Beef Stroganoff by Ree

It always cracks me up that Beef Stroganoff is a popular comfort food in America, considering Beef Stroganoff is a Russian dish. But you won’t catch me talking about politics here on The Pioneer Woman Cooks! No sirree, Bob!

Wait. Who said anything about politics? No one, apparently.

Sorry. I’m always trying to stir up trouble around here!

Anyway, here’s the Stroganoff recipe I included in my newest Dinnertime cookbook, because there are few things in this world—whether in America or Russia—that say “dinnertime” to me more than this. I’ve been wanting to share it with you since I cooked and photographed it over a year ago, and I hope you make it soon because it will open up worlds (get it?1/) of deliciousness.

Again: Sorry. I’m in a strange mood this morning.

You’ll need:

sirloin steak

salt, pepper, and olive oil

onion, carrots, and mushrooms

brandy, cognac, or other booze (if you’re into that sort of thing)

beef stock

cornstarch

sour cream

Dijon mustard

noodles

parsley

an appetites

 

Season some sirloin steak, cut into bite-sized pieces, with salt and pepper, then heat olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the meat to the pan…

 

 

And brown it quickly, about 2 minutes.

 

 

Remove it to a bowl and repeat with the other half of the meat. Remove it, too, and set the meat aside.

 

 

Add a little more olive oil to the pan and throw in diced onion, diced carrots, and halved (and stemmed) mushrooms. I like using cremini mushrooms because they’re brown and lovely, but white mushrooms are fine, too! And you can slice them if you prefer, but I like big, beautiful chunks of mushrooms in my life.

 

 

Cook the veggie mixture, stirring it around, until it’s deep golden brown, about 5 minutes or so.

 

 

Turn off the heat to be on the safe side, then splash in some brandy!

 

 

I love using brandy here, but cognac is good, wine is good…heck, you could even use whiskey if you want to be super nutso.

 

 

Then add some beef stock! Turn the heat back on to medium-high, and scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen up all that luscious flavor.

 

 

Cook to reduce the liquid by about a third, about 3 to 4 minutes or so.

 

 

In a small pitcher, make a slurry by mixing a little stock with some cornstarch.

 

 

Pour this into the skillet and cook until the sauce gets a little thicker and more beautiful…about 1 to 2 minutes.

 

 

When the sauce has thickened, turn off the heat and stir in some sour cream…

 

 

And some Dijon, which gives the sauce such a dadgum delicious little edge.

 

 

Stir the sauce, then (important!) taste it to see if it needs more salt and pepper. Adjust as your soul leads you!

 

 

Throw in the beef…

 

 

And stir it all together until the mixture is nice and piping hot.

 

 

Pile some noodles onto a serving platter (these noodles were tossed in butter and parsley, but you can just keep ’em plain if you’d like!) and spoon the mixture all over the top.

 

 

Lay it on thick, getting every last smidgen of sauce in there. It’s a precious commodity!

 

 

Sprinkle the top with a little parsley and serve it to hungry (and, here in a minute, very grateful) humans.

 

 

Yum. Now, if you compare this to other images of regular Beef Stroganoff recipes, you’ll see that I like mine a little darker and browner. So this probably isn’t the most traditional approach. If you like things a little lighter/creamier, simply add more sour cream.

Either way, I know you’ll love it.

Here’s the handy dandy printable!