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European Recipes

Slow-Cooked Beef Stroganoff

As you may, or may not, know, slow cooked beef is one of my favourite foods. Indeed, this is my second such recipe of the year, the first being a rather exquisite beef bourguignon. Beef, prepared in this way, has become a regular fixture on my eating calendar for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I have taken the decision to stop eating meat flippantly. Meat is expensive, nowhere near as sustainable as vegetables or pulses and unhealthy if eaten too often. Indeed, the world could do with each and every meat eater indulging in a little less animal. Secondly, when I do decide to give in to my carnivorous tendencies, the best cure for an absence of meat is a rich, deep and delicious beef stew. I don’t mean to preach, this isn’t the Vegetable Church.

Beef stroganoff, as you might imagine, is a traditionally Russian dish. However, it has, in recent years, become famous around the world in various different guises. Indeed, stroganoff often makes use of the slightly more expensive cuts of beef, which isn’t really favourable to my cause. As such, this is a slow-cooked version, which allows the use of the cheaper, yet delicious, cuts of beef. The beef stroganoff is, in my opinion, better off for this change. The flavour is so dark, rich and creamy and the taste of the beef penetrates the entire dish completely. However, this CorrieCooks recipe remains true to the traditional elements of the stroganoff: it is creamy, satisfying and chock full of mushrooms.

Beef Stroganoff

Serves 5-6

Ingredients:

• 500g diced beef

• 250g chestnut mushrooms, quartered

• 75ml French brandy

• 2 onions, finely chopped

• 2 cloves of garlic, mashed

• 2-3 bay leaves

• 1 tsp paprika (smoked is nice)

• A generous sprig of fresh thyme

• 600-700ml beef stock

• A knob of butter

• 150ml crème fraîche

• Olive Oil

• Seasoning

• A few sprigs of flat-leaf parsley

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 180C. Fry the onions in a good slug of olive oil, begin to brown the meat. Sauté the mushrooms in the brandy on a high temperature, until browned. Transfer all of the ingredients above to a large, cast iron, oven pot and continue to cook. Tip in the garlic, bay leaves, paprika, thyme and butter. After stirring for five minutes pour in the beef stock, place in the oven and cook for a minimum of two and a half hours, but preferably three or more.

2. After the designated period of time return the pot to the hob. If necessary reduce the liquid, before adding the crème fraîche. Season to taste and serve with mashed potatoes, garnish with a little parsley.

Cost: Diced beef, here in Wales, is roughly £1 per 100g serving. Therefore, this jolly lovely pot of food comes in at an impressive, and rather rough, £7.50. That price includes the mashed potatoes and constitutes, I think, a rather frugal feast.

71 replies on “Slow-Cooked Beef Stroganoff”

LOVE Beef Stroganoff 🙂 Hope to give this recipe a go soon 🙂

Thanks for sharing it, it looks delicious.

this is so inspiring–i love a good beef stew recipe! you make a great point about slow cooked meats; they are absolutely satisfying and totally what we mostly-vegetarians crave when we want something con carne. thank you for the gentle reminder that a deep, rich beef stew is what I want for dinner!

This reminds me of a kitchen experiment gone bad just a couple of days back when I made Beef Bourguignon with red bell peppers instead of flavor-absorbing vegetables like carrots. It completely altered the taste, though we still enjoyed every bit of it. Taught me a valuable lesson in being more traditional with my slow-cooked meats 🙂 Beef Stroganoff is next on my list, and I’m not messing with any of it!

Looks gorgeous!

I know what you mean about not eating meat flippantly. That’s an approach I’ve been growing into over the last few years, and it seems to have taken root – I’m currently trying to use up the meat in my fridge (vaccuum packed) or freezer before the start of Lent, and am having great difficulty doing so, because this will involve eating meat every second day, and possibly three days in a row if I can’t send my dinner guests home with leftovers on Wednesday. I just can’t bring myself to write that on a menu plan. It’s not even about ethics at this point, it’s a purely physical revulsion against eating so much meat in such a short space of time. I really like meat, but this is too much (though we used to eat meat every day)!

Catherine

Slow-cooked meat is easily my favorite repertoire! I have been thinking about beef stroganoff lately – my mom used to make it with cream of mushroom soup (oh yeah, Campbell’s)…and while I loved it when I was young, there is just no way I’d eat that now. Love your elegant recipe and uh…thanks for not making it with cream of mushroom soup 🙂

Oh my ! I do love slow cooked food and have beef in the freezer waiting for me when I get back from hols. As I am so close to Cornwall I think that I could also muster up a couple of cornish pasties as well with this filling just to remind me of the fantastic time.

The best comfort food and making large batches is another way to use meet with a healthy sense of restraint. I can see how this would be a favourite dish. Pray tell what might you serve for dessert with such a feast? 🙂

Oddly, I’ve received about 60 posts, including this one, from you today! Not sure what’s up…anyway,since it’s Sunday, I actually have time to read some of them. This sounds wonderful, & so much superior to the sort of instant, American way I learned to make “Stroganoff.” A can of cream of mushroom soup, a tub of sour cream, & some frozen meatballs. Heat up & pour over wide noodles. My kids loved it; but I only made this when I had almost no time. I have a question for you: do you cover the pot while it is in the oven? I assume so; but you don’t really say.

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