Is there anything better on a cold, blustery, early spring day than a hearty bowl of stroganoff? I think not!
So with some rain falling and fog rolling through I had to cook up a batch, and boy did it hit the spot.
While I use ground venison in this recipe, you can really use just about any wild game or other meat that you have on hand.
But first, how about a video cooking this up over some live fire? Here you go:
Now let's get to the recipe. As always my disclaimer: I rarely cook using exact measurements. Use these amounts as an approximate guideline and adjust as needed for your taste and preferences.
Ingredients
- 1lb ground venison
- 3/4lb baby bella mushrooms sliced
- 1/3 white onion diced
- 1 shallot diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 3/4 cup white wine
- 1.5 cups beef broth (via Better Than Bouillon Beef Base)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup Oaxacan Crema / Mexican sour cream
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce or to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
- dash of smoked paprika
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 1/2 box of Cascatelli pasta (or your noodle of choice)
Recipe
Over medium-high heat, add your meat, season with salt and black pepper and cook until it's well browned. Set aside and reserve. Don't worry if there are bit stuck to the pan. That's FLAVOR for the sauce!
In the same pan, add your sliced mushrooms and start cooking them down. Add a healthy pinch of salt to help the mushrooms release water and sweat down. As they release water, you can start to scrape any fond off the pan to add those flavor bits to the sauce.
When your mushrooms are cooked to your desired level (for me, this is about 5-ish minutes or so), add your diced white onion and shallot to the pan. Add another healthy pinch of salt to help the onions release water and cook down.
When your onions are translucent, add in your minced garlic and combine. Cook for another minute or two.
Add in the white wine and cook off the alcohol. Let the wine reduce by about half.
When the wine has reduced by half, add in your beef broth. Let this simmer and reduce by about 1/3.
Add in your heavy cream and incorporate well. Continue to simmer and reduce the sauce for about 5 minutes.
At this point, get your water boiling and start cooking your pasta.
Prep your Oaxacan Crema or other sour cream in a small container. Take a few tablespoons of liquid out of your pan and add it to the sour cream and mix thoroughly, then add this mixture back into the main pain. This will keep the sour cream from curdling when it hits the heat. Incorporate the sour cream into entire mixture. Continue to reduce for a couple more minutes.
At this point, your sauce should be starting to thicken up a bit. Add in the Worcestershire sauce and mix together.
Taste the sauce and adjust your salt and pepper seasoning if needed.
If your sauce is too runny, let it continue to reduce until desired thickness is achieved. You can also add some additional sour cream to help it thicken a little faster, but don't go too crazy. If it's too thick, don't worry you can add some pasta water in a second.
When your pasta is done cooking, add it directly into the pan with your sauce and combine. If needed, add some pasta water to thin out the sauce to your desired consistency.
Add a dash of smoked paprika and your chopped parsley to garnish and provide a pop of color.
Now serve it up and enjoy!
If you cook this recipe, please reach out to me via email or social media and let me know and consider sending it to a friend. Thank you for the support!
Also, don't forget to check out the products used in this recipe/video below!
