It was a must-go night. We had just gotten back from the desert for a pickleball tournament we were all playing in over the weekend, and I had a tri-tip that we did not get around to cooking. I just happened to have everything I needed for a Stroganoff. I have been messing with different versions over the years, and I decided today to do the meat in a sous vide to keep it as tender as possible. It ended up working out well. One of my biggest gripes with beef stroganoff is that the meat is usually on the tough side and way overdone.
I was really happy with how this turned out. However, I had a few ideas and thoughts on the dish while I was making it. I noted them throughout this post and might try some of them next time I make this. I will edit the recipe accordingly with what I find.
Stroganoff Supplies:
- Tri-Tip (you will have some leftover)
- Beef Stock (I used the juice from the Sous Vide… having a little extra on hand is not a bad idea)
- Yellow Onion (1/2)
- Garlic (5-7 cloves)
- Shiitake Mushrooms (couple of handfuls)
- Dry White Wine 1/2-1 cup (I used whatever Michelle was drinking at the time, I think Kings Estate Pinto Gris)
- Sour Cream (1 cup)
- Heavy Cream (1 cup)
- Kerrygold Butter (tablespoon or 2)
- Thyme (to taste)
- Tarragon (to taste)
- Salt and Pepper (to taste)
- Onion & Garlic Powder (to taste)
- Cayenne (to taste)
- Lemon Pepper or Zest (to taste)
- Any sort of noodles you want to use (12 ounces)
I used Tinkyada Organic Brown Rice Spirals Pasta. If I want to go all out and accept the fact that I will feel totally gross later, I use a pappardelle (which is also pretty hard to find without Folic Acid in the ingredients). But if I want to feel like I can move the rest of the night, these brown rice noodles have become one of my go-to. They literally have 2 ingredients… Organic brown rice & water.
Start off with the meat.
You are going to want to sous vide it for around 2-3 hours.
I only had time for two hours… but next time I do this recipe, I will try 3 hours.
Pat dry your meat and season generously with salt/pepper, onion/garlic powder, cayenne, and some sort of lemon (either zest or pepper).
I toyed around with the idea of rubbing on some Dijon mustard and a little Worchester sauce to the meat before seasoning. I think I will try this next time in addition to the longer sous vide time.
Vacuum seal your tri-tip and put in the sous vide at 124 degrees for 2-3 hours. You want it to be rare since it is going to cook more in the sauce.
While the meat is cooking, chop your onion, slice the mushrooms, and mince the garlic. I also pulled my thyme off the stems and gave it a quick chop. Set this all aside until your meat is ready. No need to do this 3 hours beforehand… you don’t want everything to dry out, just get it done before the meat.
When the Sous Vide is Finished…
Heat a large pan (you are also going to use this pan for all the other ingredients later on) and add EVOO and some butter to coat it. I used a large cast iron. A Dutch oven would work well, too.
Pull your tri-tip from the water bath and remove the meat from the bag. Do your best to keep as much juice from the meat in the bag as possible. I held mine for a bit to let most of the liquid drip back into the bag. Put your bag of juice in a safe place (so it does not get discarded by unwanted guests entering your kitchen with the intention of helping clean) and pat dry your tri-tip.
Sear all sides of your tri-tip for about 1.5-2 min each, then remove and rest.
Immediately remove your pan from the heat so that the meat juices do not burn off.
When the pan has cooled to a temperature safe to cook your onions at, return it to the burner at medium heat. Add a little more butter if need be, and cook your onion and garlic. After a few minutes, add your mushrooms and some thyme to let them brown a little (feel free to use your judgment and add move EVOO if your mushrooms need it) once they have cooked down a bit and some white wine. Stir and let the alcohol from the wine burn off while scraping the bottom of the pan and deglaze. Once complete, remove the pan from heat.
At this point, I quickly sliced my steak into pretty thin layers. The meat had time to rest, and I had no one to help me cut the meat and cook the sauce at the same time. So, this seemed to be my best option.
I also starting boiling a pot of water with a few big pinches of salt for the pasta.
Once all the meat was cut, I poured all the juice that came from it back into the sauce I was starting to make, I also added the juice from the vacuum bag I used to sous vide the meat and returned the pan back to medium heat. Make sure it is not too hot, and anything could start to boil because you are going to add sour cream.
I also was planning on adding a little Dijon and Worcester at this point, but to be honest, I completely forgot… I don’t think the final part missed it at all… but maybe it could be a good addition to either the sauce directly or indirectly through the sous vide drippings.
Add the sour cream and mix with everything, once evenly dispersed, add the cream as well. Depending on how thick your sauce is, you might add a little more cream or beef stock later to thicken or thin the sauce.
Give your sauce a quick taste and start to season with a bit of salt, pepper, cayenne, tarragon, and thyme. Mix and then add your cut meat pieces to the sauce. Turn down the heat and let everything cook together.
Add your pasta to the boiling water and cook till al dente. Once the pasta is done, remove it from the water and set aside to dry just a little bit.
Stir your sauce. If it is too thick at this point, you can always mix in a little pasta water or stock. If too thin, add cream. Once your sauce is to your liking (you better have tasted it again to make sure the seasoning was dialed in), add all the pasta to the pan and toss everything together. Nothing worse than getting a dry serving of noodles with a scope of sauce on top… It’s just lazy, and you never get enough sauce.
Serve and enjoy!
If you have any extra thyme or lemon zest left, sprinkle a little on top as a garnish.
