Chef Juliette
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Goulash de Bœuf à la Hongroise
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1177, Goulash de Bœuf à la Hongroise, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Beef, onions, paprika, tomatoes, and potatoes braised until tender, then reduced almost dry. The lesson is restraint: water starts the braise, but it must not remain as soup.
Soups & Stews
French
Comfort Food
Make Ahead
One Pot
25 min
Active Time
2 hr 35 min cook•3 hr 10 min total
Yield4 servings
Goulash de Bœuf à la Hongroise (Hungarian-style beef goulash) teaches reduction, not abundance. The one true thing to know before touching the pan is this: the water is a timing device, not the finished sauce. It gives the beef and potatoes time to soften, then it must cook away until paprika-red liquor clings to every piece. Don't drown it.
The source assumed a brigade portion of three pounds of beef, a cook free to baste the potatoes often, and a timbale waiting for service. It called for neither a saucier's mother sauce nor stock kept perpetually hot, only water, because the meat, onions, tomatoes, paprika, and final reduction build the flavour themselves. For four people, two pounds of beef in a heavy home cocotte preserves the original ratios; two or three deliberate bastings replace the hovering cook, and a warmed deep serving bowl replaces the formal timbale. Those are service changes, not changes to the dish. One cook, one stove, one evening.
Keep what matters: beef and onions fried together in lard over moderate heat, paprika added before the tomatoes, potatoes introduced only after the first braise, and the final liquor reduced almost to nothing. The last reduction is the step that decides everything, so stay beside the pot for those final minutes.
Known in Hungary as gulyás, the dish belongs to the Alföld, the Great Hungarian Plain, where cattle herders cooked beef and onions in kettles and paprika became its defining scent over generations. As the preparation traveled into the French classical repertoire, it became goulash de bœuf à la hongroise, a compact oven braise enriched with tomatoes and potatoes. The nearly dry finish is a French canonical interpretation, not a universal Hungarian rule: Hungarian gulyás is often a soup, while the thicker pörkölt is its closer relative in texture.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
boneless beef shoulder or boneless short rib
Quantity
2 lb (907 g)
cut into roughly 2-inch (5 cm) pieces weighing about 3 oz (85 g) each
rendered pork lard
Quantity
⅓ cup (80 ml / 75 g)
large yellow onion
Quantity
1 large, about 1¼ cups (300 ml / 150 g)
cut into ¾-inch (2 cm) dice
sweet Hungarian paprika
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 14 g)
fine salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g)
peeled tomatoes
Quantity
2 cups (475 ml / 380 g)
gently squeezed of seeds and excess juice, then quartered
water for the first braise
Quantity
¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g)
waxy potatoes
Quantity
2½ cups (600 ml / 380 g)
peeled and quartered
water for cooking the potatoes
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 120 g)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| boneless beef shoulder or boneless short ribcut into roughly 2-inch (5 cm) pieces weighing about 3 oz (85 g) each | 2 lb (907 g) |
| rendered pork lard | ⅓ cup (80 ml / 75 g) |
| large yellow onioncut into ¾-inch (2 cm) dice | 1 large, about 1¼ cups (300 ml / 150 g) |
| sweet Hungarian paprika | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 14 g) |
| fine salt | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g) |
| peeled tomatoesgently squeezed of seeds and excess juice, then quartered | 2 cups (475 ml / 380 g) |
| water for the first braise | ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) |
| waxy potatoespeeled and quartered | 2½ cups (600 ml / 380 g) |
| water for cooking the potatoes | ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •5 to 6 quart (4.7 to 5.7 litre) wide, heavy lidded cocotte or Dutch oven
- •Broad heatproof spoon for turning and basting
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the ingredients
Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C), or 300°F (150°C) with a fan. Pat the beef thoroughly dry and cut it into large, roughly equal pieces; the source calls for substantial three-ounce chunks because small cubes would dry before the potatoes finish. Dice the onion, squeeze the watery seeds from the peeled tomatoes, and quarter them. Keep the potatoes whole until the first braise is nearly finished, then peel and quarter them so their cut surfaces don't discolor.
- 2
Fry beef and onions
Melt the lard in a wide, heavy cocotte over medium heat. Add the beef and onion together, as the formula intends, and cook uncovered for 15 to 18 minutes, turning the meat and stirring the onion regularly. Stop when the onion is evenly golden, the beef has taken light colour, and the lard is sizzling cleanly around both. This is moderate frying, not an aggressive sear; scorched onion would follow the dish all the way to the table. If the beef releases water and the pot begins to simmer, keep it uncovered at the same heat until the moisture evaporates and the lard begins to sizzle again. Ça se rattrape.
