Authentic Beef Stroganoff | The Cook's Cook

It’s not the prettiest looking dish, but Beef Stroganoff was always a holiday favorite around Katie’s home when she was growing up. This dish calls for tender slices of beef that melt in your mouth with mushrooms and onions. The best part – you can easily make this dish in advance and store in the freezer for a rainy or snowy day!

Ingredients

•907 grams (2 pounds) beef tenderloin*, thinly sliced into bite-size pieces
•454 grams (1 pound) fresh mushrooms (such as a mix of baby bella/cremini and shiitake mushrooms), cleaned and thinly sliced**
•15 grams (1 tablespoon) dried porcini powder (optional)
•1 medium yellow or white onion, diced
•3 cloves garlic, minced
•60 grams (4 tablespoons) butter, or as needed
•Vegetable oil, if needed
•709 ml (3 cups) home made or unsalted canned beef stock, plus additional as needed
•60 grams (1/4 cup) ketchup or tomato paste***
•120 grams (1/2 cup) quick-dissolving flour or all-purpose flour
•237 ml (1 cup) sour cream
•Kosher salt
•Fresh ground black pepper
•30 ml (2 tablespoons) fresh thyme leaves, plus additional for garnish
•Cooked buttered egg noodles or basmati rice, for serving

Editor’s notes:

*Katie sometimes buys whole beef tenderloins to cut into steaks. She says: I love to use up some of our off cuts from breaking down a whole beef tenderloin, such as the wing, tip, or chain of the tenderloin (the wing and chain sections are particularly great in this recipe). If you don’t want to use tenderloin, you can also use sirloin. Because the beef is cooked fairly quickly in this recipe, you want to use a cut of beef that is tender from the start. In order to make it really easy to slice, place the beef in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes, then use a very sharp knife to cut thin slices (about 1/8” thick, if you can). When The Cook’s Cook went shopping, we found that tenderloin steaks were prohibitively expensive at over $20 a pound, so we used sirloin, as Katie suggests, at about half the price.

**Katie says: To easily clean mushrooms, pull out your salad spinner. Either remove the stem or trim the end of the stem (we usually de-stem the mushrooms for applications like this, but it’s a personal preference). With cold water running, quickly rinse the tops of the mushrooms and use your fingers to help release any visible dirt from the surface. You can use a vegetable brush if you like, but you don’t want to damage the flesh of the mushroom too much. Toss the cleaned mushroom into the colander of the salad spinner and repeat with the remaining mushrooms. Give them a few good spins to dry out, draining the water from the bowl as needed.

***Katie’s recipe calls for ketchup, but when The Cook’s Cook tested the recipe, we substituted tomato paste. Ketchup can be purchased sugar-free and/or salt-free, but since it usually has both, we prefer to use tomato paste and adjust salt as needed.

Preparation

1. In a large dutch oven, melt 15 ml (1 tablespoon) of the butter over medium heat. When the butter begins to foam/bubble, add the onion, about 5 ml (1/2 teaspoon) of salt, and a few grinds of black pepper to the pot. Cook until the onion is translucent, 5-10 minutes. When the onion is almost finished, add the garlic to the pot and stir for about another minute. Remove the onion and garlic from the pan and set aside on a plate or tray.
2. Melt another 15 ml (1 tablespoon) of the butter in the pot. Cook the sliced mushrooms in batches so as not to crowd to pot (about a handful or two of sliced mushrooms at a time, depending on the size of the pot), until the mushrooms are nicely browned and tender. Remove the cooked mushrooms from the pot and pile onto the plate with the onion and garlic. Add up to another 15 ml (1 tablespoon) butter to the pot as you’re cooking the second or third batch of mushrooms if your pot is looking a little dry.
Once the mushrooms are all cooked and removed to the plate or tray, increase the heat to medium-high and melt the remaining 15 ml (1 tablespoon) of butter in the pot. Brown the beef tenderloin slices in batches, no more than a minute or two per batch, and remove to another plate or tray. If the pan looks dry, add a little extra butter or drizzle of vegetable oil.

When all the beef has browned and has been removed to a plate, add 473 ml (2 cups) of the beef stock to the pot and stir in the ketchup or tomato paste. Increase heat to high and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Meanwhile, in a measuring cup or small bowl, add the flour to the remaining 237 ml (1 cup) beef stock and stir well to combine. Whisk this flour mixture into the pot and bring to a simmer. Decrease the heat to medium and add the cooked mushrooms, dried porcini powder (if using), onion, garlic, and sliced beef back into the pot, including any liquid that may have collected on the plates. Stir and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Adjust salt and season generously with black pepper. If the mixture seems too thick (even knowing that you’ll be adding sour cream in a minute), thin with a little extra stock (about 60 ml (1/4 cup) at a time). Reduce the heat to very low and stir in the sour cream and 30 ml (2 tablespoons) thyme leaves. Adjust seasonings if needed, and serve ladled over egg noodles or rice.

Katie says: If you’re making this dish in advance, stop just before adding the sour cream and thyme and place in an air-tight container. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to eat the Beef Stroganoff, thaw the mixture (if taking out of the freezer) and bring to a bare simmer in a heavy pot. Stir in the thyme leaves and sour cream as above. Serve over egg noodles or rice. If you plan to portion the recipe into smaller servings for freezing, just remember to similarly adjust the amount of sour cream.

About the author

Katherine Zalasky

Contributor

Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients

Preparation

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