Prazdrojgoulash Recipes

CZECH BEEF GOULASH (GULAS)

Steps:

• Peel the onion and chop it roughly. Cut the beef into 1-1.½-inch pieces.
• Melt the lard or vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a pot with a thick bottom (I use a heavy iron cast Dutch oven). Fry onions until almost brown. Stir frequently to avoid burning. Finally, add the crushed caraway seeds and stir for another minute.
• Add beef chunks, season with salt, and fry them from all sides until a golden brown crust is created. Expect the meat releases some juices when fried. Stir frequently, and scrape off the burnt residue on the bottom of the pot with a wooden spatula. If necessary, reduce the heat or add a spoon or two of water.
• Turn the stove on medium heat, and add ground pepper, sweet paprika, and tomato paste. Fry for 1 minute while stirring. The base can't get burnt, or else the goulash will taste bitter. Add 1-2 spoons of water to prevent burning.
• Pour in water, so the meat is almost covered. Add bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a minimum, cover with a lid and allow the beef to simmer for 2-2.5 hours or until soft.
• Check the goulash from time to time. Add some water if the level of liquid in the pot falls. When the gulas contains too much water, cook it uncovered at the end. The liquid will be reduced, and the gulas will gain a richer flavor and a nice red color. Stir occasionally.
• When the beef cubes are soft, add flour to thicken the stew. In the next step, I'll provide a helpful method for making the stew sauce smoother and more cohesive.
• Thickening of goulash with flour (optional): Take off the pot's lid. Using a small sieve, carefully dust the surface of the stew with a tablespoon of flour. Do not stir. Cover with the lid and leave to cook for a further 15 minutes. Remove the lid and stir. The sauce will be just thick enough!
• Remove bay leaves, add crushed garlic and dried marjoram, and stir. Season with salt to your liking. Cover with a lid and let it rest off heat for 10 minutes.

TRADITIONAL CZECH BEEF GOULASH

Steps:

• Cut up the beef in to bigger chunks
• Mix together the plain flour, pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper and put it in a deeper plate or bowl
• Coat the beef pieces in the flour mix
• Heat a large frying pan with some oil and leave until it's medium hot
• Fry the beef from both sides until it's golden brown and the meat is 'sealed' and place on a new plate. Do this in several batches if your pan is small.
• Next fry the onions until see through and flavour them with carraway seeds, pinch of chilli, some marjoram and also add the garlic.
• Put the beef back to the frying pan (or swap it for a large stock pan or soup pot).
• Add the beef stock cube and about 500 ml hot water
• Add the tomatoe puree
• Reduce the heat to medium low, cover with a lid and let the whole thing to simmer for about 2 hrs.
• Check regularly to make sure that the stock doesn't evaporate too much and check the beef. Depening on what cut of beef you buy, the dish might be ready sooner or longer than the recipe.
• Serve with traditional Czech dumplings or with a thickly cut sourdough bread.

PRAZDROJ GOULASH

Steps:

• In stew sized pot, heat oil and cook onions until golden brown, add caraway seeds just before onions are done.
• Add cubed beef, and slightly brown.
• Stir in tomato paste, paprika, black pepper, and pilsner beer.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes or until beef is tender.
• Add flour to thicken.
• Stir in salt, garlic& marjoram.
• Simmer for 5 to 10 more minutes.
• Serve.

GOULASH

Steps:

• Spread the beef out on a baking sheet and season generously with salt and pepper. Dredge the beef in the flour. Transfer the beef to a fine mesh strainer and shake off any excess flour.
• Heat a large Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid over high heat. Pour in enough oil to reach about 1/3 of an inch up the sides. Add half of the beef and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until well-browned, about 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a plate, leaving the oil in the Dutch oven. Repeat with the remaining beef. Drain the oil and wipe out the pan.
• Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Return the Dutch oven to medium-high heat, and add the remaining 3 tablespoons oil. Saute the onion, stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, paprika, and caraway and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and simmer, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes more. Add the beef and water, cover, and bring to a boil. Using a piece of kitchen twine, tie together the parsley, thyme, and bay leaf and add to the pot. Braise in the oven, covered, until the beef is tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Remove from the oven and set aside for 5 minutes. Skim the fat from the surface of cooking liquid with a ladle. Bring to a simmer, uncovered, on top of the stove, stirring occasionally, until liquid has thickened, about 20 minutes. Stir in the sour cream and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has reduced to a sauce-like consistency and the beef is very tender, about 20 minutes more. Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon salt and season with pepper to taste. Remove and discard the herb bundle.
• Divide among bowls and serve with Buttered Egg Noodles with Parsley, rice, or sauerkraut. Pass sour cream at the table.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt generously. Add the noodles and cook until al dente, tender but not mushy.
• Meanwhile, ladle 1/4 cup of the noodle cooking water into a medium skillet. Set the skillet over low heat and, while whisking constantly, gradually add the butter, piece by piece, (let each piece of butter melt into the sauce before adding the next bit) until a smooth sauce has formed. Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the lemon zest if desired.
• Drain the noodles in a colander in the sink and leave whatever water clings to them--do not rinse. Transfer the noodles to a large bowl, add the sauce, and toss until well-coated. Serve.
• Yield: about 4 to 6 side dish servings

CLASSIC GOULASH

Steps:

• Cook and stir the ground beef in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, breaking the meat up as it cooks, until the meat is no longer pink and has started to brown, about 10 minutes. Skim off excess fat, and stir in the onions and garlic. Cook and stir the meat mixture until the onions are translucent, about 10 more minutes.
• Stir water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, soy sauce, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, and seasoned salt into the meat mixture and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Stir macaroni into the mixture, cover, and simmer over low heat until the pasta is tender, about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, discard bay leaves, and serve.

GOULASH

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Add the beef and cook, stirring and breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until browned and no longer pink, about 8 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon salt, a few grinds of pepper, the paprika, and Italian seasoning to the beef and stir to combine. Cook, stirring, until the paprika begins to toast and become fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir the tomato paste into the beef mixture to coat, then cook until the paste thickens and deepens in color, about 2 minutes.
• Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Worcestershire and beef broth to the beef mixture and stir, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot, to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the cavatappi. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is al dente, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Remove the pot from the heat. Gently stir in the parsley and Cheddar until combined and the cheese starts to melt. Divide the goulash among 6 bowls and top with more shredded Cheddar and chopped parsley.

TRADITIONAL GERMAN GOULASH

Steps:

• Heat 1/2 tablespoon of the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and caramelized, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Heat the remaining 2 1/2 tablespoons canola oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and saute the stewing meat until nicely browned. Add the caramelized onions, garlic and caraway seeds. Cook for 1 minute, and then add the paprika, Montreal steak seasoning, onion powder, cayenne powder, salt and pepper. Add the green and red peppers, stir and saute until fragrant, about 2 more minutes.
• Add the tomato puree and tomato paste and stir. Add the vegetable broth and 1/2 cup water, plus more if needed, and deglaze the Dutch oven, making sure to loosen anything stuck to the bottom of the pot.
• Bring to a low simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is very tender, about 90 minutes. Serve over Spaetzle, egg noodles or dumplings.