Beef Goulash
Description
Glorious! And the perfect answer to a cold and dark winter day. I combined a recipe from America’s Test Kitchen and the Canal House cookbook, ‘Cook Something’ – and we all think this may be the only goulash recipe you’ll ever need! – enjoy!
Ingredients
3 to 4 lbs. beef chuck roast, lovingly trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces/cubes
~1 c. flour AND kosher salt AND freshly ground pepper for browning the beef
vegetable oil for cooking
1 jar (500 mL) roasted red peppers, drained AND 4 + cloves of garlic
1 can (156 mL) tomato paste AND 1 can (398 mL) tomato sauce
1/3 c. smoked or sweet paprika AND 2 t. caraway seeds
4 large onions, peeled and sliced lengthwise
2 c. (half a bottle) full-bodied red wine AND 2 c. strong chicken or beef broth (I used my bone broth)
4 carrots, peeled if needed and cut into 1-inch chunks
Instructions
Heat up a good glug of oil on medium-high in your largest Dutch oven and preheat the oven to 300. Add about a cup of flour to a large Ziploc and quickly toss enough beef to fill the bottom of your Dutch oven in a single layer. Generously sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper as it’s browning, and again as it gets turned over (tongs are easiest here). This will take some time as you’ll have to brown the beef in batches and remove it as the pieces get a good crust on them. The beef will not be cooked through, and the pieces may not be evenly cooked, this is fine, it’s the crust that you’re after.
As the beef is being browned, add the roasted red peppers, garlic, tomato paste, tomato sauce, paprika and caraway seeds to your food processor and pulse until smooth. Set this aside, you’ll need it soon.
When the beef is beautifully browned and piled high on a plate, add a bit more oil if the pot is dry and toss in all of the onions. Reduce the heat to medium and give the onions 10 to 15 minutes to get good and softened. Stir frequently and the browned bits will start to unstick and help your onions to darken. Scrape in the mix from your food processor and cook for another 5 minutes or so until all is well combined.
Pour in the wine and broth and bring it all to a simmer while stirring – be sure to scrape up all from the bottom to maximize all of the flavor. Once you have a simmer, carefully return the beef and all juices to the pot along with the carrots, give it all a good stir, add more broth if you feel it needs it but it’s fine if everything isn’t completely covered in liquid, put the lid on and pop this goodness into the oven.
Braise/bake for about 2 and a half hours, stirring every 30 to 45 minutes or so until the beef is fork tender. Serve on egg noodles that have been tossed with sour cream and parsley – this makes a big batch but the leftovers are also amazing!
