Spicy Hungarian Goulash with Sriracha

Bison Goulash with Nokedli and Roasted Cabbage

As one of Hungary's national dishes and a symbol of the country itself, goulash (Hungarian spelling: gulyás) is a pretty big deal to my Uncle Gyula.  No, not because his name looks like someone with dyslexia tried to spell goulash the Hungarian way, but because he's originally from Budapest.

After spending some time as a political prisoner in 1959, shortly after the Soviet tanks rolled into Hero's Square and Janos Kadar became a household name, Gyula managed to escape to America with some luck, a couple stolen bicycles, and possibly some divine intervention-- I mean, the man had to crawl his way through minefields with a spoon, for Pete's sake!

Gulyás simmering on stovetop

While America was a bit of an adjustment for my uncle (he was once kicked off of a public beach because he had a DIY swimsuit; skimpy by American standards), Gyula settled into life Stateside and is now enjoying retirement.  Unfortunately, he has not been back to his country of birth despite the fall of communism, so food and the occasional Magyar newspaper are the only remaining links to his own culture.

Gyula's stories about his escape and life under communist rule have always intrigued and inspired me.  For this reason, I decided I needed to feed the man some down-home Hungarian cooking.  Currently, Uncle Gyula enjoys his position as my official judge for anything Hungarian, barring cabbage.  As a child during WWII and an adolescent/young adult during communism, he says he ate enough cabbage in 19 years to last multiple lifetimes.

In regards to this particular recipe, it is worth noting that as some of the top consumers of capsicums in the world, Hungarians aren't afraid of a little fire in their food.  Therefore, I wanted to see how my homemade sriracha got along with an authentic gulyás.  The result: the Gyula approved recipe shared below. 

Goulash or gulyás is a dish that can be either served as a soup or a stew.  Deriving from the Hungarian word for a rancher or herdsman, gulyásleves (literally herdsman's soup) was originally prepared out on the range over an open fire in a pot called a bogrács.

While there is a lot of variation of ingredients, the meat aspect is often a relatively inexpensive cut, made more pleasant by a low and slow cooking process.  I decided on bison shoulder because it's healthier and (in my opinion) tastier than the same part on the cow.  That being said, the best gulyás I ever made was with goat shanks.  Pretty much any cut of meat with a lot of collagen and connective tissue will work (shoulder, shank, short ribs, etc). 

The best way to serve this dish is with Hungarian dumplings that are similar to spaetzle, called nokedli.  Eventually I will do a recipe for those, but for now, you'll have to figure it out for yourself.  If you can't find or make some dumplings, you can always use the egg noodles from the store (just don't let Gyula catch you doing that).  Although I prefer mine like a stew, for a gulyás that is more like a soup, just add extra braising liquid at the beginning.  One last thing, don't forget the small dollop of dairy for the final dish.  A spicy meal like this needs a little bit of a refreshing element.  Smetina (Russian), crème fraîche, sour cream (should be your last option), and even a little authentic Mexican crema all work.  Just remember: the funkier, the better.  Enjoy! 



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Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb boneless bison or beef shoulder (also called chuck)
1 T neutral flavored oil split between meat and pot for browning
1 T lard (most authentic), duck fat, or butter
3 large shallots, thinly sliced (weighed 9.5 oz/270 g)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 T Hungarian paprika
2 t caraway seeds
2-3 T homemade sriracha
10 fl oz beef stock
5 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
1/4-1/2 t sugar, or to taste
salt and black pepper to taste
extra thyme leaves and crème fraîche, smetina, or sour cream for garnish

4 servings Bison Goulash	Calories	Protein (g)	Carbs (g)	Fat (g)	Sodium (mg)	Sugar (g)
Total:	1,622	242	63	40	1,800	8
Per Serving:	406	61	16	10	450	2

1.  Toast caraway seeds in a dry pan over medium heat until fragrant (2-3 minutes).  Let seeds cool and then grind in a pestle and mortar or in a spice grinder.  Set aside for now.
2.  Cut meat into bite-size pieces.  Make sure they are all about the same size so they cook evenly.  Season with salt, black pepper, and about a half tablespoon of oil.  Allow to come to room temp while you slice shallots and chop garlic.
3.  Brown meat pieces on all sides in a heavy duty pot with shimmering oil (about 1/2 tablespoon).  Once meat is browned, remove from the pot.
4.  Reduce heat to medium and melt lard/duck fat/ or butter.  Once melted, add shallots, garlic, and a pinch of salt and stir occasionally over the next five minutes.  During this time, the pot should deglaze some and shallots will soften and take on color.
5.  Add back in meat pieces with all of their juices.  Stir and then add in ground caraway and paprika.  Coat ingredients with the spices and then pack into an even layer.  Let the ingredients "fry" for 90 seconds, stir, allow to "fry" again for 90 seconds, stir again, and "fry" for final 90 second period.  This builds great flavor.
6.  Add homemade sriracha and combine.  I'd recommend using 2 tablespoons the first time you make this.  I like to use 3, because I love my food spicy. 
7.  Raise the heat to high and deglaze pot with beef stock.  Make sure you scrape the fond off of the bottom of the pot during this phase.
8.  While you wait for the liquid to come to a boil, add in sprigs of thyme and bay leaf.  Once liquid comes to a full boil, reduce to a simmer.  Cover the pot loosely and stir every 30-45 minutes until the meat is fork tender (i.e. easily pierced with a fork).
9.  Remove meat from pot and strain the sauce.  If you don't want to strain the sauce, just be sure to remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaf at this point.  Return meat and strained sauce to pot.  If you want the sauce to be thicker, reduce it over medium-high.  If you're happy with the sauce's consistency, use low to medium heat to rewarm the meat.
10.  Taste for seasoning and add salt or pepper if necessary.  At this time, a little bit of sugar is usually needed to round out the flavor of the sauce.  Start with 1/4 t and add more as you deem necessary.
11.  Once sauce has desired consistency and flavor, it is ready to serve.  Serve on a bed of nokedli (or spaeztle if you're desperate) with some roasted or braised cabbage.  Top goulash with a couple thyme leaves and a small dollop of crème fraîche, smetina, or sour cream. 

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