My previous article on beef stroganoff was outdated and in dire need of revision. So when Tyler sprung the "Thanksgiving surprise" and this week’s dinner plans were thrown into disarray, I reached for this ye old recipe and started hacking and slashing with my red correcting pen. I decided to stick with a slow cooker method (more commentary forthcoming on why I may not in the future). However, in this rendition, I incorporated rich semi-gelatinous white beef stock, dried and fresh mushrooms, blond roux, and freshly ground mustard seed.

Ingredients
vegetable oil
4.58 lbs (about 3) top round steaks
salt
freshly ground black pepper
white wine
white beef stock
1 cup whole milk
1 bunch scallions, chopped (including white stems)
1.28 ounces dried mushrooms
1 sachet (bay leaf, thyme, oregano, 1 clove garlic, parsley stems, black peppercorns)
4 ounces low fat sour cream
4 ounces low fat cream cheese
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp whole mustard seed, ground
⅓ cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 lbs fresh mushrooms, sliced
blond roux
whole wheat egg yolk noodles, prepared according to directions

1. Reduce your large steaks to a more manageable size by cutting across the grain. For three large steaks totaling 4 lbs, cutting each steak into three equal portions should be adequate. Apply a generous amount of salt and pepper to both sides of the steak. Allow the steaks to warm slightly, until they are no longer cold but merely cool. As you know, warming meat before searing will considerably improve your results.
2. Swipe the inside of your 6 quart enameled cast iron dutch oven with a very thin layer of vegetable oil. Heat the dutch oven to medium or medium-high. When the cast iron is completely preheated, sear the steaks (in batches) on both sides, about a minute per side. Set the steaks aside and allow them to cool for 5 minutes.
3. Turn the heat under your dutch oven down to "warm." Deglaze the bottom of the dutch oven with white wine, using about ½ cup to 1 cup. Use a wooden utensil or a non-metal spatula to gently scrape up the brown bits at the bottom of the pan.
4. Cool down the wine with the addition of one to two cups of beef stock. When the mixture in the dutch oven is warm, but not hot, stir in one cup of milk. NB: It is essential to add the liquids in this order, as the milk will likely curdle if you do not.
5. Slice the beef thinly (again, across the grain) into 3 or 4 inch strips. Add the strips to the liquid in the dutch oven. When all the beef is in the pot, the liquid should just cover the meat. If not, add more beef stock. Cook on warm for several hours. The "warm" setting should be just enough to slow cook your beef. You may be tempted to turn up the temperature, as the cast iron (and the liquid) will initially feel too cool to accomplish anything, but remember: cast iron heats very slowly. If you turn up the temperature and walk away, you may return to find the mixture boiling and your milk curdled. Take my advice and start low. If after 40 minutes you're not satisfied with the temperature, turn up the heat in small increments and allow the cast iron to acclimate.
6. Before the last hour of cooking, when the beef is just barely tender, add the scallions, the dried mushrooms, and the sachet.
7. In a separate bowl, whip the sour cream and cream cheese together with a whisk or a fork. Then stir in the mustard seed, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, salt, and pepper.
8. A few minutes before the beef is done, sear the mushrooms in batches over medium high heat.
9. When the beef is finished, add a little of the pot liquid to the bowl with the sour cream mixture and stir until combined. Then, pour the sour cream mixture into the dutch oven and mix. Add cool roux (not cold) until the sauce thickens to the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
10. Plate noodles, mushrooms, and slices of beef. Then pour over a small serving of sauce. Serve.

History is usually a subject I reserve for the first half of an article, but in my critique of the recipe, I find myself drawn to a discussion on origins of beef stroganoff. As with almost every "history" of an iconic dish, there is a certain degree of inescapable myth and legend. Is beef stroganoff named after Count Pavel Stroganov? At this point, it’s difficult to say—although certainly, as Anne Volokh points out, there is a certain trend in Russian cuisine for naming dishes after famous households. Historical references to beef stroganoff are quoted at The Food Timeline, if you want to do more research on the subject. The earliest recipe for beef stroganoff, from Elena Molokhovets, appears in 1861.

I wish I had a translated copy of the 1938 beef stroganoff recipe from Larousse Gastronomique. The method of cooking the meat would be quite different, I imagine, but I wonder about the sauce. Certainly there would be no cream cheese. But in retrospect, if I were to describe the sauce I’ve used here, I would call the sauce a bechamel from the time of Auguste Escoffier—that is, a veloute to which cream (or in this case, milk) is added. I haven’t prepared the sauce in exactly this way, but the ingredients are there.

As to what I thought of the result:

1. The flavor of the sauce is excellent: rich with beef and hints of mushroom, creamy, and just a little sour. (I love the addition of the dried mushrooms and aromatics.) The beef is tender, but the texture still doesn't seem optimal. At this point, I may prefer to pan-fry the beef to medium-rare and toss with heated sauce just before serving. Also, the dried mushrooms should probably be sliced at some point, just to improve the consistency of each bite.
2. If the meat is not slow cooked, the sauce will need to be prepared in a more traditional fashion. I would bring the stock to a slow simmer, steep the dried mushrooms and sachet in them for 30 minutes, and then remove both the mushrooms and the sachet. Slice the mushrooms and reserve. Thicken the stock with roux. Add cream. Finish with sour cream, homemade mustard, and parsley. Serve over pan-seared mushrooms (perhaps chantrelle), re-hydrated mushrooms, beef, and egg noodles. No cream cheese, no Worcestershire sauce, and (maybe) no wine. I would like to add scallions or, short of that, leeks or shallots, but I'm not exactly sure where to introduce them. Perhaps thicken the veloute with a mirepoix? Or julienne the leeks and pan fry? Not sure. Food for future thought.

It’s somewhat rare (in my admittedly limited experience) to find a white beef sauce. So let’s cultivate this baby.