Hungarian Goulash was a traditional “family” recipe, so there are always minor variations. Some of these related to available ingredients while others referred to individual likes or dislikes in family members.
Hungarian Goulash is also not a stew – it is a soup. In Hungarian it is known as “Gulyas”. The stew style is called “Porkolt” usually served with potatoes or pasta noodles.
By the way, it is Goulash – not Ghoulash! The latter is made from a recipe from Transylvania.
Cooking Method
Cut beef into 2.5 cm cubes and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Chop onions and in a heavy bottomed cooking pot and brown them in the shortening. Now add the beef and paprika, moving the cubes around to brown all sides. Turn the heat right down and let the beef simmer in its own juice along with salt and paprika for one hour.
Add the water, diced potatoes, bay leaves, pepper and remaining salt. Cover and simmer until potatoes are done and meat is tender. This should be done slowly and add more water if the consistency gets too thick. Remember that this is a soup!
