Bear Stroganoff (Master Recipe) (recipe)

1. Put on the water for the noodles. Bring to a boil. Dissolve the beef bouillon in the wine.

2. Prepare the meat by removing any silverskin, fat or whatever. Slice the meat across the grain into 2- 3" strips. Then, in a medium skillet, sauté the meat using 2 tablespoons of butter till the meat is just browned but still rare. (Do Not Overcook, it will be tough!) Remove from skillet, reserving all juices.

3. With two tablespoons of butter, sauté the onions, garlic and mushrooms until the onion is just tender/crisp. Add the reserved juices, flour, salt and pepper. Stir until smooth. Blend the wine/bouillon mixture into the onion, garlic and mushrooms. Add the catsup and sautéed meat. Bring to boil over medium/high heat while stirring. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes to thicken sauce and tenderize meat.

4. Cook the noodles per directions and drain. (approx.. 10 minutes, do not rinse) Add 2 Tablespoons butter, stir until coated. Or omit the butter and stir the stroganoff mixture directly into the noodles.

5. Fold the sour cream into the sauce mixture and heat through. Do not allow to boil.

6. Serve over buttered noodles with crusty bread and one or two of the following: steamed broccoli, grilled zucchini, pickled beets, chilled pears.

Suggested Wine: Whichever was used for sauce

may use 1 to 1-1/2 pounds of any whole or ground meat or make it vegetarian with no meat. The meat flavor strength goes up as follows, Elk, beef, bear, venison. Use a wine that corresponds in flavor strength to the type of meat. The wine chosen will also affect the sweetness of the dish. I.E. Venison and Burgundy, Elk and Madeira. You may need to increase the cooking time a bit to tenderize the meat or to thicken the sauce prior to adding the sour cream. See "Hamburger Stroganoff" for a non-wine, creamy sauce.