Make Ahead

HUNGARIAN GOULASH

by:
February  1, 2010
4
3 Ratings
HUNGARIAN GOULASH
  • Serves four
Author Notes

How I wish I had written down my Hungarian grandmother's recipe for goulash! This is as close as I can come to duplicating it. She was a superb cook and most likely cooked without a recipe...I remember going to a wonderful store called something like "Paprika Weiss" on New York's upper east side. There she bought freshly ground sweet paprika. When I moved to San Diego, years later, she mailed those round cardboard cartons of paprika to me. These days both Grandma and her store are long gone, but her granddaughter remembers and cooks "with her heart". —Lizthechef

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
  • 2 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika
  • 2 pounds beef round, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 cup beef stock or broth
  • 1 cup good red wine
  • 1 14.5 oz. can organic, chopped tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Saute onions until soft, then add garlic and cook for one minute or so. Stir in paprika and cook for another minute or so.
  3. Coat the meat with seasoned flour and add to onions until meat is lightly browned. Add the thyme, stock, wine and tomatoes.
  4. Cook in the oven for about two hours, until meat is tender. Add the sour cream just before serving. This dish is better reheated. Serve with egg noodles and a green salad.
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11 Reviews

Sandra R.
Sandra R. February 11, 2017
My father was Hungarian and my Croatian mother used to cook many of the recipes from both their homelands. Hungarian Goulash was one of my favorites. Her paprika was a rich dark red better than anything I ever bought myself, though I have recently found a tiny grocery store near me that specializes in some foods I have never seen before, like Corinthian grapes as small as saskatoons or smaller, quince, and Hungarian Paprika right from Hungary in a rectangular metal tin, quite expensive, but I'm sure worth it. It will be my next purchase for sure! I have made Hungarian Goulash myself quite a few times and have always added the traditional requisite caraway seeds, bruised in a mortar and pestle to release the unique flavor, to the rich stew. I serve it on a bed of flat broad egg noodles or make the homemade dumplings and place them on top to cook in the simmering rich juices. Mmm.

Is your recipe missing the caraway seeds by mistake or was it just made without them as a personal preference?

Love your recipe! Thanks for reminding me of my heritage. It brings back wonderful memories of my mother's wonderful home cooking!
 
sexyLAMBCHOPx
sexyLAMBCHOPx February 10, 2014
Made this the other day. Very tasty, even though I had to sub out the wine for beef broth. It was easy and delicious.
 
HeatherM
HeatherM November 5, 2012
I've made this several times now, and it's far and away better with veal - we have rose veal available at a farmer's market here in D.C. and the results are delicious. Great recipe for a chilly night.
 
Lizthechef
Lizthechef November 5, 2012
Cool- I just don't cook with veal and prefer organic beef that is grass-fed. My choice.
 
Sagegreen
Sagegreen July 18, 2010
Wonderfully classic. Thanks!
 
mainecook61
mainecook61 May 17, 2010
Simple to make and delicious. Fresh, first rate paprika is essential.
 
Lizthechef
Lizthechef May 17, 2010
Yes, and it is hard for me to find it except online. Glad you enjoyed my Grandma's recipe - hers would be better, so this is my best guess...Thank you!
 
amysarah
amysarah February 14, 2010
The entire Hungarian half of my family (generations of them) lived in Yorkville, and Paprika Weiss was a staple - I recall shopping there with my Grandma dozens of times. Such a shame that neighborhood retains so few vestiges of that culture now. But, she also made terrific goulash, chicken paprikash, etc. - whose recipes I also, sadly, never wrote down, but have tried to recreate over the years. Will try yours, cause it 'reads' as pretty close to my memory of hers. (I don't recall her ever making ANYTHING, besides - maybe - dessert, that wasn't red with paprika...or didn't at the very least have it sprinkled on top. It truly is the iconic flavor of my childhood.)
 
Lizthechef
Lizthechef February 19, 2010
Just found this beautiful comment ! After an exchange with my uncle, Grandma's only living child, he reported that there were no written recipes found as she declined. Amazingly, he described a box of recipes written in Hungarian from Grandma Harpas, my great-grandma, that, of course, disappeared. I have a hand-written recipe from Grandma for her dobos torte, the cake with either 11 or 13 layers. My wasp-y Mom made it beautifully! If you want a copy, I will get it to you, my Hungarian buddy...
 
Merrill S.
Merrill S. February 5, 2010
Yes, it was called Paprika Weiss! I grew up in Manhattan and went there on a field trip during elementary school. It's so sad that all of those places are now gone.
 
Lizthechef
Lizthechef February 6, 2010
Glad to know I was correct and that you visited Paprika Weiss too - thanks!