I came up with the idea for this recipe after making chipotle sour cream to go along with baked bean & cheese burritos. The sauce was so good, I just wanted more of it. Then I remembered beef stroganoff, which is essentially beef coated with sour cream. If I just added chipotle to the sour cream, I’d have exactly what I was hankering after, right?

So that’s what I did, and it materialized just as I wanted it to. If you love chipotle & sour cream, this will be right up your alley. On top of that, there are a lot of ways you could take it — it’s so simple, flexible, and quick.

chipotle sour cream beef

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 to 1.5 lbs sirloin steak, sliced as thin as possible against the grain
6 tbs butter, divided
1 large sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
3/4 tsp salt, divided
1 to 1.5 cups sour cream (I went with the larger amount, because I love sour cream, but ended up thinning the sauce substantially. I imagine one cup would be plenty.)
1-2 chipotle chilies in adobo with their juices, chopped fine (I used two, and it was just over the edge into being too spicy — it took away the flavor and focused on the heat. I’d stick to one next time.)
1 to 1.5 tsp oregano
1/4 to 1/2 tsp coriander
1 tsp white wine vinegar, optional (If I had lime on hand, I definitely would have used that! Other vinegars should work too. It is just to bring a little brightness and pop to the dish. A squeeze of lemon or lime when serving would work too.)
Water, milk, broth, or reserved cooking water, to thin sauce as desired

Directions:

Heat 4 tbs of butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Once melted, add a single layer of sliced beef (you’ll have to do this in batches — don’t try to squeeze them all in). Cook just to brown. Basically, as soon as you are done with laying down a single layer, go right back to the beginning and flip the first slice over. That’s about how long it should take. You don’t want to over cook the meat. Adjust the heat if necessary. Once slices are just browned on both sides (seeing peeks of pink here and there is okay), transfer to a dish. Continue in batches until all slices are just browned on both sides. Once done, sprinkle the pile of slices with 1/4 tsp salt, toss to mix, then set aside.
Using the same skillet, lower the heat to medium low. Add the remaining 2 tbs of butter and melt. Then add the onions. Cook stirring occasionally until onions are nice and soft and fragrant and starting to get golden brown, about 15-20 min. Add garlic at the end and cook stirring frequently until soft and fragrant, about 2-3 min.
Meanwhile, mix together sour cream, remaining 1/2 tsp salt, chipotle, oregano, and coriander until well mixed. Taste and adjust seasonings if desired. Set aside until onions and garlic are done cooking.
Once onions and garlic are done cooking, lower heat to lowest setting. Add sour cream mixture along with the beef and all its juices. Stir well. Add the vinegar, stir, then taste to adjust seasonings if desired. On lowest heat, cook gently to allow flavors to blend, about 5-10 minutes, thinning sauce with water, milk, or broth to reach desired consistency. Be careful when cooking not to let the sauce come to a boil or even a hard simmer as it will curdle (tasting fine, but looking unappetizing). If your sauce should start to curdle (which happened to me when I tried to up the vinegar amount when reheating), try adding some more sour cream. That worked for me.
Serve over rice, egg noodles, roasted potatoes, or quinoa. Or, use as a burrito filling with roasted sweet potatoes. I also see this tasting amazing with scrambled eggs. The possibilities seem endless. Enjoy!

Notes:

I am confident other meats would work just as well. Substitute browned ground pork or beef. Cooked chicken breast (shredded or in chunks) would taste pretty fantastic too.
Winner addition: roast some potatoes (imagine sweet potatoes!) and throw into the mix. And bacon wouldn’t be out of place either….

Beneath the Crust

Beef in Chipotle Sour Cream