Hungarian Goulash

Questions About Hungarian Goulash

Hungarian Goulash: Step by Step

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1. Melt the lard in a heavy pot and cook the onions over medium-low heat for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring often, until completely collapsed and golden. This is the base of the dish and it cannot be rushed.

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2. Add the garlic, caraway and green peppers and cook 4 minutes.

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3. Take the pot off the heat entirely and let it cool for 60 seconds.

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4. Stir in both paprikas and 3 tablespoons of water, mixing quickly and thoroughly so the paprika cannot catch.

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5. Return to low heat, add the beef and salt, and stir to coat. Cook for 10 minutes, letting the meat release its juices.

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6. Add the tomatoes, bay leaves and enough stock to cover by 3 cm. Bring to a bare simmer.

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7. Cover and cook gently for 90 minutes, until the beef is beginning to yield.

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8. Add the potatoes and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes more, until they are tender and the broth has thickened slightly.

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9. Stir in the vinegar, rest 15 minutes off the heat, and serve in deep bowls with bread.

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Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

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A Few Pointers

• Buy genuine Hungarian paprika. Generic paprika is a completely different, much duller ingredient.
• Off the heat before the paprika goes in. Ten seconds of direct heat will ruin the entire pot.
• Equal weights of onion and beef sounds like a lot. It is correct.

Changing the Recipe

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
• A dry vermouth keeps for longer than an open bottle of white wine and is the closer swap than a random white left in the fridge; for an alcohol-free version, use the same amount of stock with a squeeze of lemon.

Serve It With

A Hungarian Kékfrankos or a dark lager · Serve with crusty bread and pickled peppers · Finish with a strudel

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Lángos, Nokedli.

Storage

Refrigerate 4 days, freeze 3 months. Like most braises, it is better on day two.

Hungarian Goulash Nutrition Facts

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: where a line offers a choice of foods, only one of them is counted. How the figures are worked out.

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