Authentic Goulash

I have been talking to friends, family, co-workers and strangers (yes, that's any ear I can get) for the past 3 months about making truly authentic Goulash. I have been researching over this time and trying to find the right opportunity to make it. Well...... opportunity struck last night. It was my birthday and did not want to make a big deal or go out and crush the town. I decided to stay in and with John make our next purchase on the meat counter.

When most American think of goulash, they think of ground beef, tomato sauce and elbow macaroni or egg noodles. This is a bastardization of true goulash by American cookbooks after WWII. Authentic Goulash is considered a soup. Essentially, it is an Eastern European version of the Chuck Wagon Chili of the American West. It is a hearty, one pot meal, that requires very little maintenance. Instead of cumin and cayenne that make up chili, goulash is seasoned with sweet paprika. Similar to biscuits or cornbread with chili, goulash is accompanied with dumplings or spaetzle.

Goulash is not traditionally a stew, but it is thick. The thickness comes from 2 components. The first is, it is usually made with well exercised beef cuts like shank, shin or shoulder that contain a lot of collagen. Collagen is a connective tissue that breaks down with heat. The collagen turns gelatinous and thickens any liquid it is released into. The second component is usually some form of root vegetable like potatoes or parsnips that when cooked release starches that help to thicken liquid.

Many Americans believe that the red color of goulash comes from tomato sauce when in fact it is due to the inclusion of Hungarian or Sweet Paprika. Part of the reason that I made goulash this week was that just before I came up to SF, I visited my mom and she gave me a special bag of sweet paprika directly from Hungary.

Loaded with this information, I shared my interest with John who immediately recalled his trips to Prague and confirmed, yes, traditional goulash is soup and that his favorite part was the sliced dumplings that are used to soak up the broth at the bottom of the plate. The search was on for the ingredients or components of this dumpling. Earlier in the week, our friend Lil Jon made a ragu with gnocchi (a potato dumpling) and we used this as a starting point. John confirmed that it was doughy like gnocchi but that it was more aerated like bread. A concentrated internet search the next day leads me to Wolfgang Puck's personal website and a recipe he serves with goulash called Servietten Knudel (Napkin Dumpling).

That evening after work, I picked up beautiful beef shanks from our local meat counter as well as the other few items needed for dinner. Using John's new dutch oven, I get started by adding onions, green pepper, carrots, parsnips and garlic one at a time staggered a few min apart. This gives time for veg that need to cook longer to get the cooking time they deserve (You certainly don't have to, but I do it). The next ingredient was caraway seeds that I had toasted and ground in a mortar and pestle. Immediately, the room fills with the smell of rye bread. About a minute later the paprika was added; the entire dish changed color. Everything had a bright red hue and the smell changed again; this time, to that of sweet peppers. This is not sweet like banana or wax peppers but like roasted red bells that still tickle your nose with spice.

After letting this cook for a minute or so (when the pan starts to look dry), the tomato paste is added and incorporated throughout. Because the pan is already dry, the paste will stick to the bottom of the pan. This is OK, because shortly after, you will be deglazing the pan with a little bit of balsamic vinegar, another very immediate smell change. Once the "fond" or the "stuck bits" have been lifted from the bottom of the pan, add your stock.

Usually when I braise, I brown the meat first, remove it and then start the veg. However, this recipe told me to wait. I de-boned, cubed and seasoned the meat with salt and pepper and waited patiently for this moment. I added the meat to the loaded pot and, of course, included the marrow bones. At this point, bring the meat to a boil, simmer and wait.

Now time for dumplings. This really didn't take long to prepare at all. Because I was using fresh bread, it took me 25 min longer, but you could easily prepare this portion in 25-30 min. Ideally, you would buy the bread the night before, remove the crust, cut it into 1-2" pieces and leave out on your counter. The crust is removed because the dumplings should have no color, they are supposed to look like white dough balls. I put the dried bread cubes into a food pro and made bread crumbs. To the crumbs, I added minced onion and garlic that I had sautéed in a full stick of butter. I know that it seems like a lot but the melted butter is mostly for the dough, not the onions. After the onions, garlic and butter, I added one beaten egg and 2 cups of milk. The butter and milk help to soften the dried crumbs and the egg acts as a binder.

Once this is mixed thoroughly, I cut them into 6 sections and wrapped them in plastic and then foil like fat sausages. John and I decided later that these were a bit too small and that next time we would make 3 fatter dough balls instead of 6. The foil is used to transfer heat evenly and the plastic is used as a water-proof barrier when the dumplings are dropped into salted, boiling water for about 20 min. When the foil turns from aluminum to entirely brown on all sides, removed the packages, unwrap and let cool.

After about 3 hrs, the meat will start to shred, most of the marrow will have disappeared from the bones and the broth will take on a thicker consistency. At the top of the pot, there will be a film that appears to be fat, but if using shank meat, you will realize that it is not fat and this dish does not have to be skimmed. That is truly the gelatinous thickener left behind by the collagen of the meat. At this point, I wanted my broth even thicker, so I started to mash up the parsnips to release more of the starch, immediately thickening the broth.

Aside: I was starting to get really hungry and the dumplings were just waiting on the counter....... so I pulled out the marrow bones and John and I spread the marrow out onto a dumpling slice. Man, I love marrow.

Once the goulash got to our desired consistency, we filled our bowls, layered them with dumpling slices, sat down and ate. And we ate well. The meat was tender, shredding under the fork; the veggies were well seasoned and not total mush; the plate was red and the paprika really stood out; the dumplings mopped the plate and really sealed the meal.

I wish I had used a bit more black pepper just to give the dish a bit more teeth but overall, this was one of my proudest meals. Fan-friggin-tastic.


--Rees