Belgian Beef Stew

Total Time: 3 hrs Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 slices bacon, about 4 oz., roughly chopped
• 4 yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• salt
• fresh ground pepper
• 3 lbs round steaks, cut into chunks about 3 inches wide (or chuck steak)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups dark beer

Recipe

• 1 in a large, heavy pot, melt 2 t of the butter over med-high heat.
• 2 add the bacon and cook, turning, until crisp, about 3 minutes.
• 3 transfer the bacon to a paper towel to drain.
• 4 add the onions to the pot, sprinkle in the sugar, and sauté until the onions are a deep caramel brown, about 35 minutes.
• 5 stir in the garlic.
• 6 transfer the onion mixture to a plate.
• 7 on another plate, stir together the flour, 1 tsp salt, and t tsp pepper.
• 8 turn the steak pieces in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess.
• 9 melt the remaining 2 t butter with the olive oil in the pot over medium heat.
• 10 working in batches, sear the steak, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes.
• 11 transfer to a plate.
• 12 pour in the beer and stir to scrape up any browned bits on the pot bottom.
• 13 bring to a boil.
• 14 return the onion mixture and the steak to the pot.
• 15 cover and cook over low heat until the meat is very tender, about 2 hours.
• 16 divide the stew among shallow bowls and serve.