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Tender and juicy beef steak strips with mushrooms and onions, smothered in a savoury sour cream sauce. Making classic Beef Stroganoff is easy and quick too: ready in just 30 minutes! All you have to do is to follow my detailed instructions!
Serve this classic Russian dish with out creamy Herb and Garlic Mashed Potatoes and our homemade Rye Bread for a truly unforgettable meal.
Whenever Russian cuisine comes up in conversation, it usually starts with beef stroganoff. And it’s easy to see why.
Savoury beef pieces cooked in a creamy and slightly tangy sour cream sauce is the sort of thing that will go down well with so many people. It hits all the right notes in all the right ways, which explains its enduring popularity.
But I’m also convinced that most people haven’t tried beef stroganoff the way it is meant to be enjoyed. Even with just a few ingredients, it has astonishingly complex flavours for such a comfort food.
Just follow my authentic recipe to discover the best possible version of this legendary dish!
Traditional Beef Stroganoff
Invented and named after a member of a Russian noble family Count Stroganoff by his personal chef, this delicious beef recipe has travelled far and wide across the globe since the 19th century. It’s time I share my version, which I have to admit is classic.
The classic beef stroganoff recipe was heavily influenced by the French cuisine, which was very popular among the aristocrats in the 19th century Russia. You can see that in the creamy sauce.
However, the use of traditionally Russian ingredients like mushrooms and sour cream made this elegant dish stick around for centuries in its homeland. Given how popular creamy meat dishes are, it’s not a surprise that it has become popular the world over.
Although beef is traditional in stroganoff, the dish can be made with more. Meatball Stroganoff is particularly good and using pre-made meatballs makes the dish especially easy to make.
You can even use chicken as I did in this impossibly popular version of Chicken Stroganoff. I varied the recipe a bit to make the delicate meat of chicken shine. Or even more off the beaten path, I’ve made Beef Stroganoff Soup!
It seems to me that Beef Stroganoff to a Russian is like a Carbonara to an Italian. Something we just whip up without a recipe in little time using very few ingredients. And most importantly when extra comfort is needed.
The outcome is always the same. Immediate bliss followed by a food coma. It’s good and it’s very easy.
What cut of beef is best?
First off, the beef quality is paramount. Avoid stewing beef and buy sirloin or rump steak. I find ribeye too fatty for this dish since the sauce is already rich. I prefer using a leaner beef for a more balanced meal. Whatever cut of steak you choose buy the best quality you can afford. You only need a pound of it!
Secondly, if a steak is too expensive, go ahead and buy a more affordable pork tenderloin. Really, it’s allowed. Many Russian cooks make Stroganoff with good quality pork.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Be careful not to steam the mushrooms and take the time to brown them. It’s important to get a good colour on them, so turn you heat up to make them look extra deep golden brown.
- A combination of olive oil and butter is a great way to get even more delicious flavour. Or use clarified butter to avoid burning as it has a high smoke point.
- Use a This is an affiliate link.heavy bottomed large skillet and avoid a non-stick frying pan. You want your meat to stick to the pan, so it gets coated with brown bits.
- The taste of sour cream in stroganoff can be too strong for some people, in which case heavy or double cream can be used in its place. Just make sure not to use low fat sour cream as it tends to produce a thin sauce and may cause the sauce to split.
- The brown bits are important because they get released once you hit the pan with a shot of brandy and go into the sauce. That’s where the wonderfully complex flavour comes from. Scrape the bottom of the skillet with a spatula or wooden spoon to make sure the pieces get released.
- The recipe calls for deglazing with brandy but madeira, sherry or a dry white wine will all be perfectly good substitutes. It’s important that dry wine, rather than sweet wine is used. If you prefer not to cook with alcohol, it is possible to use the same quantity of apple juice with a tablespoon of white wine vinegar.
Serving suggestions
Dill pickles and mounds of mashed potatoes make beef stroganoff the best dinner ever! If you are wondering why pickles are necessary, I am happy to oblige. Their acidity breaks up the richness of this dish and provides a great balance! The parsley garnish helps with this as well.
You might be surprised but potatoes are the most traditional pairing for Beef Stroganoff in Russia. We serve mashed potatoes at home and indulge in fried shoestring potatoes in restaurants. Give them a try and you won’t be able to go back to egg noodles.
You can, of course, serve beef stroganoff over egg noodles like I did with my vegetarian version here. This creamy dish also goes extremely well over plain rice or pasta. Let the sauce provide all the flavour!
Storage and leftovers
Sour cream and crème fraîche have a tendency to separate after freezing, making the texture less appetizing. To preserve a smooth sauce, it’s better to use double or heavy cream instead.
Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 4-5 days when stored in an This is an affiliate link.airtight container. Warm in a microwave or over low heat on a stovetop. Let the pieces of beef get hot all the way through, but be careful not to boil the sauce.
