Bierfleisch (Brisket Stew with Mushrooms and Black Lager)

Bavarian Beef Stew with Beer (Bayerisches Bierfleisch) 

The German term Bierfleisch literally translates to beer meat. A classic beef stew in Bavaria, of which there are approximately as many variations as there are households in the region, this comforting dish is all about tender bites of beef. Usually the choice of meat is brisket, but other beef cuts for stew (or even pork meat) can be used. 

Typically when we buy brisket we smoke or braise the flat and save the point to make this exact stew. It never disappoints. The cubed brisket point slowly cooks amidst onions, mushrooms and German black lager which adds malty depth to the stew and uplifts the umami base. 

Ingredients You Will Need for This Beef Stew Recipe

Beef brisket. As mentioned above, the chunkier point part of a brisket works great. You can substitute with chuck beef (located near the brisket on the animal) or other stew appropriate cut.

Onions and mushrooms. Onions form the base for the stew's simmering liquid, mushrooms lend earthy umami. Cultivated mushrooms work just fine (cremini shown above) but if available wild chanterelle or porcini will contribute even more flavor.

Beer. The traditional choice is Schwarzbier - a black German lager with lovely roasted notes and solid malty backbone. Dunkel lagers (Munich or Franconian) work great too and in the absence of German lagers you can use a porter or stout. We typically use New Belgium 1554 Black Lager. 

Other indispensable ingredients. Butter, cooking oil, tomato paste for acidity and umami, garlic, flour, beef broth or stock, oregano and thyme (dry or fresh), salt and pepper.

Dill pickles?? Yes - gurken or dill pickles for the traditional garnish for Bierfleisch. More about this in the serving notes below.

Step-by-Step Process

Prep. Trim excess fat, remove any silver skin and cube the brisket. Liberally season with salt and pepper. Dice the onion. Halve the mushrooms (leave smaller ones whole) as they will become significantly reduced in size.

Sear, saute and deglaze. Over medium-high heat brown the brisket in batches. Remove it from the Dutch oven and saute the onion. Add garlic, tomato paste and flour, stir and cook for a couple of minutes. Deglaze with the black beer, scrape all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the mushrooms and stir. Add back the beef. 

Stew. Pour the beef stock over the mushrooms and meat, add the herbs and bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until the beef is tender.

TIP: If you like stronger umami flavor from the mushrooms add a handful of dried porcini to the stew once it comes to a boil. As they braise with brisket and company over the course of the next couple of hours they contribute to the stew's wonderful earthy depth.

How to Serve Bierfleisch

Traditional Bierfleisch presentation with fried onions, gurken and a pretzel dumpling

Even though this stew can be enjoyed in a number of ways, in Bavaria there is a very specific traditional way to serve it. A bowl of beer braised brisket stew is topped with fried onions and dill pickles, typically the side is a bread dumpling, pretzel dumpling or mashed potatoes. 

To prepare the traditional garniture slice a whole onion in circles and pan fry them until they begin to turn golden brown. The pickles or gurken are usually incised lengthwise as shown below.