Use a wide 5 to 6 quart cocotte. A narrow pot traps moisture around the meat and makes the final reduction needlessly slow. - 3
Bloom paprika gently
Take the pot off the heat for about 30 seconds, then add the paprika and salt. Stir until the paprika coats the meat and onion in the hot lard, about 20 seconds, then immediately add the tomatoes and the first ¼ cup (60 ml) of water. Return the pot to medium heat and scrape the light fond from its floor as the liquid comes to a simmer. Paprika needs fat to release its fragrance, but it turns bitter when scorched. If it begins darkening too quickly, add the tomatoes at once and stir hard; caught before the aroma turns acrid, ça se rattrape.
- 4
Braise under cover
Cover the cocotte tightly and place it in the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes. The liquid should barely tremble beneath the lid while the tomatoes collapse and the beef begins to soften. Check once after an hour; if a loose lid has allowed the pot to dry, add 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) of water and cover it again. At the end of this stage, the beef should yield when pressed with a fork but still offer some resistance.
- 5
Add potatoes and water
Stir the second ½ cup (120 ml) of water into the concentrated tomato liquor. Add the quartered potatoes and turn them carefully so every cut face is coated with paprika and fat. Return the cocotte to the oven uncovered for 35 to 45 minutes. Every 12 to 15 minutes, spoon the liquor over the exposed meat and potatoes and turn the upper pieces into the sauce. This deliberate basting is the part of the original service that must stay; it cooks the potatoes evenly while the moisture escapes.
- 6
Reduce almost dry
Watch the pot closely during the final 15 minutes. The goulash is ready when the beef yields easily, the potatoes are tender without collapsing, and tilting the cocotte reveals no pourable pool of liquid. A glossy paprika-red coating and a little clear lard at the edge are exactly right. If the solids become tender while too much liquor remains, lift them into a warm bowl and boil the liquor on the stovetop for 3 to 6 minutes before folding everything back in. If the pot dries before the potatoes soften, add water 1 tablespoon (15 ml) at a time, cover for 5 minutes, then uncover and continue reducing. Ça se rattrape. Do not reach for flour or stock; reduction is the sauce.
A spoon drawn across the pot floor should leave a clear path for a moment. If liquid immediately floods the path, the goulash needs more reduction. - 7
Rest and serve
Rest the goulash uncovered for 10 minutes so the coating settles around the meat and potatoes. Carry it to the table in the cocotte or heap it into a warmed deep serving bowl, the honest home equivalent of the book's timbale. There is no loose broth to ladle and no garnish required. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Shoulder is the economical first choice, with enough connective tissue to soften during the braise. Boneless short rib follows the source's alternative faithfully, though it gives a slightly richer finish. Technique first, always.
- •Use fresh, fragrant sweet paprika. Old paprika smells dusty and turns the entire pot dull; store it tightly closed away from light and heat. Bloom it briefly in lard, then protect it with the tomatoes.
- •Good canned whole tomatoes are the honest choice when fresh tomatoes are pale or watery. Drain, peel away any remaining skin, squeeze out the loose seeds, and keep the firm flesh. The final reduction needs tomato substance, not canned liquid.
- •This particular formula contains no garlic, caraway, bouquet garni, wine, stock, flour, or cream. Those ingredients belong to other preparations. Here the foundation is lard, golden onion, the beef's light fond, tomato, paprika, and reduction.
- •Serve it with a bright, lightly peppery red wine rather than a heavily oaked bottle. Leftovers keep refrigerated for up to 3 days; reheat gently with a spoonful of water, then uncover and restore the nearly dry finish.
Advance Preparation
- •For the best make-ahead result, complete the covered beef braise through step 4, cool it promptly, and refrigerate it within 2 hours. The next day, bring it back to a gentle simmer before adding the potatoes and second measure of water.
- •The finished goulash can be made a day ahead, though the potatoes will become softer. Reheat it covered over gentle heat with 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) of water, then uncover and reduce until the liquor clings again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 410g)
Calories
825 calories
Total Fat
59 g
Saturated Fat
23 g
Trans Fat
2 g
Unsaturated Fat
31 g
Cholesterol
180 mg
Sodium
750 mg
Total Carbohydrates
26 g
Dietary Fiber
5 g
Sugars
5 g
Protein
48 g
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