More Russian Beef Recipes
- Porcupine Meatballs in Creamy Tomato Sauce “Tefteli”
- Cabbage Rolls “Golubtsi”
- Russian Meat Patties with Wild Mushroom Sauce “Kotleti”
- Russian Sweet and Sour Beef Stew Solyanka
Best Beef Stroganoff
Equipment
- This is an affiliate link.Cast iron skillet
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 225g/1/2 lbs crimini mushrooms/chestnut mushrooms, sliced
- 450g/1 lbs beef steak (I used sirloin), cut in strips
- 60ml/1/4cup brandy
- salt
- pepper, freshly ground
- 125ml/1/2 cup beef stock
- 1 This is an affiliate link.bay leaf
- 1 tsp This is an affiliate link.whole grain mustard
- 250ml/1 cup full fat creme fraiche or sour cream
- 3-4 sprigs-flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Heat oil and butter in a heavy skillet and cook onions and mushrooms over medium-low heat for 7-10 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- Add cut steak to the same skillet and quickly fry over high heat for 3-5 minutes.
- Add brandy and continue cooking until alcohol burns off, add stock, mustard, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula to release all the brown bits, they will add much flavour to the sauce.
- Bring mushrooms and onions back to the pan and cook for 3 minutes until everything is heated through and bubbling. Stir in sour cream over low heat to prevent the sauce from splitting. Sprinkle parsley and take off the heat. Serve with mounds of mashed potatoes or rice.
Video
Notes
- If the sour cream taste is too strong for you, replace a half of it with heavy cream.
- Do not use low fat sour cream as it tends to produce a thin sauce and sometimes cause the sauce to split.
- If you do not want to cook with alcohol, substitute the brandy with the same amount of apple juice plus one tablespoon of white wine vinegar.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I had no idea beef stroganoff was a Russian dish! That’s really cool!
One of our family favorites
I wanted to impress my new partner and he loves everything I make. I had eaten this dish but never made it and when I asked him for some ideas what to cook he requested this dish and I found your lovely recipe.He was very pleased.I only had a non stick pan but still turned out very tasty so it can only turn out even better when I buy my skillet pan.Thankyou I’ve found so many recipes to try of yours just from finding this one 😊 x
So glad you found my recipes, Lisa! Enjoy!! 🙂 x
Such a classic and delicious dinner! Love that creamy mushroom sauce!
I’ve always had my stroganoff with noodles, but it sounds delicious with mashed potatoes. Can’t wait to give it a try!
Have you tried using whole fat greek yogurt instead of sour cream? How did it turn out? 🙂
I haven’t tried it myself as I find Greek yogurt a bit too sharp for this dish.
Thanks for your reply! I did try it last night the flavor was not bad, I did not use whole 1 cup of yogurt though.
The sauce somehow reduced to very little as well, I am sure there was something I did it wrong lol
Thanks for sharing the great recipe. Next time I should try to use sour cream 🙂
How come you don’t like to use noodles?
Hi Phil, noodles are not traditionally served with Stroganoff in Russia. Mashed potatoes or fried shoestring potatoes are the norm. However, if you prefer noodles, I won’t stop you! 🙂
Can you substitute Sherry or or Marsala for the brandy and if so, which would be better?
Hi Lynnley, I wouldn’t use any alcohol that is sweet as it will give a very different flavour to Stroganoff. If you have dry sherry, then yes. If it’s sweet I would give it a miss, the same goes for Marsala.
Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. It IS a dry sherry & it smells like it would be good with the flavors of this dish. Am making it tonight for dinner so will let you know how it turns out 🤞Thanks for posting this recipe, btw. It was just what I was looking for!
Perfect! Enjoy!
I made this almost exactly as written only omitting the parsley because I didn’t have any and I used Cognac instead of Brandy. It was delicious! However, I think next time I will use white wine instead of cognac. This dish is definitely worthy of being served to ‘company’
I completely agree, Anne! Apart from being delicious, it is also quick and easy, so won’t be tired to enjoy your company!
This is a wonderful recipe. I have tried several different recipes for this dish over the years because my husband loves Beef Stroganoff and he said this is the best I’ve ever made. Thank you for sharing it. I will be serving this to company as well!
My pleasure, Ines! Enjoy!!
I made this for our dinner this evening and have to say it’s the loveliest Stroganoff. I had ran out of brandy but had a little bit of Merlot left over so I used that instead. Also, I used Dijon mustard as we prefer it.
Such a lovely recipe, hardly took any time to cook and delivered on flavour. We had ours with root veg mash and green veg.
Looking forward to making it with chicken next time and serve it with rice.
Thank you for this lovely recipe =D
Aw thank you for sharing this with me, Fay! If you do make Chicken Stroganoff I have a slightly different but no less delicious recipe for it as well
I will be checking that out then! 😛
My honey and I love this Stroganoff!
We used freshly picked Morel mushrooms in place of the crimini and it was amazing
I can only imagine, Mark. Morel mushrooms are delicious!