This is a Belgian beef stew with sweetly caramelized onions and dark beer.
From the Silver Palate
1/4 lb bacon
2 very large yellow onions, peeled an thinly sliced.
1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 cup unbleached flour
1 Tbsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3 lbs beef stew, cubed
Canola oil (optional)
2 cup dark imported beer
Chopped parsley
Coarsely dice the bacon and sauté in large skillet until crisp and brown. Remove bacon with slotted spoon and reserve.
Add the onions to the skillet and cook them in the rendered bacon fat until tender, about 20 min. Uncover the skillet, raise the heat, and sprinkle the onions with sugar. Toss and stir them until they are well browned. Transfer the onions to a strainer set over a bowl and let stand while you prepare the beef.
Stir together on a plate the flour, thyme, salt and pepper, and roll the cubes of meat around in the mixture until well coated. Shake off the excess and set the cubes on another plate.
Press the onions gently with the back of a spoon to extract as much of the cooking fat as possible. Transfer fat to a kettle. Add additional fat in the form of vegetable oil if needed for browning the beef.
Set kettle over high heat, when very hot, brown 6-7 cubes at a time—do not over crowd the kettle. Remove browned cubes and continue until are done.
Pour beer into kettle and use a spoon to stir up all the browned bits from the bottom. Return the beef cubes to kettle, along with onions and bacon.
Cook for 1 1/2 hours on medium heat or until meat is tender and stew had reduce slightly and thickened.
Taste and correct seasonings. Garnish with parsley and enjoy.
