A great dish for the upcoming colder days in autumn and winter. Opinions are divided when it comes to the origins of Goulash but my belief is that it has its roots in Hungary, where it is called Gulyás. That can refer to a soup or stew, though. Usually the stew is called Pörkölt. However, we'll be making the Austrian version of it, which doesn't have any veggies in it, except for onions. The onions will provide the richness, a creamy texture the stew is famous for and will also act as a thickening agent. In other words, there is no need for added corn starch or other agents to thicken the sauce.
Shank, shin, shoulder or veal is normally used for this dish, which has its roots in Hungary, as I have posted in August 2009. However, this recipes deviates a bit from the one I posted two years ago since this one here is my Great-Grandma's version of her Goulash. You will see some slight differences in the ingredients department but those changes make also for bold and better flavors. Great-Granny knew how to cook. First off, I used a good-sized Rump roast, not London Broil or pre-cut Beef stew, with the excess fat cut off, which makes this dish instantly leaner.
The Things we'll need...
4 lbs Rump Roast, excess fat trimmed off, cut in 1.5-inch cubes
3 lbs onions, about 4-5 large yellow onions- finely chopped
5 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp of butter
3 Tbsp Paprika powder
1 Tbsp Cayenne pepper
1 tsp of brown sugar
1Tsp garlic powder
2 containers of low-sodium beef stock (not broth!)
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 6oz can tomato paste
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cl of brandy (shot glass full)
2 tsp caraway seeds
3 bay leaves
3 sprigs of fresh thyme, finely chopped
2 cups of water (optional)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Now, we'll start off by adding some oil to a large pot, heating it over medium-high heat until there's a faint hint of smoke. Working in two batches, we'll brown the meat until it shows some nice coloration, about 5-6 minutes for each batch. take the meat out and place it in a bowl together with the juice.
Lower the heat to medium, add some butter to the same pot and start to sauté the onions until they become translucent. Now we'll add the chopped garlic and the spices (Paprika powder, Cayenne pepper, Garlic powder & Brown sugar). Sauté for two more minutes, stirring occasionally and then add the balsamic vinegar.
Once that's all done, we're going to add the bay leaves, the fresh thyme and the tomato paste before transferring the meat back into the pot.
Stir everything and sauté for about a minute. Now let's add the meat back into the pot, add the caraway seeds, the brandy and beef stock and season generously with salt and pepper.
If, in case, the stock shouldn't cover the meat entirely, add those two cups of water to it, cover the pot and let simmer for about 2.5 hours. The meat should be extremely tender and almost fall apart when picked up with a fork. The emphasis here is almost(!)...you don't want a shredded beef version but also not something where the meat is tough and leathery. Check on the meat every 30 mins and stir the entire goulash. This will give you a good idea on when the meat's done. If the sauce loses too much liquid during the entire process, either add more stock or water depending what you have on hand. If you use only water, season the stew again. The sauce should have a really creamy consistency, courtesy of all the onions.
At the very end, taste and season if necessary. Serve the goulash with a dab of sour cream and over a bed of wide egg noddles, rice or as shown here with some rustic bread and homemade dumplings.
Pfüati!