Aunt Eva's Swedish Stroganoff

My Aunt Eva's parents came from Sweden early in the 20th century. She had learned many of her mother's recipes and was a fabulous and adventurous cook. I was fortunate to have inherited all her treasured cookbooks and also fortunate that she took time to teach a newlywed to make this version of stroganoff. The only difference in mine is that I use my own homemade glace de viande rather than the beef broth as in the recipe. This is a very, very basic recipe. Experiment with it to get it as you like it, Aunt Eva would have approved. A short discussion about the recipe before it was made public: http://www.recipezaar.com/bb/viewtopic.zsp?t=180064

• Ready In: 4 hrs 5 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4  tablespoons bacon drippings
• 2  lbs  round steaks, cut in 1 inch cubes
• 1  medium  white onion, chopped
• 2  tablespoons flour
• 4  cups beef broth
• 24  ounces sour cream, not low-fat and at room temperature

Directions

1. Melt dripping in a pan that is large and heavy enough to hold at least 6 quarts of liquid and meat at a simmer for 4 hours.
2. When dripping is at a "sizzle", add the cubed beef in small enough batches to thoroughly brown the cubes. Remove as soon as they start to "bleed-out.".
3. When all beef is browned, add onion, stirring well until translucent but not too soft.
4. Reduce heat to medium low and return the beef to the pot when your pan has cooled a bit. (Keep stirring while the pan cools, or just take the onions out.).
5. Sprinkle flour over the cubes and stir well, scraping the bottom of the pot, until the flour is well-distributed.
6. With heat still at medium low, return onions, if you removed them earlier.
7. Gradually add the liquid, stirring and scraping the pot all the time to incorporate everything together.
8. Turn heat up to med-high and bring contents to a slow boil.
9. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and simmer, checking for liquid level and stirring occasionally. Add more broth if the liquid is getting too thick. You want enough liquid to make sure your cubes get tender.
10. After about 4 hours, the beef should be tender and your liquid getting harder to thin. That's a good thing. It's hard to judge just exactly what the consistency should be without some experience. Keep at it, everyone seems to end up with a stroganoff that is runny or really thick at one time or another.
11. Remove the pot from the heat, allow to cool just enough that the sour cream won't break when you put it inches.
12. If you aren't sure about this, put in a cereal spoonful and see if it curdles or separates into curds and whey. If it does, it's too hot.
13. When the beef mixture has cooled enough, gently fold in the sour cream, stirring slowly and steady until it incorporates completely with the rest of the ingredients.
14. Serve immediately with egg noodles or on rice, if you prefer.