Friday, September 19, 2008

Better Beef Stroganoff

Beef stroganoff is traditionally made with flour for thickening and served atop some sort of starchy side like egg noodles or rice. Traditional beef stroganoff doesn't really fit into a healthy low-carb lifestyle, but with a little tweaking we can make it so it can become a regular fixture on your low-carb menu.

Ingredients
  • 2 pound ground beef (75% - 8o% lean)
  • 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
  • 1 t kosher salt
  • 1/2 t black pepper
  • 1 beef bouillion cube chopped or crushed
  • 5 cloves fresh garlic thinly sliced
  • 3/4 large onion sliced
  • 8oz sliced mushrooms
  • 1.5 c sour cream
  • 1/2 c mayonnaise
Directions
  1. Brown the ground beef in a deep saucepan over medium-high heat.
  2. Remove the cooked ground beef from the pan and set aside, but leave any drippings in the pan. A slotted spoon works well for this.
  3. Reduce heat to medium.
  4. Add onions, mushrooms, and garlic to the pan and cook until the onions begin to get soft.
  5. Reduce heat to low.
  6. Add the remaining ingredients to the pan and stir until blended.
  7. Add the cooked ground beef back to the pan and stir to combine.
  8. Season to taste as needed.
  9. Remove from heat.
I think this is great served over cauliflower rice. I posted the recipe for Cauliflower "Rice" - Plain so you'd have something to serve your stroganoff atop.

And in case you're wondering about thickening without using flour, you don't need to thicken since you're using a beef bouillon cube instead of a bunch of beef broth.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Cheers,
Alex

PS. Don't fear the fat!

2 comments:

Former Donut Junkie said...

Alex, two great recipes. Beef Stroganoff is something I love but have rarely eaten. I have used some Xanthan Gum when I need to thicken something. It takes the tiniest amounts, it is so powerful. It is zero carbs and would probably only take 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon!

Alex said...

FDJ,

I use xanthan gum for thickening as well. I don't use it in my stroganoff because it just doesn't need it.

I've used xanthan for gravies and chili, but you're right it doesn't take much.

For those of you who don't know, you may be able to find xanthan gum in the natural foods section of your grocery store. I find mine at Market Basket. It's the Bob's Red Mill brand.

If you try the recipe, make sure you post some feedback for others to check out.

One of my favorite features on All Recipes.com is the comments people put in to say what they liked, didn't like, and what they did differently. I'd love for people to do the same here.

If you want to find all the recipes I've posted, click here. You'll get all the recipes I've posted in order, with the most recent ones on top.

Cheers,
Alex

PS. Don't fear the comments ;)