Goulash recipes

August 3, 2005 12:03 AM

I'm looking for Goulash recipes.

My Goulash is alright, but I'm looking for variations. My usual recipe uses beef, onion, garlic, red peppers, tomatos, red wine vinegar, beef stock and, believe it or not, paprika. It makes a good hearty stew.

I'm looking for something different, traditional or otherwise. Suggestions welcome!

posted by the duck by the oboe to Food & Drink (4 answers total)

My husband - who is the resident goulash chef around these parts - says: "No beef stock! My recipe says: First step - lard. Quite a lot of it. Then onions and paprika. (Don't burn the paprika.) Then diced veal or beef. My recipe says the trick is the salt. Don't put the salt in too soon or the meat won't release its juice. You've got to cook it until the juice comes out of the meat, then salt it and add tomato paste. And that's it. No liquid, no stock, no water." (He says you can also add red peppers, but he leaves them out.)

Apparently that's a very traditional recipe. All I know is it tastes pretty damn good...
posted by web-goddess at 3:29 AM on August 3, 2005

If you're going fully traditional, don't forget to add a quite alarming amount of salt - the first time I ate goulash in Hungary, I had to drink about a litre of water to avoid passing out with dehydration, by the time I left the country I was a convert to the saltiness.

Also, tiny little egg dumplings in goulash are nice:

1 egg
6 Tbsp. flour
1/8 tsp. salt

Whisk them all together and leave to stand for a bit, then drop heaped teaspoonfulls into the goulash when it's, I dunno, five or six minutes away from being ready.
posted by jack_mo at 4:09 AM on August 3, 2005

I always add marjoram and caraway (1 tbsp. each). I think that's part of the traditional Hungarian recipe.
posted by nixxon at 7:44 AM on August 3, 2005

and, believe it or not, paprika

heh
posted by rxrfrx at 7:53 AM on August 3, 2005