Ingredients

The following ingredients have 4 Servings
  • 1 kg/ 2.2 lbs stewing beef (beef chuck for instance)
  • 2 tablespoons lard (or vegetable oil – you might need more in this case, divided)
  • 2 onions (about 300 g/ 10.6 oz)
  • 3 large garlic cloves
  • 1 red bell pepper (about 100 g/ 3.5 oz)
  • 2 to matoes (about 200 g/ 7 oz)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tablespoons Hungarian sweet paprika powder
  • ¼ – ½ teaspoon Hungarian hot paprika powder ((to taste, the goulash should not be too hot))
  • ¾ teaspoon ground caraway seeds
  • 1 ½ tablespoons tomato paste
  • 500 ml/ 17 fl.oz/ 2 cups beef broth or water
  • fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instruction

  • Cut the beef chuck into small cubes, about 2 cm/ 0.7 inches. Place them onto paper towels and pat them dry with more paper towels. Chop the onions very finely. Chop the pepper and the tomatoes as well.
  • Melt some of the lard (or oil) in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed stewing pot. Fry the beef cubes in 2 or 3 batches, depending on the size of your Dutch oven. Fry for about 5 minutes per batch or until nicely browned on all sides. Add more of the lard before each batch. Transfer the fried beef cubes to a plate and set them aside.
  • Add about 1 teaspoon more lard to the pot and fry the chopped onions until very lightly colored, about 5 minutes, stirring often and keeping an eye on them. If they threaten to catch, add a splash of water and continue cooking.
  • Add the garlic, chopped peppers, tomatoes, and bay leaves and cook for about 3-4 minutes, stirring a few times in between.
  • Add the paprika and caraway. Stir well for about 1 minute, add the tomato paste and stir well again. Add the meat cubes and the beef broth, stir well.
  • Cover the pot, bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer the Hungarian beef goulash until the meat is very tender about 1 ½ – 2 hours. Check to make sure that the meat is really tender.
  • Uncover the pot and continue cooking the goulash for another 10-15 minutes until the sauce reduces and thickens slightly. Adjust the taste with salt and pepper.