Beef stroganoff

I attempted to organize an Olympics potluck, but life (and work and school and marathon training) got in the way. It’s kind of a good thing because I was a little disappointed in the way this dish turned out, which was supposed to represent Russia. I just don’t cook meat that well…this time the beef got overcooked. Apparently in Russia this dish is served with fried potatoes. I decided to make it with egg noodles instead.

When I was trying to figure out what to make for the potluck that wasn’t meant to be, I searched for “Russian recipes”. I found a recipe I liked on Ruscuisine.com (which claims to be “authentic Russian recipes, cuisine, and cooking”), but for the life of me I could not figure out what was meant by this part of the instructions: “fry 1 tb flour pounded with butter for few minutes”. Was I supposed to pound flour into butter? Or butter into flour? How much butter? 

If I had a do-over, I would probably decrease the beef to 1 pound, add mushrooms, and use the slow cooker. I think I could probably reduce the sour cream as well.

Beef Stroganoff

Beef browning action

Source: adapted from Ruscuisine.com and Food Network
Serves: 6

Ingredients
2 pounds top sirloin roast, trimmed
Salt and fresh cracked black pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 cup beef stock
1/4 cup ketchup
1 cup light sour cream

Directions

Finished product

1. Cut the beef against the grain into narrow 2-inch long strips about 1/2-inch thick. Pat dry and season with salt and pepper. Place beef strips in a gallon ziploc bag with flour and toss to coat.

2. In a large saute pan, heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add half of the beef strips and brown on all sides, about 3-5 minutes. Transfer the meat to a large bowl. Repeat process with the rest of the beef.

3. Add another Tablespoon of olive oil to the saute pan, if needed, and add the chopped onion. Cook until light golden, stirring and adding 1/4 cup beef stock to deglaze the pan. Stir in the remaining beef stock and add the beef with any resting juices back to the skillet. Simmer for 5-7 minutes.

4. Stir in the ketchup and sour cream and heat through, but do not boil. Transfer the stroganoff to a serving platter and enjoy!