Fall

Beef Stroganoff Sandwiches

May 12, 2022
0
0 Ratings
Photo by AntoniaJames
  • Prep time 10 minutes
  • Cook time 10 minutes
  • makes 3 4-inch or 2 6-inch sandwiches
Author Notes

Back in the day when my two boys were small and I was commuting, I picked up some sirloin tips at Trader Joe’s, not knowing exactly what to do with them but confident I’d figure something out. I had some sour cream in the fridge left over from making my mother’s sour cream cake, and some mushrooms I’d purchased to use in a quiche. I’d never actually eaten a proper beef stroganoff, but had heard about it, so I perused a few recipes on my cookbook shelf, got the general idea, and winged it. The kids loved the dish, so I started serving it fairly regularly. I’d always have sour cream left over after making it, so I began using that to make a variation using leftover roast chicken, stirred into the same creamy mushroom sauce. We served that over toast. It’s a short leap from stroganoff on toast to stroganoff stuffed into a baguette to create a sandwich, so here we are! See my note at the end of the instructions, below, for tips on reverse-engineering this back to the over-toast or over-noodles options. Enjoy! ;o) —AntoniaJames

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 12” / 30 cm piece of baguette
  • 2/3 pound / 300 grams (or more, or less, to taste) of sirloin steak, trimmed of peripheral fat
  • 4 tablespoons / 2 ounces / 56 grams unsalted butter
  • 12 ounces / 340 grams sliced cremini mushrooms
  • 1 medium / 2 ounces / 56 grams shallot, peeled and sliced lengthwise
  • Salt to taste
  • 1/2 cup / 120 grams / 118 ml sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons / 30 ml dry vermouth or dry white wine
  • 1 teaspoon / 5 ml Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon / 5 ml Dijon mustard
  • 3/4 cup / 178 ml arugula, or more, to taste
  • Mayonnaise, to taste
Directions
  1. Thinly slice the steak crosswise into 1/8 thick slices. It helps to put it in the freezer for 30-45 minutes - not enough to freeze it much, but enough to make slicing easier.
  2. Cut the baguettes lengthwise between the top and bottom crust, for sandwiches. Cut 3 4-inch / 10 cm pieces for 3 smaller sandwiches, or 2 6-inch / 15 cm ones for bigger appetites. Toast them, if you like.
  3. Slather the top half of each lightly with mayonnaise to taste.
  4. In a non-stick skillet, melt half of the butter over medium-high heat until foamy and very hot. Add the steak slices and quickly toss, without stopping, just until most of it loses its pink color. Immediately remove from the heat and divide the steak, with the cooking juices, directly onto the bottom halves of the cut bread. (You want the bread to soak up all those luscious juices.)
  5. Without cleaning the pan, put the mushrooms and onions into the skillet with a generous pinch of salt, turn the heat to medium, splash a few tablespoons of water into the skillet, and tightly cover the pan. Cook over medium heat, without disturbing it, for 5 minutes.
  6. Meanwhile, whisk together the sour cream, wine or vermouth, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard.
  7. Remove the lid and toss the onions and mushrooms. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. When the butter has melted, toss it with the onions and mushrooms. Cook without stirring for another minute or two, or until the onions are brown (however dark you like them) and the onions are soft.
  8. Turn the heat off for about 15 seconds. (If the pan is too hot, the sauce will evaporate so quickly it practically disappears.) Stir in the sour cream sauce and turn the heat back up to medium, stirring evenly to distribute the sauce. Cook for another 10 seconds. Test for salt and correct. Grind on some black pepper to taste and give it all another quick stir.
  9. Pile the mushrooms and onions on the steak that’s on the sandwiches. Scatter arugula on top of that and cover with the prepared top pieces of bread.
  10. Press down gently for 3 or 4 seconds, serve, and enjoy ;o)
  11. N.B. This is also good using room temperature leftover roast chicken instead of beef. Increase the sour cream by two tablespoons, and toss the chicken with the onions and mushrooms at the last minute, right before piling onto the bottom pieces of bread.
  12. o make this to serve over toast or noodles, follow the instructions above, but set the meat aside in a bowl while cooking the onions and mushrooms. Whisk about a cup of stock into the sour cream sauce, with an extra 2 - 3 tablespoons of sour cream and an extra dash of Worcestershire sauce, before adding the sauce to the pan. Stir it well, bring to a simmer, and cook for about a minute over medium heat before adding the beef or chicken back in, along with any accumulated juices. Turn the heat off and serve immediately. (Do not cook the meat any further, or it will be tough.)

See what other Food52ers are saying.

AntoniaJames

Recipe by: AntoniaJames

See problem, solve problem. Ask questions; question answers. Disrupt, with kindness, courtesy and respect. ;o)

0 Reviews