Sip and Feast Hungarian Goulash (Slow Cooker)

Name: Hungarian Goulash - The Ultimate Beef Stew
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 8 h
Total time: 8 h 30 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 900 g beef chuck, trimmed of large fat, cut into large chunks; 115 g streaky bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces; 30 g plain flour, for dredging the beef; 2 large onions, diced; 5 cloves garlic cloves, minced or chopped; 2 medium carrots, diced; 3 whole bell peppers, cut into large pieces; 3 whole plum tomatoes, chopped, juices reserved; 1.2 L low sodium beef stock; 5 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika; 1 tsp caraway seeds; 2 whole bay leaves; salt, to taste; black pepper, to taste; 3 medium potatoes, peeled, cut into chunks; 3 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped; olive oil

Sip and Feast cooks a proper Hungarian-style goulash, not the American macaroni version. Chuck beef is browned in bacon fat, then braised with onions, peppers, carrots, tomatoes and a heavy hand of sweet Hungarian paprika. Potatoes go in at the end and double as a thickener when mashed against the side of the pot. The slow cooker version keeps every ingredient but moves the long braise off the hob and into the crock for hands-off cooking.

Slow cooker notes: Source is a hob braise in a heavy pot. Adapted by: 1) browning the beef and sweating the aromatics on the hob, then transferring everything to the slow cooker for the long braise. 2) Adding the potatoes for the final 1 to 1.5 hours on High so they stay intact but cook through. 3) Stock left at the full 5 cups (1.2 L) since the slow cooker lid is closed for the bulk of the cook (Sip and Feast leaves the hob lid cracked for partial evaporation, which the slow cooker does not replicate, so you may want to reduce uncovered at the end if you want a thicker broth, or mash some potato into the liquid as he does).

Ingredients

Main

900 gbeef chuck, trimmed of large fat, cut into large chunks
115 gstreaky bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
30 gplain flour, for dredging the beef
2 largeonions, diced
5 clovesgarlic cloves, minced or chopped
2 mediumcarrots, diced
3 wholebell peppers, cut into large pieces
3 wholeplum tomatoes, chopped, juices reserved
1.2 Llow sodium beef stock

Spices

5 tbspsweet Hungarian paprika
1 tspcaraway seeds
2 wholebay leaves
to tastesalt, to taste
to tasteblack pepper, to taste

Finish

3 mediumpotatoes, peeled, cut into chunks (add late)
3 tbspflat-leaf parsley, chopped (add late)
olive oil

Method

Trim the chuck roast of the largest pieces of fat and cut into large chunks. Season generously on all sides with salt and pepper.
~5 min
Tip the flour onto a parchment lined tray and dredge the beef chunks, patting off the excess so only the thinnest residue remains.
~5 min
Heat a heavy pan over medium heat. Add the bacon and render until crisp, then lift out onto kitchen paper, leaving the fat behind.
~6 min
Brown the dredged beef in the bacon fat in two batches, a few minutes a side, until well coloured. Set aside with the bacon.
~12 min
Add the diced onions to the same pan with a pinch of salt and cook over medium heat until softened, about 10 minutes.
~10 min
Add the bell peppers and carrots and cook for another 10 to 12 minutes until they start to soften and release their water.
~12 min
Stir in the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes until fragrant. Add the caraway seeds, pressing them into the pan, then the chopped tomatoes with their juices and cook for a couple of minutes more.
~4 min
Tip the beef and any resting juices back in, along with the bacon if using. Pour in the beef stock and add the bay leaves and the sweet Hungarian paprika. Stir well.
~3 min
Transfer everything to the slow cooker. Cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 4 hours, until the beef pulls apart with a fork.
About 1 to 1.5 hours before the end (on High), add the potato chunks and submerge them in the broth. Cook until fork tender.
Fish out the bay leaves. For a thicker broth, mash a few of the cooked potatoes against the side of the pot with a spoon and stir back through.
~3 min
Stir in the chopped parsley, taste and adjust with salt and pepper. Serve with warm bread.
~2 min

Frequently asked

Do I need to brown the beef first?

Yes. Slow cookers steam rather than brown, so the colour and depth of flavour come from the crust on the beef and the rendered bacon fat before everything goes into the pot.

Can I skip the bacon?

Yes. Sip and Feast suggests rendering the fat you trimmed off the chuck and using that as your starting fat, or simply cooking the beef in olive oil. The bacon is not traditional, it is just a convenient stand-in for lard.

Sweet or hot paprika?

Sweet Hungarian paprika is the main spice and what gives the broth its colour. A small spoon of hot paprika can be added at the end if you want some heat, but the dish is built around the sweet version.

Why add the potatoes at the end?

If they go in at the start they turn to mush over a long braise. Adding them for the last hour or so lets them cook through while still holding their shape, and mashing a few against the side of the pot at the end thickens the broth.

Is this the same as American goulash?

No. American goulash is more of a beef and macaroni dish, sometimes called American chop suey. This is the Hungarian style: a paprika-heavy beef stew with peppers and potatoes.

Extraction notes (transparency): Servings not stated on camera; defaulted to 6 based on 2 lb beef + 5 cups stock + 3 potatoes. Salt at start (1.5 tsp for ~2.5 lb meat) and at end (3/4 tsp) is grounded but represented as 'to taste' for clarity. Recipe quantity call is 2 lb beef and 3 medium potatoes per his stated recipe; on camera he used 2.5 lb beef and 4 potatoes because he had more beef.