Beef Stroganoff | Origins, Description, & Serving Styles (2024)

beef Stroganoff, dish of French origin by way of tsarist Russia that combines thinly sliced and lightly stewed beef and onions with sour cream and other ingredients.

Beef Stroganoff is, in essence, the classic French fricassée de boeuf with the addition of equally classic Russian ingredients: onions and sour cream. There is disagreement over which member of the noble Stroganov family was honoured with the name of the dish. One theory holds that the general and diplomat Pavel Alexandrovich Stroganov, or Stroganoff, while visiting France, was feted with a variation on the dish, which was made with a sauce of Dijon mustard instead of sour cream. A second theory ventures that Charles Brière, a French chef living in Russia, simply attached the name of the noble family, which owned much of Siberia while maintaining a palace in St. Petersburg, to the dish that in 1891 earned him the grand prize at a culinary competition in what was then the Russian capital. It is possible that Brière had worked for the Stroganov family earlier, but, to complicate matters, a cookbook published in St. Petersburg in the 19th century contains a recipe called govjadina po-strogonovski s gorchitseju, or beef Stroganoff with mustard, which lends support to the first theory while diminishing the claim that Brière was its originator.

Beef Stroganoff | Origins, Description, & Serving Styles (2)

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With the addition of mushrooms as advocated by another cookbook author, Pelagia Alexandrova-Ignatieva, beef Stroganoff soon became a fixture on the menus of pre-Revolutionary Russian restaurants. When the Bolsheviks seized power in 1917, the dish traveled with Russian exiles to Shanghai, China, where a large expatriate community formed. At the same time, exiles introduced it to Paris and other European capitals. Later, beef Stroganoff was prominent among the offerings at the Russian Tea Room in New York. Inexpensive and not labour-intensive, beef Stroganoff became a popular dish for home cooks as well, and even at the height of the Cold War it was featured in standard cookbooks published in the United States.

After a long absence under that name, beef Stroganoff is now widely enjoyed in Russia, featured in several high-end restaurants in the Stroganovs’ Siberian headquarters in Perm and, famously, at the Café Pushkin in Moscow. Russians typically eat beef Stroganoff with potato straws, while many American cookbooks suggest that it be served over egg noodles or rice.

Gregory Lewis McNamee

Beef Stroganoff | Origins, Description, & Serving Styles (2024)

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Beef Stroganoff | Origins, Description, & Serving Styles? ›

beef Stroganoff, dish of French origin by way of tsarist Russia that combines thinly sliced and lightly stewed beef and onions with sour cream and other ingredients. Beef Stroganoff is, in essence, the classic French fricassée de boeuf with the addition of equally classic Russian ingredients: onions and sour cream.

How do you describe beef stroganoff? ›

Beef Stroganoff is a popular Russian dish of small pieces of beef fillet sautéed in sour cream sauce together with onions and mushrooms. The dish was named after Count Alexander Grigorievich Stroganoff, who lived in the late 19th century in Odessa. There're two versions of the dish's origin.

What do you serve beef stroganoff with? ›

What to serve with beef stroganoff. Serve it over noodles, pasta or mash – anything that's a suitable vehicle to slop up all that gorgeous mushroom gravy. Try cauliflower mash for a low carb alternative! If using noodles or pasta, I recommend using a short pasta.

What country did beef stroganoff originate from? ›

Beef Stroganoff or beef Stroganov is a Russian dish of sautéed pieces of beef in a sauce of mustard and smetana (sour cream). From its origins in mid-19th-century Tsarist Russia, it has become popular around the world, with considerable variation from the original recipe. Mushrooms are common in many variants.

What is the most tender cut of beef for beef stroganoff? ›

Traditionally, tenderloin is the meat of choice for Stroganoff, and after testing out a few alternatives—strip steak and ribeye along with more inexpensive cuts like flap meat, hanger, flank, and skirt—I decided to stick with tradition (flap meat and hanger came in a close second).

Why is beef stroganoff so good? ›

Beef stroganoff is packed with flavor from it's creamy mushroom sauce so pair it with simple grains or starches that won't compete with the sauce, such as: Egg noodles, lightly buttered (our favorite!)

What's the difference between Hamburger Helper and beef stroganoff? ›

The difference between a traditional beef stroganoff and the Hamburger Helper version is the meat. The traditional version has cuts of beef, while the Hamburger Helper version uses ground beef. I decided to stick with that for my recipe! I added in more vegetables and the homemade sauce was really easy to make.

What wine do you serve with beef stroganoff? ›

Beef Stroganoff is a rich dish that needs an equally rich red wine with high acidity, like Primitivo or Zinfandel. A peppery Stroganoff will love a fruity and peppery wine like Syrah / Shiraz. An earthy mushroom Stroganoff may call for an earthy Pinot Noir.

What to add to Hamburger Helper Stroganoff to make it taste better? ›

Worcestershire sauce: The Worcestershire sauce helps add a depth of flavor to the sauce. You could also substitute coconut aminos or soy sauce. Onions: You can use yellow onions, sweet onions, or even white onions.

How is Stroganoff supposed to taste? ›

First popularized in the U.S. following World War II, stroganoff is a hearty, flavorful dish that packs wonderful umami flavor, delicate cream sauce, the subtle sweetness of sautéed onions, the earthy richness of mushrooms, and the kick of paprika.

What's the difference between stroganoff and goulash? ›

As for the difference between the two dishes, there's a pretty simple and absolute rule: stroganoff must contain mushrooms. Gulyás must not.

Does beef stroganoff contain sour cream? ›

Add a little flour, and whisk it in to make a roux—the base of your creamy beef stroganoff sauce. Add all of the things that give this easy beef stroganoff recipe its big, bold flavors—beef broth, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, spicy Dijon mustard, and sour cream.

Does beef stroganoff contain paprika? ›

A splash of brandy, a couple cups of beef broth, some mustard and paprika, Worcestershire sauce and sour cream. The secret here is to wait to add the sour cream until the very end, temper it with a bit of the hot broth and then add it to the pan just long enough to warm it, as boiling can cause it to curdle.

What is a good side dish for beef stroganoff? ›

Serving over egg noodles is how Ukrainians remember it, but it can also pair wonderfully with other types of pasta, rice, or mashed potatoes. Beef Stroganoff's ingredients are more varied than the standard ones, such as beef, onions, and creamy mushroom soup.

How to keep meat tender in beef stroganoff? ›

The "secret" in this recipe that makes it so special is treatment of the meat with the baking soda. It ensures a wonderfully tender and velvety beef (you can use the same process with your Mongolian Beef recipe to get the same texture that the restaurants achieve).

What is the hardest cut of beef to cook? ›

Brisket. Universally beloved by barbecue pitmasters, the brisket is the breast of the cow and one of the toughest cuts. The grains of brisket are much coarser than those of other parts of the animal, so the cut requires some seriously long cook time.

What does stroganoff taste like? ›

I think of beef stroganoff as having the warm comforting taste of a slow-cooked stew with the cooking style of a stir-fry. In this beef stroganoff recipe, thinly sliced beef is sauteed until just sealed, but still rare (and never chewy!)

Is stroganoff peasant food? ›

Beef stroganoff started as a peasant dish in Russia, being a common way for peasants with enough money to buy meat to use it and make it last. The dish is served with cubes of beef in a cream sauce, spread over wide noodles. The dish's name has unknown origins, but it may be named after the prominent Count Stroganov.

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