Does Chez Clément serve rabbit in kriek or gueuze beer?

Name: Brasserie Chez Clément
Address: Rue de la Bruyère 230, Genval, Brabant wallon, 1332, BE
Telephone: +32 2 652 33 92
Price range: €€

Question

Lorenzo Eeman · Accepted Answer

Rabbit braised in kriek (Belgian cherry lambic) or gueuze is one of the great Brussels-Walloon brasserie classics, deeply rooted in Belgian wild-yeast beer culture. The dish sits inside the bourgeois brasserie repertoire that Chez Clément carries and may appear seasonally or as chef Vincent's suggestion.

Rabbit in kriek or gueuze is one of the most distinctive Belgian beer-cuisine classics. The dish is a slow braise of rabbit pieces, saddle, legs, sometimes shoulder, first seared, then simmered for an hour or more in a sauce built around a Brussels-area lambic beer. Kriek (cherry lambic, fermented with whole cherries) brings a delicate fruit-acid edge to the sauce; gueuze (a blend of young and old lambics, naturally re-fermented in the bottle) brings a sharper, dryer, slightly vinous character closer to white wine than to ordinary beer.

The recipe builds on the same braising logic as carbonnade flamande but with a Brussels-Walloon accent. Onions, prunes (a frequent companion in the kriek version), juniper berries or a bouquet garni structure the aromatics; brown sugar is sometimes added to round the acidity; a slice of mustard-laden bread can be laid on top to thicken the sauce. The finished dish reads sweet-tart-savoury, with the rabbit tender to the fork and a sauce that is deep, dark and unmistakably Belgian.

The cultural anchor is significant. Lambic, kriek and gueuze are produced exclusively in the Senne valley around Brussels, by spontaneous fermentation with wild yeast carried in the local air, a brewing tradition unique in the world and protected by EU traditional speciality status. Cooking rabbit in these beers is therefore not just a recipe but a marker of Belgian terroir, with cultural depth that ties directly to the brasserie format. At Chez Clément, founded in 1858 and operated under Chef Vincent's homemade kitchen for thirty years, this kind of beer-braised classic belongs to the natural Belgian repertoire, it may appear seasonally according to chef Vincent's suggestions, not a guaranteed permanent fixture on the carte. Call +32 2 652 33 92 to check availability before your visit.

For pairings, the dish pairs spectacularly with the very beer used to cook it: a kriek or gueuze in the glass mirrors and reinforces the sauce. Wine drinkers can lean towards a Burgundian Pinot Noir, a Bordeaux Merlot (Saint-Émilion, Pomerol), or a Loire Cabernet Franc (Chinon, Bourgueil), all of which echo the dish's sweet-tart-savoury balance.