Polish Beef Stroganoff
Delicious strips of sirloin beef in a creamy roux-based sauce, the Polish beef stroganoff also known as goulash (gulasz) has a surprise ingredient! Rich, hearty, and flavorful, it’s perfect for a celebratory dinner!
What is Stroganoff? Is It a Polish Dish?
Stroganoff is a dish of seared beef cooked with fried onions in a roux-based sauce. The original Strogonoff (Stroganoff or Stroganov) was a Russian invention.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Russian aristocracy loved everything to do with France. It’s said that a French chef working for the Strogonov family in Moscow created the dish and named it after his benefactors. Some say the chef made the beef so tender because Count Stroganov’s teeth were very poor.
The original recipe was lost over time, but most of the ingredients were known – sauteed onions, beef that had been pounded or marinated till it was tender, mustard, and a sauce made of sour cream and tomatoes.
The mustard soon disappeared from the dish, but the rest of the ingredients were refined even more.
The first written recipe for Beef Stroganoff was in the 1871 Russian cookbook A Gift to Young Housewives by Elena Molokhovets. The dish was called Govjadina po-strogonovski, s gorchitseju which translates to “Beef à la Stroganov, with mustard”.
Her recipe used mustard and sour cream in a beef broth without mushrooms or onions. Molokhovets used cubed beef in her recipe, but other recipes used strips too.
Ingredients vary around the world too, with many versions of ‘authentic beef Stroganaff’ existing. The French recipe included wine, one recipe served it with potato strips, the American recipe serves it with egg noodles.
The Polish Beef Stroganoff
The Poles have their own version of the Russian Beef Stroganov. Of course, we cook it with mustard paste and tomato sauce, fried onions, mushrooms, herbs, and more. But we have a secret ingredient, the dill pickle!
Chopped dill picked are cooked along with the onions and mushrooms and lends the dish a nice acidic flavor!
We also add less flour and sometimes the sour cream is also skipped in favor of more tomato paste with a more soupy look. Try the Polish beef Stroganoff at home! You’ll love it!
What is the difference between beef stroganoff and beef goulash?
Traditional goulash is a stew/soup that used a cheaper cut of meat suited to slow cooking along with peppers, while stroganoff uses more quality meat. In Poland, however, the dish is combined into one often called gulasz strogonow with stroganoff being the type of goulash.
Recipe Pointers For Polish Beef Stroganoff Recipe
- The longer you leave the marinade the tastier it gets!
- Add brandy or wine to the sauce if you like.
- Pound the beef with a mallet if you want it even more succulent and tender.
- Do not brown the beef for too long or it will get dry!
- Want a sweeter sauce? Add one more onion!
- If you don’t have tomato paste, you can use tomato sauce too!
- Replace the water with beef broth to give it more of a meaty flavor!
- Polish beef stroganoff goes well with egg noodles, pasta, or rice.
- Alternatively, serve with some toasted bread, roasted veggies, and dill pickles!
FAQs about Making Tasty Polish Beef Strogonoff
Which Cut Of Beef Is Best For Making Polish Stroganoff?
Sirloin steak will give you the most tender and juicy meat. But you can also use flank steak, beef tenderloin, beef chuck roast, or top round roast. If you find beef steak too pricey, you can also use pork tenderloin.
Do I Have To Cut Strips Or Cubes?
It’s really up to you. The oldest written recipe for beef stroganoff by Elena Molokhovets cubes the beef. But you can cube, dice it or slice it as you like!
Can I Use Any Other Meats To Make Polish Beef Strogonoff?
Yes, you can also make stroganoff with pork, chicken or turkey meat.
Can I Make A Vegetarian Stroganoff?
Yes, to make a vegetarian stroganoff, you can replace the beef with mushrooms using this mushroom stroganoff recipe.
What To Serve With Polish Beef Strogonoff?
You can serve Polish beef stroganoff with bread, kopytka, rice, or groats. They also go well with mashed, fried, baked, or boiled potatoes. Serve with a side of Polish dill pickles!
How To Store Beef Stroganoff?
Store the beef stroganoff in a covered container in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. Reheat before serving.
Polish Beef Stroganoff
Delicious strips of sirloin beef in a creamy roux-based sauce, the Polish beef strogonoff has a surprise ingredient! Rich, hearty, and flavorful, it's perfect for a celebratory dinner!
Ingredients
- 1 lbs of beef (sirloin)
- 1 yellow onion
- 2 small dill pickles
- 1 tiny red pepper
- 3 wild mushrooms (or 1 portobello mushroom)
- 2 tablespoons of wheat flour
- 2 tablespoons of tomato concentrate
- 1 grain of allspice
- 1 bay leaf
To marinate meat:
- 2 tablespoons of oil
- 1 teaspoon of sweet pepper
- 1 tablespoon of mustard
- 1 tablespoon of minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- half a teaspoon of marjoram and cumin
- 1/3 teaspoon of pepper
Instructions
- Mix all marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add chopped meat into it, cover with a rag, and leave for about an hour. You can also do it a day earlier and leave overnight.
- Spread all the pieces of meat on the board and sprinkle with wheat flour, then fry on a pan with oil for about 3 minutes.
- Meanwhile, dice the onion, mushroom, dills and pepper. Remember to remove the seeds from the pepper.
- Add all the veggies to the pan with meat and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Then add 1.5 cups of water, tomato concentrate, a large bay leaf and a ball of allspice (lightly mush it with a knife).
- Turn the gas to a minimum and cook under cover for 60 minutes until the meat is soft.
- Serve stroganoff with fresh bread or kopytka.
Notes
You can also use a few dried mushrooms instead of fresh ones, but then you need to put them aside to soak for at least an hour beforehand.
