Hungarian Goulash Recipe

🧂 Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

  (or use 2 tablespoons pork lard)
• 2 pounds stew beef

  cut into 1/2 inch cubes (bite-sized pieces)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 large yellow onion

  chopped
• ¼ cup Hungarian paprika

  or more to taste
• 2 bell peppers

  chopped (can use green, red, yellow, or orange)
• 4 cloves garlic

  chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes

  diced
• 3 cups beef broth

  or use water for more traditional - can use up to 5 cups for soupier goulash
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 3 large potatoes

  chopped (peeled, if desired - other root vegetables are good too, such as parsnip, celery root, or rutabaga)
• 2 large carrots

  scrubbed and chopped

Instructions

• 1 Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven to medium heat. (If using bacon, cook
  it down for 3 minutes to render the fat).
• 2 Season the chopped stew beef with salt and pepper. Add to the pot and brown the
  meat on each side, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside. (NOTE: Browning this
  way isn’t necessarily traditional, but it works for so many other recipes and I
  love the way it seals in the juices of the meat, prepping it for low and slow
  cooking).
• 3 Add the onion and cook 5-6 minutes to soften.
• 4 Reduce the heat (or pull the pot away from the burner) and stir in the paprika.
  Stir it off heat for 1 minute to let the paprika bloom. Removing it from the
  heat will avoid burning the paprika, which turns it bitter.
• 5 Return the pot to medium heat and add the reserved beef, bell peppers, garlic,
  tomatoes, beef broth (or water), and bay leaves (and caraway seeds, if using).
  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Simmer for 1.5 hours. The liquid should
  reduce a bit.
• 6 Add the potatoes and carrots. Add more water or beef stock for a soupier goulash
  (1-2 cups, as desired). Cover and simmer another 30 minutes, or until the
  vegetables are tender and the meat is done to your liking.
• 7 Adjust for salt and pepper, and serve.

Nutrition Info