Beef Stroganoff

On the allure of patina.

Human beings, despite their infinite permutations of character, often can be categorized into one of two buckets. There are, of course, infinite buckets — but in many scenarios, any given person falls into one of two.

Some examples:

• You finish grocery shopping and are left with an empty cart. Do you wheel it to the cart area, or do you leave it next to your parking space?

• You’re the first person up in a houseful of coffee drinkers. Do you make one cup, or a whole pot?

• You have an appointment on the second story of a building. Do you take the elevator or the stairs?

Those are all, to a certain extent, example of morality and values, but you could have a barometer of personality and taste as well. One I was contemplating recently:

• You get a new pair of white shoes, which get scuffed while walking to work. Do you try to clean and shine them, or let the white continue to fade?

That last example tests your preference for what you might call “patina.” The word originates from the Italian word patina, meaning shallow dish, and referred to the green discoloration that appeared on aged bronze or copper¹. Over time, it’s expanded beyond oxidation of metals and now you’ll hear any aged or weathered object as “having patina.” Your scuffed leather boots? Patina’d. Your old Barbour jacket? Patina’d². Part of the reason why I love cast iron so much is because it ages so nicely.

Patina is a bit superficial, obviously. It can be faked. But I think the best items, the things worth spending your time and money on, are the ones that get better with age. And generally, I’m of the mind that it’s better to use what you have, and embrace the scars and stories that accumulate, than keep everything so pristine you’re worried about ruining things³.

This week we’re making beef stroganoff, which is not something I’d let sit out long enough to acquire patina. Not just because it would probably cause gastrointestinal distress⁴, but because it’s such a delicious meal, it simply wouldn’t last that long. The preparation is a tad bit more involved some of the other recipes we’ve done, but I’ll go on the record and say it’s worth it.

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Heat up a knob of butter in a large cast-iron pan. When it’s bubbling, dump in at least a pound of mushrooms, preferably more. Let these cook, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid has cooked out and the mushrooms start to brown. While this is happening, dice up a bunch of garlic and at least twice as much onion.

When the mushrooms are fully cooked down, drop the onion and garlic on top, and cook, continuing to stir occasionally, until the onions and garlic are soft, fragrant, and mostly cooked down. At this point, deglaze the pan with a hefty slug of bourbon, brandy, sherry, or cognac⁵. Let this reduce by about half.

While this is on-going, you can start cooking a steak per your preferences. I like reversed seared, but you can pick your poison.⁶ You should also start thinking about starting to cook your pasta at this point⁷.

Once the mushroom sauce is reduced, go ahead and stir in a few shakes of smoked paprika, a solid squeeze of Dijon mustard⁸, and about 4 cups of chicken stock. Give this a solid stir, then let simmer for about 10 minutes or so until it’s reduced by about half and is getting thick. Stir in at least a cup of sour cream and a squeeze of lemon juice, and then whisk thoroughly to incorporate. Drop your al dente pasta into the pan, and finish cooking the pasta in the sauce⁹.

Serve in a bowl, with your steak on top.

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So there we have it, folks. Beef stroganoff.

I’ve got nothing else to say this week, so off you go. Don’t let your computer screen hit you on the way out!

PS: Comment of the week on last week’s recipe… from our very own Nana CWD. This made me laugh out loud!

And to answer your question: Yes, can confirm this will work on hot dogs. Just make a few slits in your dogs¹⁰ , marinate for a bit, and pop under the broiler for a couple minutes until they are just charred. Serve on buns with a miso aioli!

1. Presumably because they first noticed it on bronze and copper dishes which held water, and, naturally discolored quickly.

2. Just rewax it every once and awhile, okay?

3. If you haven’t guessed, I let my shoes get scuffed.

4. Much like some short ribs I once had… *ahem* G-ma.

5. Normally we use bourbon, but we used cognac this time and it was delightful. I think the little extra bit of sweetness went a very long way, given how heavy the rest of this recipe is.

6. Or omit the meat, that’s also an acceptable choice (but barely!).

7. Probably worth noting at this point that this recipe makes enough sauce for about two pounds of pasta. If you’re not cooking for a small army, you can cut down the amount of sauce you make, but I’d encourage you to reduce only the liquid at the end — the more mushrooms, the merrier!

8. We used almost the entirety of a bottle.

9. Let is be known that this is the only way to finish pasta. Mrs. CWD asks why you would ever consider cooking pasta and adding the sauce after the fact. Just a missed opportunity!

10. Kobe beef hot dogs only!