Broke-Ass Recipes: Beef Stroganov

To be sure, Beef Stroganov most certainly does not refer to a lewd act committed with cattle. As a matter of fact, it is a hearty dish of Russian origin defined by the sour cream and Dijon mustard that go into its proprietary sauce and damn good eating on cold days.

According to legend, Beef Stroganov was invented in the second half of the 19th century by an anonymous French chef cooking for the wealthy Russian family for which the dish is named. The recipe was first published in the 1871 edition of the classic Russian cookbook A Gift To Young Housewives by Elena Molokhovets.

Though Beef Stroganov requires a lot of ingredients, it’s deceptively simple to make and can be cooked all in the same pot as long as it’s big enough to hold everything. In fact, I have learned that cooking it all in one pot is perhaps the most effective way to realize this recipe.

We will come back to that notion a little bit later.

In the meantime, start by browning one pound of extra lean ground beef. Though, some recipes recommend the 80-20 ratio so that the fat can be used as a thickening agent, in my opinion, congealed fat in a casserole or soup that has cooled is unappetizing to look at, and the surplus of grease spoils the flavor with a fatty taste that overpowers everything else. Not only that, it’ll work against you if you are trying to reduce your lipid intake and/or lose weight. Besides, the total fat content of the milky thickeners used in this recipe comes to about 74 grams, give or take, and that along with the starch from the noodles and condensed cream of mushroom soup will be sufficient to bring the sauce to its desired viscosity without the beef fat. Using 80-20 ground beef best suited for grilling hamburgers would only yield a gratuitously rich Stroganov. Nobody needs that kind of excess baggage.

While the beef is browning, sprinkle a generous amount of Worcestershire sauce onto it move it around with a spatula so that it doesn’t stick to the pan. Once the beef is fully browned, season it to taste with Old Bay, thyme, crushed chives, minced garlic, minced onion, oregano and salt. Next mix in a couple handfuls of baby bella mushroom slices, then add 2 or 3 cups of low-sodium beef broth and 187 milliliters of red wine, then turn up the heat. After that, add one can of Campbell’s condensed cream of mushroom soup, half a cup of sour cream, one pint of half and half, two or three tablespoons of Dijon mustard and one tablespoon of butter. As the butter melts and dissolves, stir the pot until the mixture is nice and consistent. Bring it to a boil and keep it there about seven to ten minutes or until the mushrooms get nice and chewy. For now, the gravy will still be a little watery, but don’t worry. This is normal.

After that, add one 12-ounce packet of egg noodles to the pot, reduce the heat from boil to simmer and let it cook for another seven to ten minutes, stirring occasionally. By this time, you will notice that the gravy will have become more viscous after taking on the starch from the noodles as they absorb the flavors from the sauce and become more soft and tender. If you ask me, this is the magical part of the process. It may not be actual magic as there is a perfectly valid scientific explanation for it, but if you’re the one at the stove, you’ll understand what I mean. It’s certainly a satisfying thing to witness.

Once the noodles are al dente, you can turn off the heat. Let the pot stand for about two or three minutes so the sauce can get a little bit thicker. Next step: eat!

So, how much are we going to spend on all this?

As we know from previous installments of Broke-Ass Recipes, the pound of extra lean beef is $7.50, a bottle of Target’s own-brand Worcestershire sauce is $3.50, a jar of Dijon mustard from Trader Joe’s costs about two bucks, a quart of beef broth costs about two bucks and a six-ounce jar of Old Bay costs six bucks. 

The rest of the dry seasonings – thyme, oregano, chives, salt and minced garlic and onion will cost you about a buck each at Target if you go the own-brand route, so it’s six in all for those. Also at Target, a box of pre-sliced baby bella mushrooms goes for three bucks, a pint of half and half comes to two bucks and a package of egg noodles will run you a buck fifty.

For a one-cup container of sour cream, it’s $2.50; a packet of regular Trader Joe’s butter, four bucks. Fred’s Liquor and Deli over on 6th Street sells mini bottles of red wine for two bucks, but as was mentioned in the piece on trifle, pay cash so you don’t have to pay an extra dollar for using your debit card, and politely ask the clerk on shift to fetch you one that is room temperature. They have plenty in their back storage.

All in all, the grand total comes to forty bucks, but the pot of Stroganov you get will serve six, making for a price per portion of six dollars and fifty cents.

By James Conrad