' I created this recipe based on my memories of my Hungarian grandmother’s goulash and recipes I found online and in the Joy of Cooking. My husband and son really liked it; my daughter wasn’t so keen (but she’s at the age where if it’s not what she wanted to eat, she doesn’t like it).
Though it turned out well, there are things I’d like to change. It’s definitely on the Make It Again list, so when I do, I’ll make a note of the results of my experimentation here.
Hungarian Goulash, Initial Draft
6 slices hardwood smoked bacon, diced
2 cups thinly sliced onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sweet Hungarian paprika
2 1/2 lbs chuck roast, cut into 1/2″ pieces
1 1/2 tbsp caraway seeds
7 juniper berries
10 allspice berries
1 cubanelle pepper, cut into quarters lengthwise, then sliced thin
2 tbsp minced garlic
4 cups beef broth
- Toast the caraway seeds, juniper berries and allspice berries for 1 minute oner medium heat in a dry frying pan. Remove them to a small bowl and set aside.
- Put the bacon into a cold dutch oven. Cook over medium heat until bacon is crispy. Remove bacon with slotted spoon and set aside.
- Put onions in pan, sprinkle with salt and cook over medium heat until soft and golden brown. Remove from the dutch oven with a slotted spoon and set aside
- Put the beef into a large bowl. Add paprika to the bowl and stir well, making sure each piece of beef is coated with the paprika. Brown the meat in the dutch oven in batches, making sure not to crowd them. Add vegetable oil to the pan as needed to help the meat brown. When cooking the last batch of meat, add the caraway seeds, juniper berries and allspice berries.
- Return beef, bacon and onions to the dutch oven. Add in cubanelle pepper and garlic and stir well. Add beef broth and stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and let simmer uncovered for 2 hours.
I served this with garlic-buttered egg noodles, and this recipe should serve 6 people.
Things To Try:
- Increase caraway seeds to 2 tbsp, and don’t toast them.
- Add 1 bay leaf.
- Change the cooking order of things: bacon, then meat, then onions.
- Use only 2 cups of beef broth.
Possible Variations:
- Try this as Goulash Soup. Keep the amount of broth at 4 cups, but add 2 cups of potatoes when adding the broth. Cooking the potatoes for a long time will turn them to mush and send the starch into the soup, thickening it a bit. Also add nice big chunks of carrots, and possibly parsnips and/or turnips.
