Stroganoff Sauce

The Stroganoff sauce has its secret, would you like to discover it? There is not a 'Stroganoff sauce' as such, this sauce always accompanies meat dishes like 'beef or tenderloin a la Stroganoff'. Its preparation is very simple and its slightly acidic flavor goes perfectly with meat dishes but also with pasta or baked potatoes. On this website, we reveal the best-kept secret of Stroganoff sauce.

Origin of Stroganoff sauce

The name of this sauce originates from Russia - there is no doubt about that - however, its creation is not as clear. The most accepted theory is that it was created by a French chef working for a bourgeois family in St. Petersburg in the late 19th century.

At that time, having a French cook was a sign of distinction. The cook made a recipe that didn't carry the current ingredients (mushrooms for example) but did include meat, mustard, and sour cream. To give it a name, he used the surname of his boss who was called Pavel Stroganoff. The recipe became popular, and later other ingredients were added to the sauce such as mushrooms or tomato.

How to make the recipe Stroganoff Sauce

1. The first step is to clean the mushrooms which often tend to have dirt, as it's a small quantity we will finish quite quickly. Often, to wash the mushrooms quickly, we place them under the tap, but doing this affects the texture and aroma of the mushrooms. Why does it affect them? Having a high water content of over 90%, if we wash them under the tap they will absorb water. That's why they may end up tasteless and with a rubbery texture. Washing them without reducing the aroma is very simple. You need a large colander, a deep bowl with water, and a toothbrush. Put the mushrooms in the colander. Fill the bowl with water and submerge the colander with the mushrooms for 40 seconds. Shake the colander lightly or move the mushrooms with your hands to dislodge the dirt or sand.
2. Next, wet the toothbrush in water and gently brush each mushroom. This process takes you a few seconds for each mushroom. Then we put the already 'brushed' mushrooms back in the colander. We change the water in the bowl and submerge for about 25 seconds shaking the colander up and down. Ready, we just have to drain the mushrooms well and slice them for our Stroganoff sauce recipe.
3. The next step is to prepare our packet soup, we look for one that has little salt (there are different brands but some have a reduced salt content). By using mushroom soup, which is a cheap and easy to find product, we save time in the recipe and the result is very good. However, if you have homemade mushroom soup, don't hesitate to use it for this recipe because it will turn out spectacular.
4. In a saucepan, we put 400 ml of water, when it starts to boil we add the packet soup and prepare it over medium heat for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it rest. By adding only 400 ml of water, we will get a thick soup, which is exactly the texture we are looking for.
5. While these minutes pass, we make the sour cream, this product is very typical in Eastern European areas, they sell it already prepared (in medium supermarkets or in large stores), however, you can make a fairly simple homemade version. In a container, add the cream or evaporated milk, lemon juice, and vinegar. Mix and set it aside, reserve this cream for later.
6. Cut the meat into pieces that are not too small, about 4 cm. Season with a little pepper - we do not add salt since the sauce already contains it.
7. Finely chop the onion and cut the garlic cloves into large pieces. Prepare a pan over low heat and add the butter, when it melts, sauté the onion and garlic for two minutes, if the garlic begins to brown, remove them so they don't become bitter.
8. Add the meat to the pan and sauté over medium heat for two minutes until browned. Add the mushrooms to the pan, lower the heat and mix. Cover the pan and let the mushrooms sauté for three minutes.
9. Next, add the mushroom soup, sour cream, and tablespoons of fried tomato to the pan. Stir gently to mix all the ingredients. Cook over low heat for 8 minutes. Let it setlle for about five minutes before serving the sauce.

Notes and Tips

You can prepare the sauce following the recipe and then use it to accompany pasta or potatoes or white rice. This is why at the beginning I told you that the 'Stroganoff sauce' as such does not exist, it is not made alone like, for example, mayonnaise, it requires cooking and ingredients like meat and mushrooms to achieve its exquisite taste.

Did you like our Stroganoff sauce? If you want, you can see easy homemade recipes like mushroom risotto. Don't forget to download our app!, you will have the best recipes daily.