Gracious Gulyas (Goulash)
Finished product. You can add a little sour cream to take it to the next level!
Written, Cooked, and Photographed by: Taylor Holmes
When most people consider Hungarian food, the most popular thing that springs to mind is gulyás or goulash, a type of beef soup. The name comes from a Hungarian word meaning something similar to cowboy or herdsman. The reason for this is that it was originally a meal eaten by shepherds and farmhands, as they would have meat on hand, and little veg, and it’s traditional production would be simple: meat, onion, broth. Sometimes potato would be added, or small dumplings called nokedli (similar to German spätzle). After inception, it became widely popular across central and western Europe, garnering several different cultural twists or variations.
When I was young, I always loved spending time at my grandparent’s house. They indulged my gracious appetite, and my grandmother’s cooking always hit the spot. Looking back, I appreciate how lucky I was to have my belly filled with delicious traditional Hungarian dishes. From tócsni (potato pancakes) to chicken paprikash, I always had something delicious to look forward to. Now you can too!
What we are typically familiar with in North America as goulash, is quite often more similar to pörkölt, another Hungarian dish that earned much popularity around central Europe. The largest difference between pörkölt and gulyás is consistency, gulyás being more soup-like, and broth focused, where pörkölt tends to be thicker and more stew-like. Pörkölt also tends to have more ingredients, particularly more vegetables, like peppers. Other herbs like marjoram may be added too.
The recipe we have here is somewhat of a blend. Not quite traditional gulyás, as I add flour to make the broth a little thicker and more of a stew’s consistency. I did my best to emulate the delicious flavours that I have ingrained in my palate from a young age in this recipe, and I think I did a pretty good job. Sorry for any changes Grandma.
Ingredients clockwise from top left:
Paprika, caraway seed, tomato, stewing beef, garlic, and onion
Creating the gulyás (goulash)
Ingredients:
Lard, bacon fat, butter, or oil (1.5 TBSP)
Stewing beef or pork (1.5LBS)
Tomato fresh, or canned (4 tomatoes or 1 large can)
Garlic (2 cloves)
Onion (1 large)
Hungarian paprika (1 TBSP)
Caraway seed (1-2 TSP)
Beef broth (1.5 liters)
Nokedli:
Eggs (2)
Flour (1 cup)
Salt (1 TSP)
Water (Optional, if more moisture is needed)
First thing’s first, chop up your onions into large chunks, heat your fat / oil in the pan, and start to slowly saute them. After a few minutes, as your onions start to turn translucent, and eventually brown, add your caraway seeds to temper them with the onion, imparting their unique rye-like flavour. You can add more or less, or even none at all, if you find yourself not fond of the bolder flavour, but I would recommend adding just a small bit, perhaps a teaspoon in any case.
While your onions saute, gently coat your beef in a light dusting of flour, enough so that it forms a slight coating on the outside of the meat, but not so much that the flour appears dry on the meat’s exterior. Once the onions start to brown you can add your meat, and increase the heat. Ensure you get the best possible sear you can on the meat to retain it’s flavour, but also be careful not to let it sit for too long without agitation, as the onions and flour may burn at a higher heat.
Beef, onion, garlic and spices altogether in their self made roux
With the meat browned, you’ll notice a somewhat thick, and gravy-like consistency in the pot. This is from the fats, and juices of the meat mixing with the flour to create a working roux while cooking the rest of the ingredients. Once you add some liquid, you will notice it’s typical thickening effect take place.
Now you will add your garlic and paprika, it’s important to mix it in quickly, as Hungarian paprika is very delicate, and can burn easily. This is an opportune time to add about a quarter of your beef stock. Use it, along with your utensil to scrape up and “clean” the bottom of the pot, getting the delicious seared bits unstuck and added with the rest of the dish.
Having scraped up all the delicious naughty bits from the bottom, you can now add your tomatoes, if using fresh. Saute altogether for a few minutes at a medium heat, ensuring everything starts to meld properly. Don’t be afraid of being too rough with the tomatoes, as they will soften either way.
This is the time to add the rest of your broth, and, if using canned, tomatoes. Stir them in, until the mixture is all nicely solved. You should have no issue with clumping from the roux. Bring the entire mixture, with all the liquid now in it, to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover and let simmer for about an hour.
Nokedli Time:
If you decide you want to add nokedli (dumplings) to your dish, which I highly recommend, now is the time to create the “dough” for it. If you’d prefer to use potatoes instead, now is also a good time to add the diced up potato chunks.
The Nokedli dough is simple and easy to make. You thoroughly scramble up your raw egg, add your salt, then slowly mix in the flour. You don’t want it to reach typical dough consistency, you want it to remain somewhat wet and sticky, but still packed enough that it stretches if you pull on it. The reason we want it to be a little more moist, is because of the way we’re going to cook it directly in the goulash!
You can add it by hand, or use a board with small holes in it referred to as a nokedli board. I don’t have a nokedli board, so I used my metal colander. Bring the heat up to a soft boil, stirring and ensuring nothing is stuck to the bottom. If you feel that you’ve lost too much moisture, feel free to add more broth, or water to thin it out.
Goulash, shortly after the nokedli have been added and begun to cook
If adding the nokedli through a board or colander, you can add about half the dough while keeping your board / colander propped above the simmering goulash while you use a baking spatula to push and spread the dough, forcing it through the holes in small pieces. Once you’ve noticed there’s a fair amount of nokedli nuggets in the mix, give it a quick stir and repeat the process until you have no dough left.
Should you decide to add it by hand, I’d recommend oiling your hands up, to prevent it from sticking, and ending up in uneven chunks. Next, pinch the dough into small nuggets, add them slowly and spread out through the stew, stirring occasionally so as to keep them from rubbing directly against each other before they solidify.
Once you have added all your potato, nokedli, or both, stir it all up and reduce to a simmer again and cover for another 10-15 minutes (if using potato in larger chunks, it may take upwards of 25 minutes). After this time, check the consistency of your meat. If using one cut of meat that you have processed into small pieces yourself, they will cook more evenly, as stewing beef bought in stores tends to be scraps from a host of other cuts of meat, so they won’t cook as easily, or be the same size. The meat should be soft, with little effort to chew, but not falling apart.
Now that you’ve achieved your desired consistency of broth, texture of meat, and potato/nokedli, you’re ready to dig in! Although it’s not traditionally served this way, you can dollop with another staple of Hungarian cuisine: sour cream. You may also garnish with parsley, chives, or a sprinkle of paprika. Consider accompanying the goulash with a fresh cool cucumber salad for real Hungarian authenticity!
