Chief
12-12-2007, 07:48 AM
During December, the people at the Company where my wife works take turns catering lunch for everyone every day until Christmas. This is our third year, and we are making Beef Stroganoff with buttered egg noodles, Russian Black Bread, a simple salad, and a pair of (fairly easy) chocolate mousse and raspberry cream cheese trifles. (I have a reputation to live up to over there...)
Anyway, word is on the street about what I'm making, and the recipe requests are already coming in, so to save myself some time, I'm putting the recipe up here so I can e-mail it out...
I am using a whole beef top round from Cash & Carry for this, because it's inexpensive, and will tenderize nicely if you simmer it. A normal recipe for four will use a couple of pounds of meat, so judge accordingly. This is more about technique instead of ingredients.
Beef Top Round, trimmed, and cut into 1" cubes
Large onions, medium dice
too much garlic, finely diced
Fresh medium sized mushrooms, halved
Canned Beef Broth
Bay leaves
Sour Cream
Salt and Pepper to taste
Olive oil
Red Wine (Cab Sav, Merlot or Shriaz work well)
Begin by heating a skillet with a tablespoon of oil. When it's hot, start browning your onions and garlic over medium heat. When they are nicely browned, remove them to your stock pot.
Reheat the skillet with a little more oil, and sear the cubes of meat on all sides. You are not trying to cook them all the way through, you just want to brown the pieces quickly, and add the pieces to the stockpot as well.
Once the meat is finished, reheat the pan with some more oil, and sear the mushrooms as well. You will want to cook the mushrooms just enough to get some brown marks on them, and add them to the pot too.
Use a couple of cups of red wine to deglaze your skillet, and add all of that flavorful liquid to the pot as well
Add enough beef stock to cover the meat, mushrooms and onions, add several bay leaves and heat to a low simmer, keeping the pot covered. You want to slowly simmer the meat for several hours, which will tenderize it nicely. Do not boil. Simmering means the surface of the liquid is barely moving, and not actively boiling. Keep the pot covered, and do not stir. Remove the bay leaves before finishing the dish.
After sufficient simmering time, and when the beef is tender, and you are ready to serve, add enough sour cream to the pot to thicken the sauce. Don't be afraid to be generous here. Stir the sour cream in, and keep the pot warm, but be very careful not to boil the stroganoff again, or the sour cream will break and clot. Taste and adjust your seasonings with Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper.
Serve over buttered egg noodles.
Enjoy!!
Anyway, word is on the street about what I'm making, and the recipe requests are already coming in, so to save myself some time, I'm putting the recipe up here so I can e-mail it out...
I am using a whole beef top round from Cash & Carry for this, because it's inexpensive, and will tenderize nicely if you simmer it. A normal recipe for four will use a couple of pounds of meat, so judge accordingly. This is more about technique instead of ingredients.
Beef Top Round, trimmed, and cut into 1" cubes
Large onions, medium dice
too much garlic, finely diced
Fresh medium sized mushrooms, halved
Canned Beef Broth
Bay leaves
Sour Cream
Salt and Pepper to taste
Olive oil
Red Wine (Cab Sav, Merlot or Shriaz work well)
Begin by heating a skillet with a tablespoon of oil. When it's hot, start browning your onions and garlic over medium heat. When they are nicely browned, remove them to your stock pot.
Reheat the skillet with a little more oil, and sear the cubes of meat on all sides. You are not trying to cook them all the way through, you just want to brown the pieces quickly, and add the pieces to the stockpot as well.
Once the meat is finished, reheat the pan with some more oil, and sear the mushrooms as well. You will want to cook the mushrooms just enough to get some brown marks on them, and add them to the pot too.
Use a couple of cups of red wine to deglaze your skillet, and add all of that flavorful liquid to the pot as well
Add enough beef stock to cover the meat, mushrooms and onions, add several bay leaves and heat to a low simmer, keeping the pot covered. You want to slowly simmer the meat for several hours, which will tenderize it nicely. Do not boil. Simmering means the surface of the liquid is barely moving, and not actively boiling. Keep the pot covered, and do not stir. Remove the bay leaves before finishing the dish.
After sufficient simmering time, and when the beef is tender, and you are ready to serve, add enough sour cream to the pot to thicken the sauce. Don't be afraid to be generous here. Stir the sour cream in, and keep the pot warm, but be very careful not to boil the stroganoff again, or the sour cream will break and clot. Taste and adjust your seasonings with Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper.
Serve over buttered egg noodles.
Enjoy!!