Recipes · Main dishes
Beef Goulash
AI-written · not yet kitchen-tested
The secret to a naturally thick goulash is onions: 1 3/4 pounds (800 g) of beef gets the same weight of onions, which melt while braising and thicken the sauce without flour. Stir in the paprika only after pulling the pot off the heat, otherwise it turns bitter.
This recipe was written with AI assistance and has not yet been kitchen-tested. Check quantities and times as you cook, and follow safe core temperatures for meat, poultry, fish and eggs.
Ingredients
- 800 g (1.8 lb) beef chuck cut into 1 1/4-inch (3 cm) cubes
- 800 g (1.8 lb) yellow onions finely diced
- 3 tbsp canola oil
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 2 clove garlic minced
- 3 tbsp sweet paprika level
- 1 tsp ground caraway
- 1 tsp dried marjoram
- 1 sheet bay leaf
- 500 ml (2 cup) beef broth hot, check the package for allergens
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- salt to taste
- black pepper freshly ground, to taste
Method
- Pat the meat dry with paper towels. Peel and finely dice the onions, mince the garlic, and seed and dice the bell pepper.
- Heat a large heavy-bottomed pot over high heat, add 1 tablespoon of oil and brown the meat in 3 batches for 3 to 4 minutes each, so that it sears instead of stewing in its own juices. Remove it.
- Add the remaining oil to the pot. Cook the onions over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring, until golden yellow, scraping the browned bits off the bottom. Add the garlic, bell pepper and tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.
- Pull the pot off the heat, stir in the paprika, caraway and marjoram and immediately deglaze with the hot broth. Add the meat and bay leaf and bring everything to a boil.
- Cover and simmer over the lowest heat for 1 hour 45 minutes, stirring now and then; the sauce should only bubble gently. The meat is done when a cube crushes easily with a fork; its internal temperature is then about 194 °F (90 °C).
- Remove the lid and simmer the goulash uncovered for another 10 to 15 minutes until the sauce is thick. Stir in the lemon juice, season with salt and pepper and remove the bay leaf.
Tip: The meat stays juicy when it braises rather than boils: keep the heat so low that the sauce only bubbles gently. A rolling boil makes the cubes stringy. Serve with noodles, boiled potatoes or bread dumplings.
Tip: Goulash is easy to cook a day ahead and reheat; it keeps for 3 days in the refrigerator and several weeks in the freezer. If the sauce gets too thick when reheating, thin it with a splash of hot water.