Attached is the Beef Goulash ( Marhapörkölt ) recipe from my nephew, Maskál Ferenc. ( “marha” means beef, “pörkölt” can be translated as browned )
I made it just recently using 3 pounds of chuck meat from Whole Foods.
I cut the meat into small pieces ( see recipe ) and simmered it for 3
hours–UNCOVERED. Water is added back in as it evaporates to cover
the ingredients. You want stew consistency, NOT soup consistency when it’s all done.
The only difference between “pörkölt” and “paprikás” is that the latter has sour cream added to it as the final step in cooking, about
5 minutes before the stove is turned off. My family only ate “pörkölt” made of various meats ( chicken and pork mostly ). Caraway seed is only used for Beef Goulash ( Marhapörkölt ) and Goulash Soup ( Gulyásleves ) to my knowledge.
Hope you like it.
Ingredients:
- Avocado oil ( use less if adding bacon–see next item )
- OPTIONALLY: 3-4 thick sliced bacon cut into sliver to render the fat from them for flavor
- 1 to 1.5 large yellow chopped onion
- 4-5 cloves of garlic chopped
- 1 tablespoon of caraway seed, whole
- 4 tablespoons of good quality ( Hungarian ) sweet paprika
- 2.5 to 3 pounds of stewing meat from Tony’s or Costco
- 2 Green bell peppers
- 1 Red bell pepper
- 1 Medium potato peeled and cut into small bits ( I use it to thicken the stew, NOT essential )
- 5-6 Campari tomatoes ( these actually have taste )
- 1-2 tablespoons of tomato paste ( to thicken the stew, NOT essential )
- 1 Tablespoon of Hungarian Goulash Paste ( Amazon has it sometimes, NOT essential )
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup of dry red wine ( NOT essential, but I always use it )
Preparation:
Trim the meat of fat and cut it into half inch cubes ( you don’t need to use a ruler to check… 😉 )
Heat oil, MEDIUM heat
Optionally add bacon slivers and render the fat from them, until they brown
( Leave the bacon slivers in the pot. They’ll add flavor to the food )
Sautee the onions and garlic until translucent at medium temperature ( about 4-5 minutes )
Add caraway seed
Turn the heat off and wait for the oil to stop sizzling ( about 1-2 minutes )
Stir in paprika and blend it well with the onions and garlic
Turn the heat back on HIGH
Add the meat and blend it well with the onions, garlic, paprika, and caraway seeds
Keep stiring until the outside of the meat turns color from raw red
Add wine
Add hot water until it covers the ingredients ( I nuke filtered water just before adding it )
LOWER heat to simmer the pot contents
Starting from this point, I simmer the ingredients in the UNCOVERED pot for about 3 hours
or until the meat is tender to my liking. As the water evaporates, add some more to keep covering
the ingredients. I start adding salt about half way through cooking. You don’t want to add
too much because as the liquid reduces, the stew will be saltier. Adjust salt to
the final level 20 or so minutes before you’re done cooking.
Once the above ingredients are simmering in the pot, you can chop and add tomatoes and peppers.
You can also add the potato and tomato paste if using them ( I always do )
Adjust salt levels ( as noted above )