Beef Stroganoff

Beef Stroganoff

This dish hails from beautiful Saint Petersburg, where a culinary competition was once held in Czarist times, and where, in the 1890s, an intrepid chef concocted a mouth-watering creation of beef, mushrooms and sour cream, and took home the first prize.

Although considered a 50s dish, Beef Stroganoff began appearing in American cookbooks at least two decades earlier. One recipe can be found in John MacPherson's Mystery Chef's Own Cook Book, (1934). Two Stroganoffs appear in Diana Ashley's Where to dine in '39, a 1939 guide to New York City restaurants, one from the defunct Russian Kretchma...the second from The Russian Tea Room...Both recipes seem to be Americanized: both contain Worcestershire sauce, both are made with sweet cream rather than sour, and both contain mushrooms, which is not authentic. Beef Stroganoff with mushrooms and sour cream shows up in The Joy of Cooking, (1943 edition). Unfortunately, America was then immersed in World War II, red meat was strictly rationed, and few cooks could afford the luxury of Beef Stroganoff. Once the war was over, Beef Stroganoff became the signature dish of 'gourmet' cooks across the country.

Other meats that can be used:

  1. Boneless round steak - can be a bit tough, quickly grill the steak to rare, take off the heat & let set. Cut into VERY thin strips against the grain and add to the sauce at the last moment to heat.
  2. Flank steak - cook as for the boneless round steak being sure to cut against the grain
  3. Beef short ribs - these need to be cooked a long time to tenderize the meat until it is "falling off the bone" before adding to the recipe
  4. Meatballs - make small mealballs, brown in oil in a pan or bake on a rack in a pan in the oven before adding to the sauce

Best vegetables to serve with rich, creamy beef stroganoff include green beans (sautéed with garlic or almonds), roasted Brussels sprouts, steamed broccoli with lemon, and glazed carrots. For added freshness, try a side salad or pickled beets.

*Beef Stroganoff

FMM: This is the recipe we have always used and it is excellent. Be sure to use sirloin beef, top sirloin is best; otherwise the meat can be a bit tough unless taking special precautions to keep the meat tender. We have made this with top round London broil and it was good; I would not serve it to guests but for us it was just fine. We cooked the steak outside on the grill just until rare, then thinly sliced it against the grain and added it to the stroganoff at the last moment to heat it through.

I'd like to try this recipe sometime with small meatballs that have been flavored with Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper, then fried. Add the meatballs to the sauce at the last minute to reheat.

2 lb. sirloin beef, cut into thin strips
3 Tbsp. butter (or more as needed)
salt & pepper
1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced
1/3 cup chopped onions or shallots
3 T. flour
3/4 cup beef bouillon or stock {add extra bouillon cubes for more flavor)
1 cup sour cream
Wide egg noodles

Salt and pepper the beef strips and saute quickly in a hot pan in 1 or more Tbsp. of butter, as needed, until browned. The inside should be rare. You will be heating and cooking it a bit more later and overcooking will make it tough. To ensure good browning, cook meat in batches if need be so that the meat browns rather than steams in its own juices. The pieces of meat should not touch each other. Remove meat from the pan and set aside.

Note: Instead of cutting the meat and then searing it, you could use a steak or roast that has been cooked so that the outside is nicely browned but the inside is rare. Cut it against the grain into thin strips and add to the sauce just before serving to heat through.

Add the remaining butter to the pan and saute the mushrooms and onions until just cooked. Blend in 2 Tbsp. of flour. Add the bouillon and cook until thickened. Add the sour cream mixed with 1 Tbsp. of flour. Heat through. Do not bring to a boil after the sour cream has been added or it will curdle.

When ready to serve, add the meat and heat without bringing to a boil.

Serve over wide cooked egg noodles.

4 - 6 servings