I always get so crestfallen when I see people making beef stroganoff using those powdered stroganoff mix packets. They're so unnecessary; you can make stroganoff from scratch rather easily, and it tastes better!
Here's my recipe. You can omit the meat and just use mushrooms if you're a vegetarian. If you want, you can also substitute plain lowfat yogurt for the sour cream.
Ingredients:
* About 2 cups of sliced mushrooms of your choice, fresh or dried. You can use dried ones if you like, just soak them in water first (then squeeze out water.) I used 1 box of sliced whites and 2 boxes of "gourmet sliced mix" from Whole Foods - it was a combo of oyster, crimini, shiitake, and portobello mushrooms.
* Butter or olive oil
* 1 yellow onion, sliced crosswise (from top to bottom so you have strips, not rings.)
* 1 pound of meat. I suggest using something tender, like a sirloin or tenderloin. Cut in bite-sized cubes.
* Sour Cream - about 1 1/2 to 2 cups - can substitute yogurt if you want to go creamier, but be healthier. Or do 1 cup sour cream and 1 cup yogurt.
* Salt, pepper, rubbed sage, white pepper, and paprika
* Egg noodles
Technique:
Saute the mushrooms in butter or oil until golden. Remove and set aside. Saute onions until brown. Set aside. Add the meat and cook lightly, but don't overcook because you will be adding everything back to the pan and cooking more. Remove meat and set aside. Drain meat juices from pan. Add sour cream, and over low heat (so it doesn't curdle) add salt/pepper/sage/white pepper to your taste. I don't really measure, I just shake in a little, taste, shake in a little more, taste, and repeat until I am satisfied. I think I do the shake/taste thing only 2 or 3 times. Stir up the cream, and add the vegetables and meat back to the pan and stir until coated, only a few minutes. Serve over hot cooked egg noodles and dust with paprika.
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I miss my mom's stroganoff-I would always go on about how I hated it, but then lap up every last bit of the sauce.
Hers had a touch of sherry in it, which made it really rich and tasty!
Perhaps a foolish question, but is rubbed sage different than regular dried sage?
@shiras, it's finely powdered sage.
I make my own - but I reserve all the tender deer backstrap every fall (after deer hunting season) for my beef part of the recipe...super tasty!
My brother made it from an old Gourmet cookbook and when using a less tender cut, they recommended some lemon juice to break down the connective tissue of the meat. It always added a little zing to the finished product and brings back memories. The Joy of Cooking has a good recipe also.
It's too hot for beef stroganoff. :(
I second that, keltrue! I used to make this a lot in the colder months, but dear boyfriend doesn't like mushrooms. Because he's crazy. Also, I must admit, I do hold a spot for that package in my heart. My mother used to make it with canned roast beef growing up, and it's just one of those comfort things.
This is something I love to make in the winter. Sometimes I add a little beef broth to thin the sauce and beef up (ha) the flavor. But this time of year? No thanks! It's a little too stick-to-your-ribs for July for me!
Agreed. This is definitely a winter dish, but I'll be glad to have the recipe on hand a few months from now!
Mmm, maybe I'll get some grass-fed beef so that I have even more good beef flavor.
- Amelia of Gradually Greener
Funny! I live in SF, where it is chilly in the summers. I forget it's hot in other parts of the country. :)
Mmm, Stroganoff is so satisfying. I like to swap out the traditional egg noodles for pappardelle (a long flat egg noodle). Here's my vegetarian twist on classic stroganoff: http://www.clovesandcream.com/2009/05/mushroom-sweet-pea-parpadelle.html
OK, the way I was taught was:
* Sautee the mushrooms and onions together; put aside
* While they cook, sprinkle your meat strips with garlic powder; put into a pile
* Prep an area for pounding and flouring; mom used to use the sink, I use a foil roasting tray I can pitch
* Sprinkle small batches of the meat with a mixture of salt, flour, and paprika (I can't recall the measurements offhand); pound the crap out of the meat with a tenderizer, resprinkling the mix when needed; pile the meat up again
* Sear the meat slices in the pan with some oil, just until brown and/or the flour cooks a bit
* Add everything back to the pan, add water, and simmer, covered; check and re-add water as needed (I've done less tenderizing and more simmering)
* When ready to serve, add sour cream (about 8 oz, I think, per 2lbs of meat?) and continue to simmer for 10 minutes
This was my favorite meal as a kid, and such a pain to make that mom only would cook it for my birthday. I believe we called it "Devon Steak," but it's just a more intensive beef stroganoff. I made it at least every three months when I lived by myself. In my tiny, horribly hot LA kitchen, in the summertime, yes I had to have it. The sauce is addictive.
The leftover meat/sauce mix is freezable, but you'll have issues portioning it out, so freeze in small batches. When you defrost it will be runny and watery, just add a dollop of butter and mix and voila.
Annnnnnd now I want some. Darnit!
I adore stroganoff, but we only ever ate it with rice. It soaks up the sauce much better than noodles can.