Hungarian Beef Goulash

Intro: Hungarian Beef Goulash

Hungarian goulash is one of my favorite dishes that I cook really often. It's the perfect choice for parties, gatherings or anytime you need to feed a bigger crowd since it's easy to cook a goulash in large quantities. All you need is a proper big pot :)

NOTE: I'm not claiming this to be the most AUTHENTIC recipe out there. I did modify it to my likings and wanted to share my version with you.

For a more detailed recipe with additional tips, check out my blog: Hungarian Beef Goulash

Scroll down for a bit simplified version of the recipe and you can also check out a video of the cooking process.

STEP 1: Let's Start With the Video.

STEP 2: Prepare Your Ingredients

This goulash requires quite a few ingredients but all of them are very common, nothing special or exotic is needed.

2kg (4.5 pounds) beef shank
5 larger onions
3 large ripe tomatoes
3 green peppers
1 large carrot
1 large root parsley
1-1.5kg (2.5 – 3 pounds) potatoes
100g (1/2 cup) lard (or vegetable oil)
4 tablespoons of olive oil
4 tablespoons of soy sauce
3 tablespoons of mild mustard
2 teaspoons ground caraway seeds
2 teaspoons of salt or to taste
1-2 teaspoons of black pepper
4 teaspoons of sweet paprika
1-2 teaspoons of dried marjoram
1 pint (500-600ml) of beer
1.5 liter (6 cups) beef broth or stock
5 cloves garlic
flat leaf parsley
chilli to taste
water

STEP 3: Start With the Onions.

Chop the onions, no need to go for a very fine cut. The onions will dissolve during cooking anyways. Brown them with lard, oil works too but lard is better.

STEP 4: Prepare the Meat.

In my opinion, beef shank is the best cut for a Hungarian goulash. Look for one without the bone. Cut the meat into cubes, about half an inch big (1.5 cm).

STEP 5: Marinade Your Meat.

Add all spices and seasonings into a bowl along with the meat and mix properly. Let it is for a few minutes, until the onions are ready.

STEP 6: Start Roasting the Meat.

Once the onions are browned nicely, add the meat and roast it for a few minutes. Mix frequently or else the meat might stick to the bottom of the pot. After about 10 minutes, cover the pot and keep braising the meat on low temperature.

STEP 7: Prepare the Vegetables.

Finely chop the green pepper and tomatoes (peel them first). Clean the carrot and parsley.

STEP 8: Meat Is Soft, Time for the Next Step.

Once the meat becomes somewhat soft, it's time to add beer and beef stock/broth.

STEP 9: Vegetables In.

Add all the chopped vegetables and about 1/3 of the potatoes. We want this batch of potatoes to overcook and break apart, so they make the goulash thicker.

STEP 10: Garlic and Flat Leaf Parsley In.

Once the potatoes start to break apart, add crushed garlic and finely chopped flat leaf parsley. Also add the remaining potatoes.

STEP 11: Time to Taste.

Once the meat is fully cooked and tender and the second batch of potatoes is almost cooked too, it's time to give our goulash a taste. You might need to add more salt or pepper. Those who prefer spicy food can add some chilli.

This is the right time to add crushed marjoram, which will give the goulash a nice and fragrant smell.

STEP 12: We Are Done!

About 10 minutes after adding the marjoram, the goulash should be ready. Give it a final taste and add more salt of needed.

Server in bowl, topped with fine slices of purple/red onion, parsley and some chilli flakes.

Enjoy!

Comments

[readabook]

How many servings is in this recipe?

[cookwewill]

10 solid servings for sure, up to 15 when using smaller bowls.

[WilkoL]

Ten! Can it be made for just one or two? I guess I'd have to drink the rest of the beer :-)

[giovannidalponte]

root parsley is the
Pastinaca sativa ???

[cookwewill]

It's almost the same, but not 100%. Pastinica sativa is also called "parsnip" and it's a bit different in flavor and more fragrant, but you can substitute one for the other without doing any damage.

