Beef (Carbonnade); it's what's for dinner

Unknown

<p />I tried a variation of a beef carbonnade in my massive cast iron dutch oven on the egg the other night. [p]Basically it was 3 pounds chuck chunks, 2 pounds onion chopped fine, garlic to taste, a dark beer and a half, about 1.5 cups chicken stock (not broth, but you *can* if you must<g>) made from an "egged" chicken carcass of a day ago, some vinegar and spices. All cooked at 250 for a few hours. It's done when the beef falls apart.[p]The only trouble is, I didn't have enough egg noodles! (There's a pun in there just dying to get out, I know it...) Like a goulash, this ones great on noodles.[p]Anyway, I found some red 'taters in the stash, and found that being quartered and seasoned, they fit nicely on the lid of this Dutch Oven.[p]Then I thought: Of course they do! A camping Dutch Oven is made to have charcoal, or burning hunks of wood on the lid anyway during "normal" use, sit it had plenty of room, and a lip to keep it all in.[p]Anyway, it was all great (no surprise for my family: they love the egg too). [p]I just thought I'd pass along the idea, lest y'all ever need another layer to cook on when making beans, chili, stew, etc.[p]Hmm, I bet you could make some biscuits up there too... [p]Oh, I should mention that for the first hour, the lid was off the Dutch Oven so I could get some smokey goodness in the pot.[p]BTW: from the plate in the second pic, you can see that my 20 mo. old got the first taste...<g>[p]Have fun,
bc[p]
[ul][li]Serving the dish...[/ul]

RAK

bc,
That is ingenious use of the lid! Is that a Lodge 12 deep oven? Janet, when stir frying, turn the lid over and use the inside surface. It is also great for grilling--use like a griddle. It has a concave shape, but things cook just fine on it. R

Puj

Janet,[p]Great idea on the lid! Flip it over as a griddle for stir fry, eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage and on and on ... I sense that a cheesesteak or two may be on the lid in the near future.[p]Puj

Unknown

Rak,[p]Yup, that's a Lodge 12 inch lid on an 8 qt. deep style DO. I'm loving that thing. [p]My wife thought it was way too big when I got it, but it turns out to be just right for a number of things. (It's our sink that's too small...<g>)[p]You should have seen the look on my wife's face as I "seasoned" the lid while making breakfast for the kids. I shoulda had the camera then![p]Funny thing is, if you have a gas range (or egg, or fireplace) the inverted lid is superb for fried eggs because of the fact that it's slightly concave. It'll give you a nice compact fried egg that doesn't run all over the pan.[p]Cornbread in a cast iron pan is great egged too...[p]Have fun,
bc

Spring Chicken

bc,
Now you've gone and done it. You got me interested in Dutch Oven cooking on my Egg. I can think of a bunch of things that will probably taste better that way. Meanwhile, I went to searching for a good place to buy me a good dutch oven and ran across this company: http://www.chuckwagonsupply.com/catalog.html
They really have some nice stuff and at reasonable prices. With a little luck, Santa may bring me one and I can post my success stories along with yours.[p]Happy Holidays[p]Spring Chicken
Spring Texas USA

RAK

Spring Chicken,
If you want more sources for DO's, check out www.idos.com. (International Dutch Oven Society)

Rich

bc,
I just bought a DO and have been dying to try it. Your recept sound great. But one dumb question. Did you leave the lid on the entire time that you cooked it? Or was it off part of the time to get that good old "smoked flavor"?
Rich[p]

Unknown

Rich,[p]I had the lid off for the first hour or so. I had added some extra liquid in anticipation of some evaporation.[p]With a DO in the egg, you can get a nice layer of smokey goodness on tghe top of your liquids. Just stir it in every now and then to capture that flavor.[p]In this case, once I found those 'taters, I really wanted to get the lid ON the thing![p]BTW: the Carbonnade recipe was similar to the link below. I say similar, cuz' I can never leave a recipe alone![p]Happy DO-ing,
bc
[ul][li]Beef Carbonnade[/ul]