Hungarian goulash
A real goulash has no roux and no tomato paste — the body comes from as much onion as meat, collapsing over two hours of braising. The second rule matters even more: the paprika goes in off the heat, because in hot fat it turns bitter within seconds.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Cooking the onions 25 min
- Paprika off the heat 3 min
- Braising the meat 120 min
- Potatoes and peppers 25 min
Step by step
0 / 6 doneCook the onions for twenty minutes
Slice a kilo of onions thinly and cook them in lard over medium-low heat for 20–25 minutes, stirring every few minutes. They should soften, collapse to a quarter of their volume and turn golden — not brown.
Ingredients: 1000 g beef · 1000 g onions · 60 g lard · 4 cloves garlic · 4 tbsp sweet paprika · 2 tsp caraway seeds · 2 tsp salt · 1 tsp pepper
TipThis is the longest and most important stage. The onion replaces a roux here — the longer it cooks, the thicker the goulash.
A kilo of onions collapses to a quarter of its volume.Add the paprika off the heat
Take the pot off the burner, wait 30 seconds and only then add the paprika, garlic and caraway. Stir hard for 30 seconds — the paprika dissolves into the fat and releases all its colour. Added over heat it scorches and turns bitter.
Ingredients: 1000 g beef · 1000 g onions · 60 g lard · 4 cloves garlic · 4 tbsp sweet paprika · 2 tsp caraway seeds · 2 tsp salt · 1 tsp pepper
TipBuy paprika in small packs. Over time it loses colour and aroma, and in goulash it is the most important spice.
Off the heat — thirty seconds decide colour and bitterness.Add the meat without searing
Straight away tip the beef cubes into the onions, stir, return the pot to a medium heat and cook 5 minutes, stirring, until the meat changes colour outside and releases its juices — those juices protect the paprika from scorching. In goulash you do not sear the meat separately — it gives its juices to the onions and they build the sauce together.
Ingredients: 1000 g beef · 1000 g onions · 60 g lard · 4 cloves garlic · 4 tbsp sweet paprika · 2 tsp caraway seeds · 2 tsp salt · 1 tsp pepper
Braise for two hours
Add the tomatoes, stock, bay leaves and a teaspoon of salt. The liquid should barely cover the meat. Bring to the boil, cover and braise on the lowest heat for 2 hours. The surface should only tremble — a rolling boil makes the beef stringy.
Ingredients: 400 g tomatoes · 600 ml beef stock · 2 pcs red peppers · 600 g potatoes · 2 pcs bay leaves
A barely trembling surface for the full two hours.Add potatoes and peppers
Add the potatoes in 2 cm cubes and the sliced peppers and cook 25 minutes uncovered. Floury potatoes release starch and thicken the goulash — the last element of body, alongside the onion.
Ingredients: 400 g tomatoes · 600 ml beef stock · 2 pcs red peppers · 600 g potatoes · 2 pcs bay leaves
Season and serve
Taste and adjust with the rest of the salt and the pepper — after two hours of braising the seasoning almost always needs correcting. Serve with a spoon of sour cream and bread. Goulash should be thick but still pourable.
Ingredients: 150 ml sour cream · 6 pcs bread
Before you start
Goulash versus pörkölt
What Poland, like much of Europe, calls goulash is known in Hungary as pörkölt. Hungarian gulyás is thinner and eaten as a soup.
Better the next day
Like most braises, it tastes fuller the next day. If you are cooking ahead, add the potatoes and peppers only when reheating (25 minutes over low heat), so the potatoes do not disintegrate.
Choosing the meat
Shin and shoulder are full of collagen and melt after two hours. Sirloin or fillet just turn dry and tough.
