In my humble opinion, this is comfort food at its finest! Everybody needs comfort food from time to time. This recipe is comfort food right out of a can or package, but could easily be made with all homemade/homegrown ingredients.
If you are a recipe history buff then you know that the first recorded occurrence of hamburger stroganov happened in 1891. A French chef, Charles Briere, won a St. Petersburg cooking contest with a dish he named Beef Stroganov. (Note: the spelling of his dish is different.)
My version is apparently an Americanized version. It also does not have the strips of thinly sliced meat. Thin strips could certainly be used, but that would generally mean more work or more cost. Furthermore, nothing in my recipe is homemade.
All I know for sure is I grew up with this dish and it’s one of my favorites.
The Sauce
The sauce is incredibly easy. Step one, brown the ground meat. Personally, I prefer the meat to be beef, venison, or pork. I have found that ground poultry just doesn’t give the same quality of comfort and taste as the other meats. Also, many recipes ask for sausage. I’ve found that just the ground meat works fine. There is no need for the “sausage” meats with this recipe. Add the soup, sour cream, and onion powder… …sauce done.
The Noodles
You can use whatever pasta you want or happen to have on hand. That’s probably enough said, but some other info may be helpful. Personally, I prefer wide egg noodles. I have used the thin, wide, and extra wide versions. I have also used elbows, spaghetti, fettuccine and ramen noodles. (In a pinch the ramen noodles work, but the flavor is off somehow that I cannot explain. I do not recommend them when you try this recipe the first time).
Hamburger Stroganoff
Course: MainCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy4
servings2
minutes30
minutes300
kcal32
minutesIngredients
1 lb Ground beef, pork, turkey, chicken or venison
2 cans condensed Cream of Mushroom soup
1-2 cups sour cream
1-2 tsp onion powder, or to taste
1 – 12 oz package of egg noodles
Directions
- Brown the ground meat. Drain the fat, if any, (save for soap or candle making). While the meat is cooking, start the water for whatever pasta you have chosen. Cook the pasta to your desired doneness level, drain.
- Add Cream of Mushroom soup, sour cream, and onion powder stirring until all ingredients are incorporated.
- Heat thoroughly.
- To serve, place pasta on a plate, add sauce, and ENJOY!
Notes
- Depending on your taste, each can of Cream of Mushroom soup gets 1 cup of sour cream. Some folks like less sour cream, experiment.👍
- If the sauce seems too thick it can be thinned with milk or half and half. In an effort to keep the comfort level up I prefer richer milk not 1or 2 percent variety
- I find that saving the water from the noodles and using it in other recipes like soup or stew is a good use of this by-product.