Beef Cheek Gulyás (Goulash)
A hearty, warming, delicious stew flavoured with paprika and loaded with vegetables. The homemade csipetke (noodle/dumplings) are optional but a very nice and simple addition. No beef cheeks? No worries - you can use stewing beef too.
Servings 8 people
Calories 439kcal
Ingredients
Gulyás
- 1.5 kg beef cheeks (approximately - a bit less is fine too)
- 350 g onions diced (approx. 4 small onions)
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tbsp Hungarian paprika
- 1 tsp caraway seeds left whole or ground, depending on your preference
- 1/2 tsp black pepper freshly ground
- 1 tbsp lard or bacon fat (substitute vegetable oil if necessary)
- 2 liters water
- 2 medium parsnips chopped
- 3 medium carrots chopped
- 3 medium potatoes peeled and chopped
- 2 Hungarian wax peppers
- 2 medium tomatoes chopped
- salt to taste (you'll want at least 1.5 tsp)
Csipetke (Noodles)
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 egg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- fresh marjoram to serve (optional)
Instructions
Stove Top Version
- Cut the beef cheeks into bite-sized pieces and set aside.
- In a large heavy-bottomed pot, melt the lard over medium-high heat. Add the onions and stir frequently. Cook until the onions are translucent and golden-coloured -- not brown. If the onions do begin to brown or cook too quickly, add a little water.
- Add the beef and brown all over, about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Add the paprika, caraway, and black pepper and saute for an additional minute, taking care not to overcook the paprika.
- Add the water and bring the gulyás to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. If using a slow cooker, follow the variation below from this point forward.
- Simmer the gulyás over low heat until the meat is starting becoming tender -- about 2-3 hours.
- Add the parsnips and potatoes to the pot and simmer for an additional hour, or until both are fairly soft.
- Add the carrots and peppers and simmer for an additional 30 minutes, or until the carrots are fairly soft.
- Immediately before serving, add the tomatoes and csipetke (if using) and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the noodles are cooked but still a little firm. Serve and garnish with a little fresh marjoram, if you like.
Slow Cooker Variation
- Follow steps 1-4 as in the stove top version.
- Once the gulyás is simmering, transfer it to a slow cooker and place on low for 6 hours, or high for 3-4 hours. The beef should be fairly tender but not falling apart.
- Add the potatoes and parsnips and cook on low for an additional 2 hours, or high for an additional hour.
- Add the carrots and peppers and simmer on low for an additional hour or so, or on high for 30 minutes.
- Stir in the tomatoes and csipetke (if using) and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the csipetke are cooked but still a little firm. Serve and garnish with a little fresh marjoram, if you like.
Instant Pot Version
- Follow steps 1-3 as in the stove top version, but saute the ingredients in the Instant Pot (or other multi-function electric pressure cooker) and only add half (1 L) of the water.
- Seal the pressure cooker and set to cook at high-pressure for 40 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally, or wait 10 minutes then manually release.
- Once the pressure has released, add the parsnips, potatoes, and remaining water to the pressure cooker and cook at high pressure for an additional 5 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally again, or wait 10 minutes then manually release.
- Remove the lid from the pot and add the carrots and peppers. Set the pressure cooker to saute and cook for an additional 15 minutes, or until the carrots are fork-tender.
- Immediately before serving, add the tomatoes and csipetke (if using) and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the noodles are cooked but still a little firm. Serve and garnish with a little fresh marjoram, if you like.
Csipetke
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, egg, and salt. Knead together with your hands for about 5 minutes until the dough has formed a uniform, springy ball. Add a bit of flour if the mixture is too wet, or a bit of water if it's too dry.
- Flour a surface and roll the dough out into a large flat round. Pinch off small pieces of dough with your fingertips and form them into roughly oblong balls. Place on a floured surface and let stand for 10-15 minutes.
- Cook by dropping into salted boiling water until they float, or by placing directly into the gulyás.
Notes
If you can't find beef cheeks you can substitute stewing beef.
This makes a pretty big batch of gulyás. If you're not feeding a small army, you can consider reducing the recipe, but I would recommend instead that you freeze the leftovers to use at a later date, as it holds up quite well. If you know you'll be freezing some, consider only stirring csipetke into the portion you're using immediately and freezing the rest. When you reheat the leftovers, do so in a large pot on the stove, then stir thawed csipetke into the soup an serve.
The csipetke dough can be made in advance and refrigerated overnight, wrapped in plastic wrap. Formed csipetke can also be frozen and used in leftover gulyás.
Nutrition
Calories: 439kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 53g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 168mg | Sodium: 622mg | Potassium: 653mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 5210IU | Vitamin C: 6.1mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 5.7mg