The origins of Beef Stroganov (or Beef Stroganoff) are quite well known: the original recipe was the winner of a cooking contest in St. Petersburg in 1890. According to legend, the chef named his creation after the Napoleonic-era Russian general, Count Pavel Alexandrovich Stroganov. The recipe does not appear especially Russian to me. It has something of a resemblance to a gussied-up paprikash. Escoffier does not list it; neither does Saulnier. Julia Child characterizes it as a variant of a beef saute made with sour cream rather than heavy cream. Dione Lucas has a complete recipe for it in pretty conventional form among her beef sautes.
My recipe is fairly simple and just a tiny bit different. True story about my recipe: I was once invited to some friends’ house for dinner. The hostess served beef stroganov. When I tasted it I immediately recognized the recipe: it was my own (the hostess had once dated a former roommate of mine, X). In the kitchen I asked her, Did you get this recipe from X?. Yes, she had. He left out an ingredient, I said.
Beef Stroganov
Serves 4
Vegetable oil
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
1 lb. beef filet (round steak may be used if the beef is good and you’re very careful)
1 lb. mushroom, cleaned and sliced, stems removed
½ cup good sour cream (use real sour cream—Breakstone’s is the best)
1 tsp. Dijon-style mustard
Pinch sugar
Salt & pepper
- Saute the onion in the oil over medium heat until they’re just transparent.
- Add the beef and barely brown it.
- Add the mushrooms and cover. Cook until the mushrooms are just done, about 5 minutes.
- Mix the sour cream, mustard, and sugar.
- Reduce the heat on the beef and add the sour cream mixture.
- Heat the stroganov until the sour cream is barely warmed. Do not boil! The sour cream will curdle.
- Correct the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
You may serve this over noodles or rice but you’ll want to eat it straight from the pot it’s so good.
I’ve added this recipe to my master list of recipes.
I was brought up to use flank stake in Beef Stroganov. Chill it just till it turns stiff, and then slice at an angle across the grain to produce wide, thin strips. Skirt steak, marinated in dry sherry after the slicing, is also excellent, but my mother turned very superior at any sign of wine in others’ version of the dish.
this was one of my favorite childhood dishes…. However, when attempting to make it myself, I found Rachel Ray’s “30-minute” version, which, inexplicably included chopped gherkins. Thinking it might be interesting, I tried it… VILE!! Your version, however, shows much promise…
The chopped gerkins are certainly a Russian ingredient, but they don’t belong in Stroganoff! Add a few heaping tablespoons of paprika–preferably hot paprika–and the gerkins and you get an authentically Russian variant of Paprikish.
I hope none of you are Chefs and serve any of your recipes in a restaurant.All of the variations are amateur and incorrect.
I cant believe some of the posts on sites like this.