Gulyas 'Imre bacsi'

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 800 g onion(s)
• 80 g lard
• 3 tbsp paprika powder, sweet
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 garlic cloves
• ½ tsp marjoram, dried
• ½ tsp thyme, dried
• some caraway powder
• 800 g beef (from the rump or roast beef)
• 300 g pork schnitzel in one piece
• n. B. wine, red
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 25 minutes; Total time approx. 25 minutes

slightly modified by me

‘Imre bacsi’ was the name given to the old Hungarian who cared for the horses at a riding stable on Lake Neusiedl and cooked a unique goulash. He has since moved to the eternal Puszta, but he left his goulash recipe behind – to the delight of his family and me. Here it is: Slice the peeled onions into thin slices and fry them in lard until golden brown until all the liquid has evaporated. Then add the paprika and sauté. Deglaze with a splash of red wine and let it reduce completely. Add the tomato paste until it begins to thicken slightly. Then sprinkle in the peeled and diced garlic, the herbs, and a little caraway powder, and immediately deglaze with another splash of red wine. The herbs and garlic should not stick to the pan, or they will become bitter. The beef and pork, cut into 4 cm cubes, are then added to the onion mixture, seasoned with salt and pepper, carefully stirred in, and braised over gentle heat in a slightly covered pot for about 2-3 hours. Moisten occasionally with red wine, but don’t cover, as otherwise the meat will cook. As soon as it’s piping hot (for me, this takes about 2.5 hours), add just enough water to cover and simmer for another 15 minutes. Thickening is unnecessary, as the many onions bind it together. The original recipe calls for only beef. The combination with pork is my personal variation, as beef and pork make a wonderful sauce. Since pork is known for its much shorter cooking time, it naturally falls apart, but that doesn’t bother me because the flavor is truly unique. I serve it with potato dumplings and soft-boiled, halved eggs. Some of you might ask: Eggs with goulash? Never heard of it. This comes from a childhood memory. When my mother made goulash on Sundays, there was always some sauce left over with a little meat. The rest was reheated the next day and extended with eggs. I much preferred them to the meat, as they tasted delicious with the sauce. My children love it too, so we always have soft-boiled eggs with goulash. But that’s a matter of taste and not a requirement.