Frank’s Beef Stroganoff and Broccoli

It’s tantalizing tender bite-size chunks of top sirloin, seasoned to perfection, very gently smothered down with onions and mushrooms in a rich beef broth, and finished to a velvety smoothness with sour cream and white wine. That, y’all, is my recipe for real beef stroganoff, and I can promise you it will be among some of the very best you ever ran past your lips!

Ingredients

1/2 stick margarine or butter
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 lbs. top sirloin, diced into one-inch cubes
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. white pepper
2 tsp. Frank Davis beef seasoning or comparable brand
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. flour
1 lb. mushrooms, sliced
2 cups onions, diced
6 cups beef stock, canned or homemade
1 cup white wine (Rhine wine preferred)
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
16 oz. sour cream
1 lb. extra broad egg noodles, cooked al dente
1/4 cup minced parsley for garnish
2 bunches of broccoli, trimmed to florets
2 tsp. Frank Davis vegetable seasoning or comparable brand
1/2 stick butter or margarine

Instructions

First, in a 5-quart heavy aluminum or porcelain-coated cast iron Dutch oven combine the margarine and the olive oil and bring the mixture up to medium-high heat on the stovetop. In the meantime, with the diced sirloin spread out evenly in a single layer in a sheet pan, liberally season the meat with the salt, black pepper, white pepper, and beef seasoning, tossing it over and over vigorously with your hands to ensure that each piece receives a thorough coating of the spice.

Next, transfer the seasoned beef chunks into a large bowl and sprinkle the cup of flour over them.. Again toss the sirloin briskly with your hands, making sure that each piece is dusted evenly with the flour. Then immediately shake off the excess flour and—a few pieces at a time—begin dropping the beef chunks into the hot oil in the Dutch oven (at this point the heat should be turned up to high!). It is also important that you don’t overcrowd the pot during this step: you want to maintain the sizzle so that the oil doesn’t cool to the point of it "boiling" the beef instead of "searing" it. When all the meat pieces have been dropped into the pot and evenly browned, remove them with a strainer spoon and set them aside for a moment.

Meanwhile, in the same pot you browned the beef, drop in the onions and mushrooms and sauté them very gently over medium heat—remember, you don’t want the onions to caramelize in this dish; you just want them to "clear." At this same time, evenly sprinkle the two tablespoons of flour over the onions and mushrooms, stir everything together, and cook the mix for about five minutes to get rid of the "pasty taste" of the raw, uncooked flour.

It’s at this point that you can begin converting these base ingredients into a "stroganoff."

Start by pouring the beef stock and the white wine into the cleared onions, stirring the mixture, and cooking it over medium heat until it takes on the appearance of a rich onion soup (which should take you about 10 minutes).
Next, drop in the seared beef chunks and combine them uniformly into the mix.
Now pour in the Worcestershire sauce, cover the pot, reduce the fire to low, and simmer the sirloin pieces for about 25 minutes. Halfway through the cooking time, take the cover off the pot, taste the resultant gravy (which, at this point, should now be slightly thickened, smooth, and silky), and readjust the seasonings as desired. Remember, the stroganoff should taste slightly over-seasoned, since its potency has to carry the seasoning for the noodles which will be added to the dish.

Finally, about 10 minutes before you’re ready to eat, stir in the sour cream and "cream" it into the pot over a medium-low heat. All that’s left to do then is to add in the pre-cooked noodles and fold them evenly into the beef and gravy. Garnish with the minced parsley, dish it up piping hot right from the pot, and serve alongside hot-baked pistolettes and a saucer of tender crisp buttered broccoli and you have a N’Awlins meal fit for the most regal of Hungarian royalty.

Chef's Notes

The absolute best way to prepare the broccoli is to trim the florets, place them into a Corningware or Pyrex container, cover tightly with plastic wrap, poke a couple of holes in the top, and microwave the vegetable for about 8 minutes on high. Then season it with my vegetable spice, top it with butter while still piping hot, and toss it in a large bowl. Actually, from this point on, I don’t expect you ever again to steam or boil veggies. . .unless your microwave breaks and you gotta eat before the repair guy gets there!
The reason for mixing the butter and the olive oil is to raise the flash point of the butter so that it doesn’t burn at a higher cooking temperature.
I suggest you purchase top sirloin as opposed to “regular stew meat” whenever you decide to make stroganoff. The degree of tenderness you’ll realize from the higher quality will be worth the extra investment.
After adding the wine to the beef stock, I recommend you cook the gravy uncovered for a few minutes so that the alcohol can evaporate.