This is our take on the famous Flemish dish, which is normally made with a sweet, strong Belgian beer. Our Death or Glory is a worthy replacement with its rich, sweet malty notes. For this dish, it is worth getting a quality stewing beef with good fat marbling as it will help the meat melt in your mouth. This is perfect dinner party food as it can be made well in advance and reheated if necessary. Serve with a slightly chilled bottle of Death or Glory for the complete experience.

INGREDIENTS (serves 6)

1 kg stewing beef (cut into approx. 2cm cubes)
5 slices of smoked streaky bacon (roughly chopped)
3 tbs. olive oil
4 medium onions, roughly chopped
2 x 330 ml bottle of Death or Glory Ale (or similar barley wine)
4 heaped tbs. plain flour
3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp. dried thyme
2 fresh bay leaves
1 tbs. Death or Glory mustard (or similar grain mustard)
1 tsp. Brown sugar
2 heaped tbs. tomato purée
250 ml concentrated beer stock (add 1 stock cube to 250ml boiling water)
1 tsp. salt and loads of freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 180C. Add the salt and ground pepper to the flour and mix well in a large bowl. Now add the beef and toss to ensure the meat is coated. In a suitable heavy-based casserole dish, add the oil and heat on the hob. Next add the meat in small batches ensuring that it is browned on all sides. When each batch has browned, remove and brown the next, adding a little more oil if necessary.

Once all the meat has been browned leave to one side and add the chopped bacon to the oil and stir until the fat has rendered. Now add the onion and garlic and cook while stirring for a further 5 minutes until they just starts to colour.

Next add the remaining seasoned flour, left from coating the meat, and stir into the onions for a minute or two. Now slowly add the first bottle of beer making sure you continue to stir and scrape any residue from the bottom of the dish. When you have mixed in the first bottle, add the second and the concentrated stock. You can now add the thyme, sugar, mustard, tomato puree and bay leaves. Mix thoroughly and add back the meat, including the juices that have escaped. Place the lid on the casserole dish and place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours.

Half an hour from the end of the cooking remove the casserole lid, as we want to reduce the contents a little. At the end of cooking, the stew should be thick. If not, use a little cornflour and water to thicken before checking the seasoning and adjusting accordingly. Serve with mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables.