Hungarian Beef Goulash Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between goulash and Hungarian goulash? ›

There are two kinds of goulash: Hungarian goulash, which calls for the slow-simmered beef to be served alongside egg noodles, and American goulash, which pulls in ground beef and cooks the noodles in the pot alongside the sauce.

The classic “kettle goulash” is prepared by frying cubes of beef or mutton with onions in lard. Garlic, caraway seeds, tomatoes, green peppers, and potatoes complete the stew. Székely gulyás, another Hungarian specialty, is a stew of pork and sauerkraut flavoured with tomatoes, onions, caraway seeds, and sour cream.

Serve with traditional accompaniments: Serve Hungarian goulash with traditional accompaniments such as bread, egg noodles, or dumplings. A dollop of sour cream and chopped fresh parsley or chives is also a popular garnish.

American goulash, sometimes called slumgullion, American Chop Suey, or even Beef-a-Roni, is an American comfort-food dish popular in the Midwest and South.

Hungary's national dish

Gulyás, known to English speakers as goulash, is a spicy meat stew containing lots of paprika pepper. Originally, it was eaten by the country's cattle herders and stockmen.

The national dish of Hungary! Boldly flavoured with stacks of paprika, lots of onion, garlic and capsicum/bell peppers, with fall apart hunks of beef. It's sort of a stew, sort of a soup. The broth is not supposed to be as thick as typical stews.

Choose marbled meat for your goulash, as it cooks very slowly, the fat will render down and give you a tender end result. Beef and veal are very popular, but you can also choose game, pork, or lamb. Lean meat is less suitable, as it will toughen up over the long cooking time.

Hungarian Goulash is a thick meat and vegetable stew with a broth that's heavily seasoned with paprika, while American Goulash is a quick dish made from ground beef, tomato sauce, herbs, and elbow macaroni noodles. It also goes by the name of American Chop Suey.

Goulash is originally a Hungarian dish. Its Hungarian name gulyás derives from the word gulya denoting a herd. So it is “herder's food”. The original Hungarian goulash is a kind of a thick beef soup with a lot of paprika powder added.

Hungarian goulash and American goulash. Hungarian goulash is a thick soup with meat and vegetables, usually seasoned with paprika. American goulash is very different. It generally has tomato sauce, macaroni and beef.

What does goulash mean in Hungarian? ›

The Hungarian word for this delicious dish is gulyáshús, from gulyás, "herdsman," and hús, "meat." Historically, goulash was a stew cooked by shepherds using lamb or beef. The paprika came later, but today it's a vital part of an authentic goulash.

Searching for the perfect accompaniment? Try mashed potato, dumplings or your favourite veg.

Hungarian goulash is very similar to beef stew, but there are some differences. While a typical stew consists of slow braising chunks of meat with root vegetables in a seasoned broth, goulash uses spices such as caraway, cumin, paprika, and peppers which really enhance and alter the flavor from a classic beef stew.

I just love a good, flaky garlic bread. Yum! Serve the goulash with the bread on the side. Top with a bit of Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

The dish originated in Hungary from where it traveled to other Central European countries and beyond. As a result, there are countless goulash variations, such as pork goulash, and even goulash made with chicken or turkey.

In medieval times, the Hungarian herdsman of Central Europe made use of every possible part of the animal, as was common practice. As meat was scarce, nearly all of the animal was often used to make the soup. Today, gulyás refers both to the herdsmen, and to the soup or stew.

Hungary's most famous food, the goulash, is a crimson-hued beef soup laced with vegetables and imparting the sweet-sharp flavor of fresh paprika. The dish is named after the herdsmen in eastern Hungary – the gulyás – who prepared this hearty soup in large cast-iron kettles.