Here is an article that explains the difference: https://food-and-garden.com/parsnip-parsley-root/

[JudyW23]

I wish I could print this without images because it takes too much paper. But it looks like a really great recipe.

[cookwewill]

I have a simplified printable recipe on my blog, it's at the bottom of this page: https://cookwewill.com/hungarian-beef-goulash-recipe/

[DavideB30]

I wasn't sure about the soy sauce and mustard but I have to say that's a very good recipe (even if i switched beer with some white wine). I used a pressure cooker, adding all the vegetables and potatoes at once after roasting the meat, so it took 20 minutes to cook.
I'm sorry I don't have any photos but the goulash didn't last :-)
Thank you, Cookwewill!

[cookwewill]

Glad to hear that you liked it Davide! :)

[xsolutions]

A wonderful stew recipe and I also going to give it a try. It's not a Hungarian Goulash. Soy sauce and mustard are changing the taste by length.

But I was happy to see marjoram in the recipe, this spice is often missed in recipes in non-Hungarian languages.

[mazkirut.saar]

So delicious Hungarian goulash. Thanks for the explanation. I renewed myself with the beer and the marjoram

[ELECTRONFLYER1]

I JUST REALIZED I HAVE BEEN MAKING GOULASH ALL MY LIFE AND DID NOT KNOW IT. WE JUST CALLED IT BEEF STEW WITH VEGETABLES .

[Lionall]

It is a beef stew :) the word Goulash (Gulyás in hungarian) comes from the word Gulya which is a herd of cows. The dish itself most likely originates from the herders themselves so the name stuck, but all in all it's just a plain and simple beef stew.

[monicaemberley]

Beer is a nice choice. I have made many different types of soup and I would really like to make this. Thank you very much. It looks so good.

[Lionall]

Interesting recipe, I'm sure the end result is delicious too. I wouldn't call it classic though, for instance marinating the beef isn't really a thing when making goulash, definitely not with soy sauce. The beer is an odd choice of cooking liquid too, I reserve beer for pork most of the time (except in case of chili), as Huncut pointed out a good dry red wine is more 'traditional'. Also I'm missing a key ingredient, bay leaves, they contribute greatly to the flavour in my experience. A few sprigs of celery leaves are also a good addition. One more thing, the lard is a very good point, but if you can find smoked lard bacon that's the best, just cube it up and render out the fat, the leftover bacon bits are the chef's treat ;)

[cookwewill]

If I was to upload the recipe again, I would likely drop the word classic from the name :) My intention never was to claim this is the RIGHT classic or authentic recipe and it just creates unnecessary emotions with people.

I'm using several different goulash recipes, all of them are similar in many ways, but with some differences... so I wanted to show one of those that people I served it to enjoyed a lot. Yes, it's not the most authentic one... just as the pizza that I make at home is not authentic Italian pizza, but I'd still call it "pizza" :)

[Lionall]

Don't get me wrong, I like your recipe a lot, I'm considering making it, even tho I haven't made goulash in ages ( it's impossible to make a small batch :D and since I live on my own I usually only cook one or two servings, but I digress). I have to concur, words like "classic" and "traditional" while attention-grabbing they tend to rub ppl in the wrong direction. I found that out the hard way, when I served a cream based Carbonara to a friend who lived in Rome, and got a pretty thorough wigging about it :D Anyway, the recipe is good, as I mentioned earlier I would add bay and celery leaves to the dish, could make it even tastier. I've saved your channel and will check out your other recipes ;)

[cookwewill]

No hard feelings Lionall, totally get what you are saying.

[Lionall]

Oh, I almost forgot, in country side it's traditional to put csipetke into goulash which is a very basic dumpling. Mix an egg, 3/4 cup of flour and a tsp of salt in a mug, and 10 minutes before the end tear small dumplings from the mug into the soup with the edge of spoon.

[cookwewill]

Oh yes, this is great, I'm using this as a side with several dishes that come with a lot of sauce. For thin soups, I'm making a bit bigger dumplings, like a half of teaspoon and instead of flour I'm using semolina that's not as finely grained.