbonnade Flamande)

By: Audrey

Audrey — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 06:20:02 +0000

In reply to Michèle.

Thank you so much Michèle and so sorry about the website issue. It was well beyond my scope to fix, and had to get a developer to look into it for me. Things should be back to normal now, so I appreciate the understanding on your end.

Now, I will never speak ill of Julia – her recipes are a staple and so important in the popularity of French recipes, especially abroad. But that said, I can say I much prefer my version of the Carbonnade, and I’d love to know if you agree 🙂

By: Michèle

Michèle — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 20:57:48 +0000

Delicious. I made this yesterday when your site was down. Fortunately I remembered the ingredients, some of the amounts, and estimated the others, from having looked at the recipe several times previously! I was also able to refer to the Julia Child recipe I have used in the past. Interesting that hers uses a Pilsner beer, light brown sugar, and cornstarch instead of flour. I think I will have to make one of each recipe at the same time so I can compare them side by side!!
Thank you Audrey for another great recipe.

By: Audrey

Audrey — Sun, 12 Jan 2025 07:11:01 +0000

In reply to Elizabeth. Thank you so much, Elizabeth! Great to know it still worked with wine, I've never done it myself, but when isn't wine delicious in a stew!? Enjoy!

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Sun, 12 Jan 2025 03:23:17 +0000

I made this recipe and had to substitute red wine for beer – but it was still incredible! I did use a good cut of meat (so it required less time in the oven) and the flavours were wonderful. I used the stew to make a pie with and it was delicious.

By: Audrey

Audrey — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 08:55:35 +0000

In reply to Docmike. Merci! My husband has been asking for this lately, it's absolutely his favorite. Glad you enjoyed it as well :)

By: Docmike

Docmike — Sun, 05 Jan 2025 17:41:14 +0000

Excellent recipe, great for a cold day. We’ll do this again. Thank you!

By: Al

Al — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 01:24:14 +0000

Trappist Tripels are not brown ales. They are golden & rather hoppy (relative to most Belgian ales). They would not be appropriate for the Carbonnade Flamande. The style of beer most commonly used in Carbonnade Flamande is Flanders Brown (aka Oud Bruin) ales, such as Liefman’s Goudenband or Petrus Oud Bruin. Flanders Brown ales are slightly tart, from lactic fermentation, which would be missing in a Trappist Dubbel. I have substituted German Doppelbock & a tablespoon of lemon juice for the Flanders Brown when I didn’t have any on hand and it was pretty close.

By: Audrey

Audrey — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 16:32:01 +0000

In reply to Ex_Expat. Wow, that is incredibly high praise. I am absolutely honored! It really is a great make ahead stew, as odd as that sounds. It's great the day of, but something magical happens as it sits overnight. So glad you agree and so glad this will be a part of your rotation! Merci.

By: Ex_Expat

Ex_Expat — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 16:14:05 +0000

I scoured at least 20 recipes for Carbonnade Flamande before deciding on this one. I made this exactly as written about a month ago. Sunday pot roast is now a thing of the past for us! As you predicted, and everyone here confirms, it really IS better the next day. Which makes it just about the perfect meal for dinner guests, as all I have to do is reheat and make sides. I have a few standout stars in my “dinner guest” repertoire, and this takes pride of place! Thank you!

By: Audrey

Audrey — Sun, 10 Dec 2023 11:34:52 +0000

In reply to Diana Stacey. Diana, I really hope you'll enjoy it. My husband is off to the butcher tomorrow to get some beef to make this soon, as he's been craving it big time. It's such a rich and comforting dish, absolutely perfect for a rainy and/or cold day. Hope you enjoyed your trip, we might be headed there ourselves in the near future.