Saucy Beef Stroganoff Recipe (2024)

You've just found afantastic, fast and filling beef stroganoff recipe! In under 30 minutes, you can have this incredibly tasty and rich dinner ready for the table. Serve it over rice, polenta, noodles or even cauliflower rice to keep things low carb! Authentic old world cooking in a modern timeframe...Yummy.

This beef stroganoffrecipe is: Gluten Free, Low Carb and Simply Scrumptious.

I've had this recipe in my recipe binder my whole life. I'm not even sure where it came from originally. Over the years I have made some adjustments as my cooking style and skills have evolved. Although it has been updated from the original, the heart of this recipe is still completely unbroken. As you read down into the recipe, you'll see that it is proudly authentic with full fats, luscious creams and hearty beef.

The one big change I'vemade is the use ofarrowroot powderas a thickening agent. The original recipe calls for flour to thicken the sauce, which doesn't fall into my gluten-free world any longer. You could use corn starch if you wanted. Corn starchis more common but I find that it gives food somewhat of a sickly sheen that I really don't find appealing in most dishes.

Arrowroot is pretty incredible. I started using it three years ago when I started down this gluten free path. It has some truly amazing thickening powers and I can't recommend it enough to add body to sauces. Plus, it seems to last forever in the pantry. For sauces, I always make a slurry (mix 1 teaspoon of arrowroot with 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl) to ensure a smooth sauce. Although it isn't authentic to old world cooking, no one will everknow the flour is missing.

STROGANOFF SAUCE: WHAT'S THE DEAL?

One of the best stroganoff sauce recipes I've tried came out of my catering kitchen. Michele is a wizard when it comes to old world cooking. I'm not going to give away her recipe (mostly because she doesn't have one written down... they are all in her head!) but I learned that the secret to great stroganoff sauce comes from deglazing the pan with the beef stock right before adding in the creams and thickeners.

Deglazing the pan releases the fond (browned goodness that is attached to the bottom of the pan) and subsequently builds a ton of flavor in a short timeframe. With this beef stroganoff recipe we are going to cook the onions and mushrooms first... then we add in the beef and allow it to brown. You will see (in the pictures below) the fond that is just starting to form when I am cooking the beef.

Once the fond is released from the bottom of the pan we have built flavor. The next step to a great stroganoff sauce is to build richness... but have enough balance as to not overpower the dish. We add sour cream and cream (both very rich in milk fats) but cut through the richness with a touch of Dijon and balsamic vinegar. The result will be a perfectly balanced stroganoff sauce that tastes just incredible!

HOW TO TENDERIZE BEEF WITH MILK

Tenderizing beef with milk or cream may be a foreign concept, but trust me... it works! The enzymes and lactic acid in the milk help to quickly tenderize the beef. We don't need to marinate it for more than 10 to 12 minutes for the beef to really soften up. The tenderization works so quickly in this recipe simply due to the fact that the beef is sliced thin.

If you want, you can tenderize larger cuts of beef with milk too. I've tenderized a well marbled strip steak in cream for 30 minutesbefore adding it to theSous Videfor an hour. Cuts like butter. Literally.

You can tenderize beef with other marinades as well. I've seen people tenderizebeef in vinegar, which I don't recommend. Vinegar can actually dry out the beef and make the outside layer a bit mushy. I'm not a huge fan.

If you are feeling adventurous, go ahead and soak your beef right in the cream. As I say in the recipe, just be sure that you don't pour the whole bowl of beef and cream into the pan! Remove the beef with some tongs, shake it off and add to the pan. We'll add the remaining cream later in the recipe.

QUICK COOKING TIP:You won't find the recipe for the rice that I cooked in the stroganoff recipe. In the event that you want to make the exact dish, here's the scoop to make my beefy basmati rice:

1. Add 2 cups rice, 3 cups stock, 2 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and a couple good cranks of pepper to a pot with a lid. Mix well.
2. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for 18 minutes.
3. Fluff with a fork, taste and adjust the seasonings. For a more luscious rice, add a touch more butter.

Otherwise, you can make some rosemary polenta, herb spiked noodles (fresh tarragon would be delicious!), cauliflower rice or evenzoodles. If you really want to be authentic, spaetzle is the way to go.

Ok. Let's get going on this yummy beef stroganoff recipe!

FINAL THOUGHTS ON THE BEEF STROGANOFFRECIPE:

When my kids got home from school the day that I made this recipe to share with you, the excitement on their faces as they smelled the stroganoff sauce was amazing. They both asked if we could eat dinner early. I love it when that happens... particularly when I made this recipe HOURS before they came home. That's the thing with old world recipes: the aroma is intoxicating.

Have you ever found yourself walking outside for a couple minutes to reset your sniffer? I do it just to be able to come back inside and smell the goodness inmy kitchen again. I have to confess that I do it a lot, particularly with old world recipes like this stroganoff. Whether you do weird stuff when you cook or not, I hope that you enjoy this beef stroganoff recipe as much as we do. Happy eating.