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Hungarian Beef Stew | Porkolt

Introduction & method

This hearty Hungarian stew is often confused with goulash, but if you ask for that in a Hungarian restaurant what you'll get is a thin soup, gulyás leves. Pörkölt is thicker, richer, beefier. And very easy to make.

 Hungarian Beef Stew | Porkolt Recipe

Prep


Top and tail, halve, peel and dice the onions. Dice the bell pepper. Cube the tomatoes. Cut the beef into 1cm (half-inch) cubes.

Cook


Melt the lard in a heavy-bottomed pan, casserole dish or dutch oven. Add the onions and cook gently for 5-10 minutes until they are just starting to brown. Add the bell pepper and cook for two minutes. Add the beef cubes and cook until browned all over. Remove from the heat and add the paprika - stir well and cook for 30 seconds. Now add the tomatoes, bay leaf, salt and caraway seeds. Pour in enough water to come about three-quarters of the way up the mixture. Return to the heat. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat as low as possible and cook with a lid on for two hours. Check occasionally to make sure it isn't sticking. At the end of the cooking time remove the lid and taste the stew - add salt and pepper if required. If the sauce is too runny, cook on high heat with the lid off for a few minutes so some of it evaporates. If it's too thick, add a bit more water.

Serve


Serve with a dollop of soured cream and some galuska (flour and egg dumplings).

 


The video above is from the Keef Cooks YouTube channel. Click here to see the video recipe of Hungarian Beef Stew | Porkolt on YouTube.

 
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Ingredients & Info



 450 grams stewing beef
 450 grams onions
 1 green bell pepper
 2 large tomatoes
 2 tbsp sweet paprika
 half a tsp caraway seeds
 1 bay leaf
 to taste salt and pepper

PLUS

Water.


UNITS:
Metric
US Customary/Imperial

Serves 4 
Prep time: 10 minutes.
Cooking time: 2½ hours.
Total time: 2 hours 40 minutes.