Beef Goulash 🍲 Balkan Tavern 🇷🇸 (Gulaš)

Description

Slow-simmered beef in a paprika-rich onion gravy—silky, hearty, and deeply savory. 🧅🔥

Hook: One pot, big comfort—fall-apart beef with brick-red sauce. ⚡

Ingredients

• 🐄 Beef chuck, 3 cm cubes: 900 g (2 lb)
• 🧅 Onions, finely chopped: 600 g (4 cups / 21 oz)
• 🧄 Garlic, minced: 8 g (2 cloves / 0.3 oz)
• 🫗 Sunflower oil or lard: 45 ml (3 tbsp / 1.5 fl oz)
• 🌶️ Sweet paprika: 16 g (2 tbsp / 0.56 oz)
• 🌶️ Hot paprika or chili flakes (to taste): 1–2 g (¼–½ tsp / 0.04–0.07 oz)
• 🍅 Tomato paste: 30 g (2 tbsp / 1.1 oz)
• 🍷 Dry red wine (optional): 120 ml (½ cup / 4 fl oz)
• 💧 Beef stock or water: 900 ml (3¾ cups)
• 🌿 Bay leaves: 2
• 🌰 Caraway seeds (optional but classic): 1 g (½ tsp / 0.04 oz)
• 🫑 Red bell pepper, small dice (optional): 120 g (1 cup / 4.2 oz)
• 🥔 Potatoes, 2 cm chunks (optional): 300 g (2 cups / 10.6 oz)
• 🧂 Salt: to taste (≈10 g / 1¾ tsp)
• ⚫ Black pepper: 1 g (½ tsp / 0.04 oz)

Preparation

1. 1️⃣ Onion base: Warm fat in a heavy pot. Cook onions with a pinch of salt 12–15 min until soft and lightly golden; add garlic 30 sec.
2. 2️⃣ Paprika bloom: Take pot off heat; stir in sweet (and hot) paprika 20–30 sec. Return to low heat; add tomato paste 1 min.
3. 3️⃣ Beef in: Add beef; stir to coat. Cook 5–6 min until it loses raw color. Deglaze with wine (if using) 2 min.
4. 4️⃣ Simmer: Add stock/water, bay, caraway, and bell pepper (if using). Bring to a gentle simmer, cover partially, and cook 1 h 15 min, stirring occasionally.
5. 5️⃣ Finish: Add potatoes (if using) and simmer 20–30 min more until beef is fork-tender and sauce silky. Season with salt and black pepper.

Total Time

🕒 Prep: 20 min
🔥 Cook: 1 h 45 min
⏳ Total: 2 h 05 min

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