The lighter side of beef stroganoff
If you thought that I was going to talk about any healthy alternative to making this dish, I'm very sorry but you're sadly mistaken. I mean, why mess with something so simple and yet very delicious dish as beef stroganoff?!
The only thing that should be light about this dish is the effort to make it. If you've never had beef stroganoff before, provided you're not a vegetarian or vegan, I highly recommend adding this dish in your culinary repertoire.
You can either do the pre-cook on the stove and finish it off in the oven, or complete all of the cooking on the stove top. If you do decide to finish in the oven, make sure that your pot and cover is oven safe; otherwise just stick to the stove top method.
Let me explain just how easy this dish is to make starting with the ingredients:
- First and foremost, obviously, you'll need beef of which you will need two pounds of. This recipe calls for stew meat (I hear you, my faithful culinary friends - which part of the cow is the stew meat?) According to Dictionary.com, stew meat is tough meat that needs stewing to be edible. Yay, the heavens have opened up to reveal a most glorious revelation... not! A better definition comes from Mealsforyou.com and goes something like this - "Beef for stew may be cut from chuck, brisket, rib, or plate. It usually consists of meaty pieces, cut into one-inch or two-inch squares and containing various amounts of fat. Beef for stew is usually prepared by braising or by cooking in liquid." Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
- Secondly, you'll need two bottles of your favorite red wine. I know this sounds like a lot of wine but trust me, you'll use every drop of it in this recipe. Now, when cooking with wine it's very important that the wine you use to cook with is also one that you would normally drink; although you wouldn't necessarily use your most expensive Dom. Romane Conti 1997 (which by the way costs somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,540.00 per bottle); unless of course you're one of those uppity ups, in which case you wouldn't be reading blogs about the lighter side of anything by a gourmet company that has anything to do with conspiracies. Where was I?! Oh yes, the point I'm trying to make is that if the words "cooking wine" is labeled anywhere on the bottle, chances are that it's very inexpensive, diluted, added with salt, and one that you would never put into your mouth as a beverage to have with your favorite meals (not even on a dare). No, they ain't got no spirit, mama!
- Third most important ingredient is two cups of beef stock. 100% all American cowhide beef stock (just kidding - no cowhide in there for you serious types...) Can you use broth? Wha', of course you can, sonny! What's the difference between broth and stock? Wha' they almost the same, chi'd - they made the same whay but stock is made usin' the bones of the an'mah; whey as broth is made wif the meat. The difference is when they are refrigerated; stock will coagulate into a gel because of the gelatin from the melted cartilage from the bones during the cooking process. How did you become such a wise old man, mister? Wha' never you mind... Ah say... Ah say... Now go 'way, son. Ya bothern' me...
- The other ingredients form the aromatics (in this case 1 sliced onions, 1 minced garlic clove, and two cups of sliced mushrooms), the thickener (2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour), the base (typically egg noodles but you can actually substitute any type of starch - rice, potatoes, etc.), and finally the garnish (in this case chopped parsley to add some green color to the plate).
- For an extra tang, you can add a dollop of sour cream if you like prior to serving.
Here are the directions. I know that these directions that you are about to read are very simple at first glance but make sure you follow each step to experience the ultimate pleasure of making this dish.
Set your ovens to 350°F (177°C) for those wanting to finish the cooking process in the oven. Slice up the meat into bite-sized pieces and season with Kosher salt. Brown the meat in a pot over medium heat in small batches so as not to overcrowd the pot. This browning process is called maillard reaction in the culinary industry which is a chemical reaction between amino acids and the sugar content of the ingredient. Yada, yada, yada... In layman's terms, it's this chemical reaction that brings out the meaty flavor.
Set the meat aside in a bowl as each batch browns and continue until all of the meat has been browned.
What you'll be left with are caramelized bits of brown residue from the meat. This residue is called "fond" because all Chefs are fond of this process of cooking. Actually the word fond is a French term meaning "base" or "foundation".- Next add the sliced onions into the pot with the fond and let them swim around in all that goodness. Sprinkle a pinch of Kosher salt to release the onions' natural juices. Can you hear them sing? "Ohhhh yessss, baby! We're all tingly inside... We're so fond of this heat! Oh no! We're melting... woe is me, woe is me..." (... sorry, getting back to our stroganoff recipe).
- Okay, this would be the perfect time to open up that first bottle of wine because you will need to deglaze the pot with two cups of it. Deglazing is the process of adding liquid (in this case the wine) to the pot to help dislodge those caramelized bits of flavor (the fond). To this, you will add two cups of broth or stock, the browned meat, and the garlic.
- Let the liquid come to a boil, then cover and place it in the oven. For those playing along and want to continue the cooking process on the stove top, just lower the temperature down to a simmer (a simmer is when there's only small bubbles mostly on the side of the pan; otherwise it's considered boiling).
- Here is where the crucial and most difficult part of this process - take out a wine glass from your cupboard and pour yourself some of that left over wine. Continue sipping the wine until it is all gone and then pour yourself another glass. You'll need to continue this process until the first bottle is empty. By this time, 30 minutes would have already elapsed (unless you drink fast in which case you might not make it to the end of this blog...)
- Add and stir in the sliced mushrooms to the pot (I make sure I clarify this because some of you may already be blitz that you might be adding the mushrooms in your wine glass) and continue cooking.
- Start cooking the pasta or rice according to the instructions on the package.
- Open up the second bottle of wine and repeat step seven.
- After another half hour have elapsed, pick yourself up from the kitchen floor and gently place the empty wine bottle and glass on the counter.
- Open up the oven door and remove the pot. Yes, that stinging in your hands is because the pot is hot from coming straight out of the oven... Yes you should've used dry towels or oven mitts... Place the pot on the stove top and turn the burner back on to medium. Yes, at this point, you can close the oven door...
- Uncover the pot - WAIT! Where's your oven mitts?! Okay, then add two tablespoons of flour while stirring with the wooden spoon (you will need two hands for this...) I realize that coordination will not be your strong suit at this point after having finished two bottles of red wine so please feel free to call for assistance. I pity you if you live alone... It's important to keep stirring as you add the flour so it doesn't create big lumps and to help the flour dissolve quickly. Now turn up the heat so that the entire mixture comes to a second boil because the thickening agent will not come to its full consistency until it comes to boiling temperature. After this the liquid will be sauce consistency. You will know that it's sauce consistency by applying the method called "nappe" which is not a French term to fall asleep. Nappe is the process of coating the back of the spoon with the liquid. To get to sauce consistency, coat the back of the spoon with the liquid and run your finger across the back of the spoon. If the sauce remain divided, then you've achieve sauce consistency, otherwise you'll see the two sides come back together where you ran your finger across. Once the sauce has thickened, readjust your seasoning with Kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste, then turn the stove top off (and your oven if you haven't already done so.)
- Dish up some noodles or rice onto a bowl and top it with the finished stroganoff. Garnish with the chopped parsley and prepare to indulge with more red wine... Okay, for this recipe you'll actually need three bottles of red wine...
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Enjoy!!!
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About Me
- Chef Sam Paano
- I am the co-owner and founder of Gourmet Conspiracy, a personal chef and catering service based in Lakewood, California. My objective here is to provide open communication about various types of food and their benefits towards our health. As far as my training, I graduated from Kitchen Academy in July 2007 with high honors. I have a great deal of passion about learning the cooking styles and techniques from various cultures and incorporating them in fusion dishes.
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