Big Grandma's Cookbook: Hungarian Goulash
01/12/2015
Of COURSE I'm starting this new series with Hungarian Goulash. It just feels right considering my grandma was full blooded Hungarian. She wasn't born there, but both her parents were. There's a cute little story about them I always like to tell.
When they emigrated over here to the States as children, the didn't know each other at all. They met and were married as adults then had my grandma and 3 other children. Long after they passed away, my grandma went over to Hungary for the first time to find where they grew up. She didn't realize it, but her parents actually grew up right across the river from one another! Their childhoods were spent so close and yet they never met. Now, that river separates Hungary from either Slovakia or Austria (I'm not sure which).
Anyway, I wanted to start this series of recipes from my grandma's cookbook with a big ol' Hungarian bang. So here it is. My grandma's recipe for...
Hungarian Goulash
- 3T shortening
- 3 onion sliced thin
- 1 pound beef, cut in cubes
- salt & pepper
- 1t paprika
- marjoram
- Clove garlic pressed
- beef stock
- 2 c sauerkraut
- 1 T butter
- 1 T flour
- 1 c sour cream
- 1 t caraway seeds
Brown onion in stew pan or pressure cooker. Brown meat quickly. Add seasoning & stir. Cover with liquid & simmer 30 minutes. (Pressure cooker add 1/4 c liquid & cook 10 min at 10lb pressure). Add sauerkraut & continue simmering 3/4 hour. (Pressure method, 3-5 min at 10lb). Thicken sauce with butter & flour. Add sour cream & other variations. Heat 5 min. Serves 4.
OK, so I wrote the recipe exactly as I saw it in the cookbook. You might have a few questions about the recipe. I did, too.
1. I don't have a pressure cooker, so I just ignored those bits.
2. Which seasonings should you put on the meat before covering with the liquid? I went with salt & pepper, paprika, marjoram, and garlic. How much marjoram? About 1/4 tsp. If you don't have marjoram, you can substitute oregano but use less - only about 1/8 tsp.
3. How much beef stock do you need? I would use about 1 cup, but have a bit extra on the side (1/4-1/2 cup) for the next step.
4. Do you just add the butter and flour to the pan seperately? I actually made a roux in a separate pan and added a bit of the beef stock to it to thin it before adding it to the meat. That worked very well.
Please stay tuned for next week's recipe!