Real Food Recipe: Beef Stroganoff

Autumn is my favorite time of year. The weather is cooling down. I resume knitting and start baking every day again. Summer clothes are packed away, sweaters and thick socks find their way into our drawers. The trees change colors. And I begin making our families' favorite dinners in earnest: soups, gravies and sauces.

Beef stroganoff is one of those tasty comfort foods that gets a bad rap. Of course, anything that comes out of a box with a package of powdered flavoring made with rancid oils and MSG is going to be disappointing.

My Beef Stroganoff is the real deal. Made with grass-fed beef, lots of nourishing fats, beef stock and fresh ingredients, this classy version will be an instant family favorite. It is mildly flavored, so children will love it, though still rich enough to satisfy our more sophisticated adult palates.

This is one of my go-to meals when I need a quick, nourishing dinner and I am too tired or busy to spend an hour in the kitchen. I can have this on the table in 25-30 minutes and clean-up is a cinch.  

Serve this Beef Stroganoff on its' own or over sprouted flour noodles, a baked potato, mashed potatoes or with sourdough bread. (Don't forget true sourdough bread is not made with yeast, but with a sourdough starter.)

 I like to serve sauerkraut and sliced tomatoes or cucumbers as accompaniments.

Beef Stroganoff
Serves 4-6

1 pound grass-fed organic ground beef
1 stick grass-fed butter (raw is not necessary, as this is a cooked dish)
1 small organic onion, finely diced
1/2 pound mushrooms, diced
1 clove garlic, crushed (optional)
1/2 cup sprouted organic flour
2 cups raw, grass-fed milk OR 2 cups homemade beef stock OR 1 cup raw, grass fed milk AND 1 cup homemade beef stock
1 cup natural sour cream ( make sure your sour cream does not have any additives, Daisy is a good brand, and quite easy to find)
dash (5-6 drops) fish sauce or all-natural worcestershire sauce
cracked black pepper
sea salt


In a large saucepan or dutch oven, brown the ground beef in the butter over medium heat. The grass-fed beef I buy tends to be very lean, and I must add butter to get it brown properly. Regardless, browning the ground beef in butter imparts a rich, beef flavor to the butter, which in turn imparts a deep, rich flavor to your sauce.

Remove ground beef, leaving butter and drippings in the pan. Next, saute the onions and mushrooms over low-medium heat, until they become tender and aromatic. If you chose to use garlic, you would add it after the onions and mushrooms have cooked, sauteing until garlic is aromatic. Take care not to burn or brown the garlic.

Turn the heat down to low. At this point we are going to make a roux. Add the flour and stir vigorously until butter and flour are well combined and bubbly. Cook for 1-2 minutes while continuing to stir vigorously. We want to cook out the flour taste.

Slowly add in the raw milk or beef stock. Stir constantly until well combined. Add the ground beef back to the pan. Keep stirring until you have a nice thick sauce. Add the fish sauce or worcestershire now. Stir to distribute throughout sauce. Turn off the heat and add sour cream. Mix in thoroughly. If the sauce is too thick for your taste, add extra milk, stock or sour cream. Add sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste.

Enjoy!