Formica’s Righteously Easy Beef Stroganoff

Feeds 4

Ingredients:

• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 large (or two medium) yellow onion
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 3 lbs top round/london broil, cut into either 1/2 inch strips or 1.5 inch cubes
• 2 cups cabernet sauvignon
• 2 cups beef stock
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/4 cup cold water
• Salt ‘n pepper
• 6 medium to large baking potatoes
• 8 ounces sour cream (or your preferred lactose-free substitute)
• Optional: 1/2 lb mushrooms (I hate them, that’s why they’re optional)

Method:

1. Finely chop the garlic and slice the onion into thin slices. In a large pan or electric skillet, cook the onions and garlic in oil over medium-low heat until carmelized or cooked to your preference. Remove the onion mixture to a bowl and cover with foil.

Optional: If you want mushrooms, slice them up and saute them in olive oil with a bit of salt until just soft, about half an hour before the meat mix is done. Stir them into the mix for the last half hour of cooking. If you put them in at the beginning, they will disintegrate, but if you don’t put them in for some cooking time, they won’t soak up the flavor as much.

2. Pat dry and lightly salt the beef. Fry the beef on medium-high heat to brown. You are not trying to cook the beef through, only browning it to develop flavor. If you use strips they will probably cook through, and that’s okay. Tip: meat won’t brown if there’s no space around it to dissipate liquid; it’ll just steam, and then you’ll get grey meat that tastes like ass. Leave a reasonable amount of space around each piece of meat as it cooks, and turn occasionally with a wooden spoon. Do multiple batches as needed and remove finished batches to a bowl and cover with foil.
3. When you are done cooking the meat, reduce the heat to medium, let any remaining juices start to cook off, and then deglaze with half the cabernet. Stir and get the fond off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon – you should have a whole bunch of it, and this is where your flavor is going to come from.
4. When you have deglazed and started to dissolve the fond, add the rest of the cab and the stock and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and add the onions, garlic, and meat back into the pan. Stir to combine. Cover and cook over low heat for two hours.
5. After two hours, combine 2 tsp corn starch and 1/4 cup cold water. Stir until disolved, add to the mix, and then stir immediately to thicken the sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste; this is subjective and dependent on the saltiness of your stock.  Remove the beef Stroganoff from the heat. Let cool, semi-covered (i.e. not totally exposed, but not sealed so you don’t get a nasty layer of condensation on top), until room temperature; at least an hour or two.
6. To serve: Prepare your potatoes however you like. I have become fond of cutting them into larger pieces and boiling them in lightly salted water for 9-10 minutes, draining them, and then roughly taking a potato masher to them. Don’t super mash them; just make things a bit crumbly. You can also bake them, slice them open, and serve over open potato instead.
7. Heat the beef Stroganoff through until piping hot. Remove from heat, add the sour cream and stir to combine. Serve immediately, and behold the deliciousness. Unlike typical egg noodles, potatoes bring a richness of hearty flavor that combines very well with the beef stroganoff instead of being lost in it. Enjoy!

Food Science: Why the cooling stage?

Did you ever notice how stews and braised meats seem to taste and chew better the second day? The reason is in the cooking process, and the cooling. When you cook a tougher piece of meat (like top round, with brisket being the most extreme case) over low and slow heat, the heat breaks down the collagen in the connective tissue, making the meat less tough and developing flavor. However, when allowed to cool afterward, these broken down products re-congeal as gelatin, developing even more flavor and making the meat much more tender and pleasant to chew.