I have never liked Beef Stroganoff very much, usually because I only had it in a school lunch. And the meat was like tough pieces of shoe leather, dripping in a bland sauce. Even as a 4th grader I knew I could do better.
Steve had a recipe for Stroganoff that he was desperate to make for me. He made it with a cut of meat that wasn't too fantastic, but I loved the sauce and the mushrooms.
So I made my own version.
If you can get Flank Steak in your store, get it every opportunity. It is the best cut of meat for Carne Asada, and of course Stroganoff.
I have found that if you have all the ingredients lined up like they do on the cooking shows, your life is much easier. Because once you get cooking you don't have the time to stop and dice this or chop that.
You need:
2 to 3 pounds cubed Flank Steak
1 lb fresh mushrooms, cleaned and halved
1 lb salted butter
2 packets dry onion soup mix
1 bottle of dry sherry or a good burgundy wine
1 pint sour cream
lots of course black pepper
1 bag (16 oz) broad egg noodles
Melt the butter in a large stew pot, on medium heat. Add the meat and sautee for about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms, dry onion soup mix, pepper, and enough wine to cover the meat. This is usually the whole bottle.
Allow the mixture to cook on a low boil until the wine has been absorbed. For me, I have to set aside about an hour for this process because the wine is what really makes the flavor. I cook it as slow as possible.
Boil the noodles until they're tender. Drain and set aside.
Take the Stroganoff off the heat and add the sour cream. Mix it all up and serve over the noodles.
You will really enjoy this dish, the strong flavored sauce really will surprise you.
