Beef Tenderloin Stroganoff

This doesn’t happen often: A chunk of tenderloin in the freezer? I’d tucked it there after making Beef Wellington (see Dec. 19, 2011 post), and wondered what I might do with it. It’s winter in the Time Zone and at the Latitude Where I Live, and winter demands comfort food! So I chose Beef Tenderloin Stroganoff. This was the first time I’d used tenderloin to make this dish, and wow! Was it successful! The two of us gobbled it down, with extras left over for another meal. From start to finish, this recipe took less than 15 minutes.

Beef Tenderloin Stroganoff:

4 oz. (125 g) fettucine or any broad noodle

3 tbsp. strained bacon fat or vegetable shortening

1 tbsp. butter or margarine

1 lb. beef tenderloin, sliced into 1-in. chunks

2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

½ tsp. salt

2 tsp. coarse black pepper

10 large mushrooms, sliced lengthwise

1 tbsp. beef extract 

2 tbsp. ketchup

2 tsp. any commercial steak sauce such as A-1 or HP

1 tbsp. all-purpose flour

Boiling water

1 c. sour cream

¼ c. sherry or dealcoholyzed cooking sherry

Fresh parsley, finely chopped, or 2 tsp. dried parsley flakes, as garnish (Optional)

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add fettucine and cook 10 min. As pasta cooks, melt bacon fat and butter (or their smarter substitutes) on high heat in a large skillet. In a plastic bag, shake together meat chunks and combined flour and seasonings. 

Add flour-coated meat to sizzling fat, stir-frying until seared on all sides, about 1 min. Remove from pan and set aside. Lower heat to medium and add mushrooms, turning frequently and cooking until tender. 

To glass measuring cup, add beef extract, ketchup, steak sauce, and flour with just enough cold water to combine. Top with boiling water to make 1 c. liquid. Return meat to skillet with mushrooms. Immediately stir in seasoned liquid, combining well. Cover and simmer 2 min. 

As meat and mushrooms simmer, combine sour cream and sherry. Reduce heat to low, adding sherried sour cream to mushrooms and meat in pan, just to heat through. Drain pasta; transfer to serving dish. Pour meat mixture over pasta, garnishing with parsley. Serves 4.

Add pasta to large pot of boiling water.

Sear seasoned, flour-coated beef over high heat.

Cook until browned on all sides. Remove from pan.

Lower heat to medium. Fry mushrooms until tender.

Return meat to skillet with seasoned liquids.

Combine sherry, sour cream.

Drain pasta.

Transfer pasta to serving dish.

Add sour cream to mushrooms and meat.

Combine well to heat through.

Pour over pasta.

Garnish with fresh or dried parsley.

Note: You’ll find other Stroganoff recipes indexed under One Click: Stroganoff.