Food Notes: 2/3
Beef Stroganoff, snack prices, Iguana pizza, and more!
I’d been meaning to make Beef Stroganoff since last winter, and I finally got around to it on the ninth consecutive day below freezing.
The golden age of Beef Stroganoff in the United States was the mid-century, post-war period. Of course there’s a version made with Campbell’s mushroom soup. There’s also a version from the Pennsylvania Dutch Noodle Company, makers of wide egg noodles, and the same company that helped popularize a version of Alfredo sauce made with cream and Swiss cheese.
But even in the 1960s, most Americans understood that pouring canned cream of mushroom soup over noodles was not some kind of authentic experience. It didn’t help matters that there are numerous variations of the dish, although in actuality, that’s part of the appeal. The key ingredient is sour cream boiled down with broth into a creamy sauce. Beyond that there are no rules. Even the strips of beef are negotiable with chicken Stroganoff a popular alternative.
I would have said mushrooms are essential, but I’ve seen a few recipes now that don’t include them. Onions are optional too, and in my case I swapped in shallots. I saw a recipe calling for red wine, and another for white. Some include tomatoes or tomato paste, but that produces a much darker sauce. Paprika and dijon mustard can contribute to the flavor, but nobody agrees on which is more authentic.
What generally most people agree on is Beef Stroganoff originated in Russia in the early 19th century, but here is where the agreement ends. The dish is likely named for Paul Stroganoff, as the mid-century newspapers in America christened him, better he is better known in Russia as Count Pavel Alexandrovich Stroganov. Either during the reign of Alexander I or Alexander II, both have come up, a French chef who worked for the Stroganov household invented the dish, an oddity at the time because the meat was in the sauce like a stew rather than served as a condiment alongside it. Also Stroganov died in 1817, a year before Alexander II was born.
In one account I found from 2005 by Julius Pokomandy in the Chilliwack Progress, the dish was introduced by Chef Charles Briere and won first prize during a competition among the court’s household cooks. One problem with this story though is it attributes Briere’s recipe to 1891, almost a century after Stroganov’s death.
Another accounting of the origin claims the dish was created with minced meat because Stroganov, in his old age, couldn’t chew full cuts. There’s another legend, with little credibility, that Stroganoff himself created the dish while stationed in Siberia. In this bedtime story, the cold Siberian winter had frozen the beef, leading him to cut the meat into thin strips – but there’s no accounting for the sauce. And then there is the natural evolution of dishes, like as to Mike Lew at Bon Appétit explains who makes the case that the original Beef Stroganoff recipe evolved from a French recipe for beef with mustard.
There are other similar dishes in French and Russian and Jewish cuisine that might have inspired the original Stroganoff, and plenty of evidence to suggest some variation of the dish pre-dates Stroganov.
While the American version of the dish became popular in the 1950s and 1960s, the recipe in English predates the war. There’s a recipe attributed to the restaurant, Russian Kretchma, on East 14th Street in Manhattan in the collection, Where to Dine in ‘39 by Diane Ashley. This version includes julienned beef, mushrooms and onions broiled in a pan with a sauce built from cream Worcestershire sauce. As with most Americanized recipes, the popularity in the post-war period can be attributed to low-labor meals involving pouring the contents of a can on top of the contents of a box.
I would be making my Stroganoff from scratch, but I needed a few things from the grocery store. When I arrived in the pasta aisle, I was debating between the classic Pennsylvania Dutch Extra Wide Noodles and the Light’n Fluffy brand. That’s when another guy asked me which I thought were better. His mother had sent him to buy a bag so should could make “chicken pastry.” He added, “it’s like chicken Alfredo.”
“Pennsylvania Dutch helped popularize Alfredo sauce in America,” I said. I’m not sure this was actually helpful for him. He ended up with the Light’n Fluffy.
I also served the Beef Stroganoff alongside a cucumber dill salad.
The Undisputed, Most Authentic, Genuine Version of Beef Stroganoff
INGREDIENTS
1 pound beef sirloin
1 shallot
10 oz white mushrooms
1 cup sour cream
16 oz beef broth
2 green onions
1 bag of extra wide egg noodles
4 tablespoons butter
½ cup-ish AP flour, plus 1 tablespoon
Two dashes Worcestershire sauce
Two big squirts of Dijon mustard
Dash Garlic powder
Dash Onion powder
Dash Paprika
INSTRUCTIONS
Slice the beef extra thin against the grain
Coat in flour
Boil water for noodles
Heat half the butter
Toss in battered beef about 1 minute
Remove the beef and set aside
Add in sliced shallots
Add more butter if necessary
Cook shallots about 1 minute
Add mushrooms
Salt
When mushrooms have lightly browned create a space at the center of the pan
Add a tablespoon of butter and melt it
Add a tablespoon of flour and stir with butter
Add in the sour cream and stir together
Add in the brother and stir together
Add mustard and Worcestershire sauce
Fully combine broth, sour cream, butter, and flour and increase heat
Add dash of garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, salt and pepper to taste
Add beef back into sauce and simmer until cooked
When noodles are cooked, drain
Either combine noodles in the pan or serve sauce over noodles
Garnish with sliced green onions
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