Grammy's Recipe Book Mains

Hungarian Style Goulash

From Claireabout 4–6 servings

Prep
25 min
Cook
2 hr 15 min
Total
2 hr 40 minstart to eating

Times are our estimates for Grammy's recipe, with unhurried prep.

Grammy's handwritten page for Hungarian Style Goulash
Page 14 · full size

As written

Word for word from her page, with her spelling and line breaks. [?] marks a word we couldn't read.

Hungarian Style Goulash
- Claire

3 TBS. marg. or butter
6 medium onions sliced thin
2 lbs. stew beef - 1" chunks
1/4 cup paprika
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 8 oz container sour cream
4 cups hot buttered noodles

5 qt dutch oven over medium-high
heat in hot butter cook onions
until lightly browned. Add meat
paprika + salt. Reduce heat to
low cover and simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours
until meat is fork tender.

Stir in sour cream - heat thru -
do not boil. Serve over noodles.

Grammy's recipe

Her recipe, typed out to cook from: her amounts and her words, with abbreviations spelled out and the steps numbered.

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons margarine or butter
  • 6 medium onions, sliced thin
  • 2 pounds stew beef, in 1-inch chunks
  • ¼ cup paprika
  • 1½ teaspoons salt
  • 1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
  • 4 cups hot buttered noodles

Method

  1. In a 5-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat, cook the onions in the hot butter until lightly browned.
  2. Add the meat, paprika and salt. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer 1½ to 2 hours, until the meat is fork tender.
  3. Stir in the sour cream and heat through. Do not boil.
  4. Serve over the noodles.

Modernized

A present-day cookbook version, with missing steps filled in. These are suggestions, not her words.

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons butter or oil
  • 6 medium onions, sliced thin
  • 2 pounds beef chuck, in 1-inch cubes, patted dry
  • 3 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon caraway seeds (optional)
  • 1½ teaspoons salt, plus pepper
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream, at room temperature
  • 12 ounces egg noodles, buttered
  • Chopped parsley

Method

  1. Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook the onions slowly, stirring often, until deep golden, 20–25 minutes.
  2. Push the onions aside, raise the heat and brown the beef in batches.
  3. Take the pot off the heat and stir in the paprikas, garlic, tomato paste, caraway, salt and pepper. Paprika burns easily over direct heat.
  4. Add the broth and return to a simmer. Cover and cook on low 1½–2 hours, until the beef is fork tender.
  5. Stir a ladle of the hot sauce into the sour cream, then stir that back into the pot. Heat through without boiling.
  6. Serve over the buttered noodles with parsley.

Ideas to play with

Twists and variations to try. Suggestions, not hers.

  • Slow cooker

    After browning, cook on low 7–8 hours. Stir in the sour cream at the end.

  • With peppers

    Add 2 sliced red peppers in the last 30 minutes, the way many Hungarian cooks do.

  • Over potatoes

    Serve over mashed potatoes or spaetzle instead of noodles.

  • Make ahead

    It’s even better the next day. Add the sour cream when you reheat.