Best Beef Stroganoff with a secret ingredient!

I learned this recipe while living in England over 45 years ago. The chef who used to serve me this dish finally told me about the secret ingredient, which is pickles (called gherkins in UK).

We usually serve this with rice, but it goes just as well with pasta.

Ingredients for 3-4 servings
1.5 lb top sirloin steak
brandy for cooking
2 Tbsp olive oil or grape seed oil
2 Tbsp butter
1 onion
2 large dill pickles
0.5 lb brown mushrooms
2 garlic cloves
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup beef broth
¾ cup heavy whipping cream
¼ cup sour cream
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp green onion
to garnish: add some parsley
Rice or pasta

Directions:

Cut steak into thin even slices and put them in a bowl. Grate an onion and squeeze the juice into the bowl with the meat. Add the juice of a large lemon or a couple of limes with plenty of black pepper. Cover and keep in fridge for 24 hours. This will help to make the meat more tender.

Place a large deep pan or dutch oven over medium-high heat.

Heat the pan until it's very hot (especially if using a stainless steel pan) then add the oil and once oil is hot, add the thinly sliced beef strips in a single layer, cooking 1 minute per side without stirring. Cook until just browned and no longer red. Sear beef in separate batches so you don't overcrowd the pan. Try and not incorporate any of the onion juice as this may can ruin the taste.

Once all the beef has been cooked, add them back to the pan and add some brandy and cook for a couple of minutes until the alcohol evaporates.

Remove beef and cover to keep warm.

Add the butter and cook the mushrooms until all the water has evaporated and the mushrooms are completely dry and browned. To help with water evaporation, add some salt to the mushrooms. You don't want soggy mushrooms! People who don't like mushrooms will change their mind when you serve them mushrooms that have been properly cooked.

Add the chopped onions and sauté for 6-8 minutes.

Add the garlic and sauté 1 minute until fragrant.

Add the flour and sauté another minute stirring constantly.

Pour in the beef broth, scraping any bits from the bottom of the pan, then add the whipping cream and simmer another 1 to 2 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Stir a few tablespoons of the sauce into the sour cream to temper it so the sour cream doesn’t curdle, then add it to the pan while stirring constantly.

Finely chop the dill pickles and add to the sauce.

Add the Worcestershire and dijon mustard, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Continue simmering until sauce is creamy.

Add beef with any accumulated juices back to the pan and bring just to a simmer or until beef is heated through.

Serve with either rice or your favorite pasta.