[Beef Stroganoff] Actually Pork & Veal Stroganoff with secret-method tenderness.
I invented this recipe today, 12 october 2006, a variation of the well known favourite.
I will now reveal a deep secret. Not even my family knows it - each time I use it they just sit back drooling in shock and awe. OK, I had to make dinner for one of the kids (Dan) & his partner Naomi on short notice today. But there wasn't time to slow-cook what I had in mind: Beef Stroganoff. You must never present a stew that you've made on the fly with short cooking. They're always tough unless you use fillets, which of course would be silly. Anyway the secret is HowTo get tender, succulent, textured cubes in a stew after only two hours of simmering ordinary meat. Well here it is buried in the recipe below. See if you can spot the key factors.
[Beef] Actually Pork & Veal Stroganoff with secret-method tenderness. -- serves about six depending on age
AKA: HowTo brighten up some meat, onion and mushrooms so its just spectacular
Utensils
You'll need a variety of things of course, but I recomment you use a flat frying pan with a good solid base, a teflon spatula, a wooden spoon and a heavy-based stewing pot with a lid. Also have a clean large paper or plastic bag, no holes, strongish, to put flour & pepper in for coating the meat cubes.
Ingredients
400 gm mid quality pork (whatever's on special) --- cube it by hand to circa 2cm cubes
400 gm mid-quality veal (whatever's on special) --- cube it by hand to circa 2cm cubes
One bulb of garlic ------------------------------------ chop ten cloves finely
One onion--------------------------------------------- chop coarsely
One bunch shalotts ----------------------------------- chop to 3 cm lengths
twenty four not-too-small button mushrooms---------- cut to thirds or halves to same approx bite size as meat cubes
One can peeled tomatoes -----------------------------smashed (the toms, not the can)
two fists full of diced bacon
one to three tablespoonsful cream
one quarter bottle red quaffing wine
small carton beef stock (or a couple of cubes in water)
one teaspoon full of hot chilli sauce (careful - just a touch)
eight tablespoons full of worcestershire sauce
Lots of plain flour to go into the shaker bag for coating the meat cubes.
More white pepper than you would at first think, to go in the shaker bag
Two generous teaspoons of paprika (I suggest on of smoky paprika + one of sweet)
Prep the Stew Pot
Put the tomatoes, wine, stock, chilli sauce and worcestershire in the stewing pot and stir together.
Braise the Meat
Shake up the meat cubes in the bag of flour & white pepper, remove excess flour [e.g. use a colander], separate cubes into two piles. Heat frying pan to highest heat. On an electric stove this might take up to 15 minutes from cold with a decent frying pan. Put one teaspoon of olive oil in the hot pan. Swish around. Add one pile of coated meat cubes and turn constantlty until browned. Note -- this is essentially dry frying -- don't add more oil. Tip the browned cubes into the liquid in the stew pot. Put another teaspoon of oil and the second pile of meat into the frying pan. Braise & and the add braised meat to stewpot. Stir stewpot contents gently but very well.
Braise the Mushrooms
It's important to encourage the mushroom flavour out while retaining the texture and substance of the mushrooms. here's how you get them ready for the stew pot. Yout frying pan is still very hot. Dump the cut-up mushies in. Toss through: four flat teaspoons of butter. Turn mushrooms constantly with the spatula. After about three to five minutes you smell this great aroma. The mushroom flavour is being liberated. Now be careful. just before the mushrooms start to wilt, take the pan and sweep them into the stewpot and stir gently but thoroughly.
Braise the Rest
Put the bacon, garlic, onion and shallots in the very hot frying pan. Add no oil. Stir and turn until braised. This shouldn't take more than about four or five minutes. Stir fry the paprika in for the last 90 seconds in the very hot pan. Add to stew pot and stir through, gently but thoroughly.
Simmer until cooked
Put you large simmering plate on its lower/lowest setting. Put pot on with lid on and go away for a half hour while it heats to a simmer. reduce heat to bare plip/plops bubble and cook for up to two hours more, assuming the supermarket / butcher didn't just sell you rubbish meat.
You can take the lid off for the last 30 to 15 minutes if you think it's too "wet", but it should have thickened up a good bit, given the way it was prepared. It improves if you put it in the fridge overnight but if you can't its still very very special. Just before you serve, take it off the stove, wait a bit, make sure the bubbles have completely stopped and stir the cream through [or use yoghurt etc if you're a health fanatic]. Use this routine: add a tablespoonful, stir through, see what you think, maybe add another and so on. Don't use too much.
That was just so special. It has soul and character. Its a cry of ecstasy to the heavens on a cool starry night.
P.S. Here's a variation on the theme of stroganoff: Winter Stew