Hungarian Gulyás

About This Recipe

Real Hungarian gulyás (often spelled goulash) is a soup, not the thick brown stew sold abroad. Cubes of beef shin or chuck are simmered for hours with mountains of onion and an aggressive quantity of fresh sweet paprika, along with potatoes, caraway, garlic, and tomato, until the broth is brick-red, fragrant, and gently spiced. It originated with the gulyás — Hungarian cattle herders of the great Alföld plain — who cooked it over open fires in heavy iron bogrács cauldrons. The technique hinges on one rule: never boil the paprika or it turns bitter. Onions cook first, paprika goes in off the heat, then water is added. Served deep, with a hunk of rye bread and a glass of cold Egri Bikavér, it is the most Magyar of all dishes.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 900 gbeef shin or chuck, cut into 3 cm cubes
• 3 largeyellow onions, finely chopped
• 60 gpork lard (or neutral oil)
• 5 tbspsweet Hungarian paprika (Édesnemes)
• 1 tsphot Hungarian paprika (or 1 tsp cayenne)
• 5 clovesgarlic, minced
• 1 tspcaraway seeds, lightly crushed
• 1.5 Lwater or light beef stock
• 2 largetomatoes, diced (or 200 g canned)
• 2 mediumyellow bell peppers (Hungarian wax if possible), diced
• 1.5 tspfine salt
• 1 tspfreshly ground black pepper
• 2bay leaves
• 500 gwaxy potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 150 gcsipetke (pinched egg dumplings) — see recipe note
• 1 small bunchflat-leaf parsley, chopped (garnish)
• sour cream to serve (optional)
• rye bread to serve

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the onions long

   Melt lard in a heavy pot over medium-low. Add chopped onions and a pinch of salt. Cook 20 minutes, stirring, until soft, deeply golden, and slightly jammy. This is the foundation; do not rush.

2. 2

   Bloom the paprika OFF the heat

   Pull the pot off the heat. Sprinkle both paprikas, garlic, and crushed caraway into the hot onions. Stir vigorously — the paprika should sizzle gently but not scorch. The mixture turns deep brick-red.

3. 3

   Add the beef

   Return to the heat. Add beef cubes and stir to coat in the paprika onions. Cook 5 minutes, letting the meat absorb the flavor.

4. 4

   Build the broth

   Add tomatoes, bell peppers, salt, pepper, bay leaves, and just enough water/stock to barely cover the meat (about 1 L).

5. 5

   Slow simmer

   Cover loosely and simmer on low heat for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding water as needed. The beef should be tender but not falling apart.

6. 6

   Add potatoes

   Add cubed potatoes and the remaining water/stock so the pot looks soupy. Simmer uncovered 25 minutes until potatoes are tender.

7. 7

   Make csipetke

   While the potatoes cook, make pinched dumplings: mix 100 g flour with 1 egg and a pinch of salt into a stiff dough. Rest 10 minutes. Pinch off pea-sized bits and drop them into the simmering goulash for the last 8 minutes.

8. 8

   Taste and rest

   Adjust salt. Rest 10 minutes off the heat — paprika flavors deepen with brief resting.

9. 9

   Serve

   Ladle into deep bowls. Scatter with parsley. Serve with rye bread on the side, and offer sour cream for those who want it (purists do not).

Variations

• •

  Pörkölt: thicker stew version with less liquid, served over nokedli (Hungarian egg noodles).

• •

  Add a glass of dry red wine with the broth for a richer winter version.

• •

  Vegetarian gulyás: replace beef with king oyster mushrooms and white beans.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 4 days; freezes 3 months. The flavor improves overnight. Reheat gently; never microwave (the paprika note loses its edge).

Frequently Asked Questions