The girl behind the Lama: Beef Stroganoff

I’m a Milwaukee girl. Born and raised. That means that I have a good appreciation for beer and German food. I don’t think I particularly liked German food as a kid. I remember my mom making rouladen quite a bit but I was always suspicious of the pickle in the middle. We definitely had a lot of beef stroganoff, but I for sure picked out every single mushroom in there.

Now that I am an older and much wiser than I the nose wrinkling child growing up, I have come to appreciate the fabulousness of a good German dinner. Pickles add a wonderful unexpected tang to a normally boring dish. I tend to put a good squirt of mustard in quite a few dishes to give them some zing. I still don’t love to eat mushrooms, but I sure do love the taste of them in a sauce!

So I was delighted to find a recipe for beef stroganoff that boasted it came straight from a grandfather from Germany. Now I changed it a little because the idea of using canned mushrooms over fresh ones makes me cringe and I’m just not a fan of gravy based entirely on beer. We have tried many a recipe and I think this was the first one that we loved and want to start adding on to the “eat frequently” rotation. Enjoy!

Beef stroganoff

2 lb sirloin steak
2 T vegetable oil
2 medium onions, sliced
1 tub of fresh mushrooms sliced (you know, the prepackaged, sliced mushrooms in the produce section)
2 T flour (a generous 2 T)
1/4 tsp paprika (a healthy sprinkle)
1 1/2-2 C beef broth or stock
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (I go a little heavy here)
1/2 – 1 C sour cream
hot buttered noodles

Slice steak into 1/2 inch thick strips (*TIP* Place your steak in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before you slice it! It makes getting nice thin strips a breeze!) Heat a large skillet on medium-high. You really want it to be hot. You know it’s ready when the oil starts to smoke a little. Quickly brown the meat letting it get a good sear on all sides. Remove from pan and keep warm. In the same skillet, cook the onions and mushrooms for about 5-7 minutes until the onions are tender and the mushrooms are golden brown. (*TIP* Don’t add any salt until after your mushrooms are cooked! Adding it in before they are cooked will make them chewy.)

Add in the paprika and flour. Cook for 1 minutes then start whisking in your stock and Worcestershire sauce. Add the stock in slowly, a bit at a time until your gravy is the consistency that you like. Make sure you get all the tasty brown bits off the bottom when you stir! Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.

Return the beef to the skillet. Turn off the heat and stir in sour cream a bit at a time until it’s the desired flavor. (*TIP* Make sure you take it off the heat! If sour cream gets too hot, it will separate and your sauce will be a mess!) Serve over hot buttered noodles. Serves 6-8