I have loved stroganoff dishes since I was a child and my mother made mock beef stroganoff using ground beef and cream of mushroom soup, which is probably how a lot of us GenXers were exposed to it.  Much later in life, I learned the ethnic origins of the dish and about how it’s supposed to be prepared and thought to myself, “wow, that sounds super tasty!”  I have yet to have properly prepared beef stroganoff, as my own attempts have resulted in tough, chewy beef: no bueno.

I did, however, wrangle the following recipe after several years of tweaking other recipes involving chunks of pork tenderloin over rice.  What you see is a very distant cousin to a pork marsala recipe from Cook’s Country many years ago (amongst others) that had way too many onions in it for mine and my husband’s taste.  As I looked at the dish, however, I thought “it wouldn’t be hard to turn this into pork stroganoff”, so I removed some ingredients, added a couple, and changed some amounts to yield what you see here.

This is now one of the family’s favorite recipes.  It is fast and easy to prepare: you’ll be eating in about half an hour or so.  I made the gravy part easier by having you sprinkle the flour into the meat instead of removing it first and making a roux you have to try not to make lumpy.  For the chicken bullion, I highly recommend paste-type bullions as opposed to the little cubes: they’re just not as flavorful.  Along the same lines, stock is better than broth, it will yield a richer gravy.  Steamed broccoli or green beans or roasted asparagus are great accompaniments, as is a Caesar salad.

Ingredients

1-1.5 lbs. pork tenderloin
8 oz. sliced mushrooms (preferably baby portobellos, pre-sliced is fine)
2 cups uncooked rice
4 tbsp. butter, divided
1.5 cups chicken bullion, chicken stock, or chicken broth
.5 cups half-and-half
2 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. bouquet garni or other herbal blend
salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Prepare rice by preferred method (steamed, instant pot, stovetop).
2. Pat dry pork tenderloin and slice into bite-size pieces.  Slice mushrooms if necessary.
3. While rice is cooking, heat large steel skillet over medium-high heat and melt 2 tbsp. butter.  When butter is melted and bubbling, add mushrooms and sprinkle 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp. pepper over all: stir.  Sauté mushrooms for 5 minutes or until softened.  Remove to bowl and set aside.
4. While mushrooms are cooking, prepare chicken bullion, stock, or broth and mix with half-and-half.
5. Once mushrooms are removed, add 2 tbsp. butter to pan: when melted and bubbling, add chunks of pork tenderloin.  Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp. pepper: stir.  Sear for 2-3 minutes, stirring once.
6. Reduce heat to medium-low.  Sprinkle flour over pork chunks and stir.  Cook for 2 minutes or until flour begins to brown.  Pour broth-and-dairy mixture over flour-covered pork and gently stir.
7. Increase heat to medium.  Add mushrooms to pork and gravy, stir, and allow to come to a slow simmer.  Add bouquet garni and salt and pepper to taste.  Gravy will thicken as it simmers.  Serve over rice with a salad or steamed vegetables.