Austria - Coachman's Goulash

The Coachman's Goulash is named after the ever-hungry coachmen that drive carriages through Vienna. Though, the goulash originated in Hungary.

Did you know the first postcard was published in Austria? Half of Austria's men are overweight, while only 20% of women are overweight. The energy drink Red Bull was first created in Austria. Austrians work an average of 45 hours in a week, but receive 22 paid vacation days and 13 paid holidays each year.

Alright, now for the goulash. While cooking, I listened to traditional Austrian music. It reminds me of Oktoberfest!

 

Coachman's Goulash

1.5 pounds of stewing beef or beef shoulder (I used 2 chuck rounds)

1.1 pounds of diced onion (this is about 3 medium onions)

2 tbsp paprika powder

1 dash of vinegar (I used distilled white vinegar, but I'm not sure if it really matters... or if it actually did anything)

1 tsp tomato paste

2 crushed cloves of garlic (I used 1.5 tsp of minced garlic)

caraway powder (I used cumin instead)

majoram (I used thyme instead)

salt

pepper

4 tbsp clarified butter or plant oil (I used olive oil - it's just to cook the onions)

1. Tidy up the meat by removing the bone, fat, and sinew but not the gelatinous parts of the meat. Cut the meat into bite-sized cubes, and chop the onions. (I used chuck rounds - they were not difficult to cube, very little fat on them, all around an easy piece of meat to work with.)

2. Heat the clarified butter (I used olive oil) in a large pan and soften the onions very slowly by cooking them over a fairly low heat and stirring constantly - the longer they cook, the better. (I probably them look on medium low heat for about 20 minutes.)

3. Sprinkle the paprika powder over the onions, quickly take out any heat by splashing over with a dash of vinegar, and stir in the tomato paste. Add the meat, stir briefly, and then flavor with the garlic, caraway, salt, pepper, and a pink of marjoram (see my substitutions above). Add some water, so the meat is just covered, and depending on the type of meat, steam for around 2-3 hours until soft (my meat was probably done around the 2 hour mark, but I left it on for 3 hours, just for my piece of mind that the meat was cooked. But I did reduce the heat to low and let some of the water evaporate.) Stir occasionally and top off regularly with small amounts of water.

Traditionally, a hot sausage would be added to the side of the dish, along with a fried egg, fanned gherkin and strips of red pepper. It's also served with breaksticks, rolls, or salted potatoes. This sounded like two much meat and carbs, so I served the goulash on brown rice, with a side of steamed vegetables.   

  

NOTES:

-I definitely guessed on the spice measurements. I literally did a dash to three dashes, total guesses. I don't think you can mess it up. I kept the spices out so that I had the option to season to taste when I sat down to eat, but my first guess was great!

-This was a very easy dish to make, it just took a while to cook. It didn't require much, just a stir here and there, and a little added water. Other than that, it just did it's thing.

-This made about 6 servings. I think I would double it so that there's more for freezer meals.

In German.... Ich habe mir mein Abzeichen verdient! (I earned my badge!)