Original and authentic Hungarian Goulash recipe (“Magyar Gulyás”)

Hungarian goulash is one of the most famous soups all over the world, and although no one doubts its fame, this statement may be striking due to an unexpected detail: is goulash a soup? Indeed, authentic Hungarian goulash is a meat soup, although it is usually confused with an almost identical recipe but served as a beef stew.

The origins of Hungarian goulash and its tradition:

The Hungarian word Gulyás originally refers to the bovine shepherd, who in ancient times used to dry beef and then rehydrate it with boiling water in a cauldron, thus obtaining a kind of soup. This is the origin of gulyás or goulash, which ended up taking its name from those people who planted the initial seed for this recipe.

As time went by, Hungarian goulash gained worldwide fame, and began to be served as a stew. While the recipe is very similar, that stew is actually known as pörkölt in Hungary.

Of course, as with traditional dishes, each family has its own recipe. But even so, the essence of goulash does not change too much, and when visiting Budapest, we can see that its preparation will be quite similar both in a high-class restaurant or in an étkezde (cantina or popular tavern). This is not a recipe in which to look for fancy “variations”, “deconstructions” or “reinterpretations”…

In addition to meat, an absolutely central ingredient of goulash is paprika. This spice is a symbol of Hungarian cuisine, and is a must-buy for anyone visiting one of the many markets in Budapest. Connoisseurs can immediately identify the quality of paprika by its aroma, color and degree of grinding. Its sweet and spicy versions are equally popular, although the goulash recipe strictly admits only the former.

Although optional, it is quite common to serve the goulash with a small sort of pasta called csipetke, which means something like “pinched,” which describes its preparation: flour and egg are mixed until a homogeneous dough is obtained, and then it is “pinched” with the fingers to get these little noodles. Csipetke are added to the pot when the soup is ready, as they require minimal cooking time.

Original and authentic recipe for Hungarian Goulash (“Magyar Gulyás”)

Heat fat, oil and/or butter in a pot. Chop a generous amount of onion and sauté over very low heat for at least half an hour, until caramelized. Then add the meat, cut into bites. Season lightly with salt and pepper and also with caraway and marjoram if desired. Increase the heat and sear the meat until it is well browned. Remove the pot from the heat and add the paprika along with the chopped garlic. Stir briefly, add water until the ingredients are barely covered, and return the pot to the heat. Bring to a boil and then cover and cook over low heat for approximately an hour and a half (the exact time depends on the type of cut of meat, whether it is veal or beef, etc.). After that, add the chopped vegetables and cover again with water, always making sure that the ingredients are barely covered. Cook for additional 30 minutes. Finally, adjust the salt and pepper. Serve with a little chopped parsley on top.

Tips and tricks:

To get a top-level Hungarian goulash that respects the tradition, we must know some tricks and secrets.

1. Choose a cut of meat suitable for long slow cooking, boneless, and ideally with a good amount of collagen. The leg or cheek are good examples of this.
2. It is important to remove the pot from the heat when we add the paprika, so that we can toast it lightly for a very short period of time. Doing it over the fire would run the risk of burning the paprika, which would give the soup a bitter taste and ruin all our work.
3. Use Hungarian paprika if possible, make sure it is sweet, and be generous! Note that the indicated amount is not an error: it is two tablespoons and not two mere teaspoons.
4. It is possible to use meat broth to enhance the flavor, but the original recipe indicates a minimum amount of water to cover the ingredients.
5. The most common spices are marjoram and caraway, but this can be controversial: while some people consider them essential, others consider that their flavor (especially in the case of caraway) can be too dominant.
6. Salt lightly at the beginning and again halfway through cooking. Do not overdo it at the beginning, as the broth can reduce throughout cooking, which causes the amount of salt to concentrate.
7. Add vegetables according to preference and availability, but always remember to do it approximately 30 minutes before the end of cooking, so that they remain tender but without falling apart. Add enough water at the same time so that the ingredients are barely covered, but without exceeding it, so that the soup is not too watery.