Beef stroganoff is one of those faithful staples of the hearth I turn to when I need a break from fancier fare. My old trusty recipe, handwritten on a wrinkled, water stained piece of typing paper, went something like this:

egg noodles, prepared
2 lbs stew meat, cubed
? white onion, chopped into squares
1? (10.75 oz) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup, fat free
? cup water
¼ cup fresh chives, finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1¼ tsp Worcestershire sauce
1? cubes beef boullion, crushed or minced to powder
? cup white wine, dry
1 (8 oz) container low fat sour cream
? cup chopped fresh parsley
1 large box fresh mushrooms, cut in half, lightly sautéed

salt
pepper
flour
butter

1. Toss beef in a mixture of flour, pepper, and salt.
2. Heat the pan, coat with a little butter, and quickly sear the beef. Remove the beef to the crockpot.
3. Saute onions and garlic and place in the crockpot.
4. Add mushroom soup, Worcestershire sauce, chives, wine, and water.
5. Cook on low for 4 hours. Then increase temperature setting to high and leave the top ajar for an additional 2.5 hours.
6. Turn the heat down again to low, add sour cream, parsley, and mushrooms. Simmer for a half hour and serve over egg noodles.

The lengthy cooking time in the crockpot made the beef tender and moist. The texture was almost perfect. However, two years later, I found myself reconsidering the ingredients and the cooking method. For one, I really don't like using canned cream of mushroom soup; it's certainly not fresh and the ingredients list made me wince. (And no, I prefer to avoid making cream of mushroom soup from scratch with real cream. So that's not an option either.) Second, those sautéed mushrooms and the seared beef lose some of their flavor in the pan—what chefs call "fond" in the particular example of meat. Why not put those flavors in the dish?

So today’s attempt at re-creating this recipe went something like this:

3 steaks of top round roast 1.0-1.25 inches thick (about 4 lbs) seasoned with salt and pepper
1 bunch green onions, tops trimmed off and discarded; chopped all the way up to and including most of the white stem
1 cup fresh italian parsley, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 (8 oz) container low fat sour cream
1 (8 oz) container low fat cream cheese
Hanna Winery Sauvignon Blanc Russian River Valley 2008, as needed
2 lbs fresh brown mushrooms, each mushroom cut into 4 slices
1 cube beef boullion, chopped then dissolved in about ? cup hot water
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1.5 tsp mustard
prepared egg noodles
whole milk
canola oil
salt
pepper

1. Place a skillet brushed with canola oil on high heat. When the pan is hot, sear one steak until browned (about 2 minutes each side). Remove the steak from the pan and set over an inverted spoon. Then deglaze the bottom of the pan with just as much white wine as necessary—no excess! Pour the deglazing liquid into the crockpot. Place the pan back on the burner; when it is dry, apply canola oil, and repeat the frying process for the other two steaks, being sure to deglaze the pan each time and reserve the liquid. Allow each of the steaks to cool for 5 minutes before proceeding.
2. Slice the steaks into ? inch strips against the grain at an angle. Then cut the strips into 1.25 inch pieces. Place all the cut beef into the crockpot.
3. Add to the crockpot about ¾ of the green onions, about ¾ to half of the parsley, the garlic, half of the sliced mushrooms, the Worcestershire sauce, the boullion mixture, the mustard, salt, and pepper. Toss with the other ingredients in the crockpot.
4. Add enough whole milk to bring up the liquid in the crockpot; at least half the ingredients should be immersed in the final liquid mixture.
5. Turn the crockpot on and cook for a couple of hours on high heat, stirring periodically. NB: A lengthy cooking time is necessary to achieve the perfect meat tenderness. Don't mess with the crockpot until you can stick a fork in a hunk of beef and easily tear into strips.
6. While the contents of the crockpot are cooking, mix together sour cream, cream cheese, salt, and pepper. Set aside in the fridge until ready to use.
7. When you're a few minutes away from finishing, quickly saute the remaining fresh mushrooms, add wine to "mop up" any pan remanants (if necessary), and add to the crockpot. Stir in at least half of the sour cream and cream cheese mixture. When warmed, serve over egg noodles.
8. Stir what remains of the green onions and parsley into the leftover sour cream and cream cheese. Use as a spread for bagels or a crusty sliced boule.

The flavor was rich and had wonderful depth, just like I'd expect; the meat was cohesive, yet oh so tender, and was the perfect size. But the texture! The texture was completely wrong—more like a soup than a sauce. Employing a thickener might be necessary, but I hate using cornstarch. (Being allergic to corn for most of your life will do that to a person.) So maybe arrowroot? And/or less milk—only a half cup or none at all? The beef, the mushrooms, and the greens provide plenty of liquid.

Perhaps an even more significant departure in technique is necessary. The process I use-where the meat is first seared then transferred to a crockpot-is called braising. It’s the traditional cooking method for beef stroganoff. But as a last resort I might follow this alternative: fry the beef till medium rare, slice the meat thinly, and deglaze as before. But add the additional ingredients to the pan with the deglazing liquid, bring to a boil, lower the heat until the mixture simmers for 15-20 minutes. Then toss in the beef and the sour cream and cream cheese mixture. Serve over egg noodles when warmed.

I’d still prefer to use the crockpot, as slow-cooked meat produces the most tender results for even the cheapest cuts. However, I’m willing to experiment.