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Croatian Goulash

The pinnacle of comfort foods, this Croatian Goulash is savory and simple--braised beef cubes are combined with the holy trinity of Central European cooking: onion, pepper, garlic. The meat is braised in red wine and then slow cooked in beef broth until the most succulent stroganoff style goulash is achieved. Served up with egg noodles, gnocchi, or polenta, our Croatian Goulash will warm any belly on a chilly night.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: Austrian, Croatian, Hungarian
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 2 - 2.5 lbs beef cubes, or cubed chuck roast (avoid sirloin)
  • ½ cup all purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 1 green pepper (red or other peppers all work)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • ¾ cup red wine
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 4 cups beef stock
  • 1 tbsp paprika (Hungarian if possible)
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ¼ cup additional flour as a roux

Method
 

  1. Salt and pepper the beef cubes. Roll in flour.
  2. Add olive oil to pot over medium heat, and add a layer of the floured beef cubes. Brown for about 5 minutes a side until a nice crust has formed. Do not overcrowd and brown the cubes in batches. Let drain on paper towels.
  3. Add more olive oil to the pot and lower the heat to medium/low. Saute the onions, pepper, and garlic until translucent, for about 5-7 minutes.
  4. Turn up the heat to high and add the red wine. Scrape the bottom of the pot and any leftover flour or meat. Allow the alcohol to burn off and reduce for about 7-8 minutes.
  5. Lower the heat to medium again and add in the tomato paste and spices. Combine until fully incorporated and add in the beef stock. Turn up the heat again, and bring the meat back to the pot. Mix as it comes to a boil. Cover and allow to simmer on a nice low temperature for two hours if possible, or at minimum 1.5 hours.
  6. An hour in, brown the additional flour in a sauce pan over medium/low heat, mixing all the time. It will take about 5-10 minutes depending on your stove. Then, sift the flour into the goulash and mix completely.
  7. Once done, allow the goulash to come to room temperature. Refrigerate overnight for the best consistency and serve with egg noodles, Gnocchi, pasta, potatoes, polenta. You can't go wrong. Goulash freezes really well for weeks and can be resurrected with a new side dish and a little water to loosen it while being heated up.