A perfectly browned onion. The secret of our goulash revealed

One of the traditional Czech dishes is undoubtedly goulash. How it’s prepared varies depending on the specific recipe. We cooked beef goulash, using a rather specific method. In the end, however, just like every time before, it turned out absolutely brilliant. Don’t believe us? Then do read on. We’re going to reveal our recipe to you and also show you several photographs of both the preparation process and the finished goulash itself.

What did we need?

We needed several ingredients to make beef goulash. Specifically, we prepared:

– 2 medium-sized onions,

– 500 grams of beef hindquarter,

– 2 tablespoons of lard,

– 1 litre of beef stock,

– 1.5 teaspoons of salt,

– 4 allspice berries,

– 3 bay leaves,

– 2 star anise pods

– 5 cloves of garlic,

– 3 tablespoons of cornflour

Photo: Radek Stepan

Browning the onions as a base

Onions form the basis of many dishes, and this is especially true of goulash. We diced them and heated two tablespoons of lard in a saucepan. We then fried the onions thoroughly in the lard until they turned a lovely golden brown. It needs to be fried over a moderate heat so that it doesn’t burn.

The meat juices must be reduced

Once the onions were a deep golden brown, we added diced, unsalted beef to the pan. This also began to fry, releasing a fair amount of juices. We stirred the meat and onions occasionally, and the juices then began to reduce. Once only the meat and a little fat remained in the pan, we added the other ingredients: specifically, crushed garlic, a tablespoon of tomato purée, a little allspice, two star anise pods and three bay leaves. Finally, we added one and a half teaspoons of salt. We fried everything for another 4 minutes.

Tip: Our homemade bread was perfect.

Cook the goulash until the meat is tender

Once everything was fried, we added 1 litre of beef stock and left the goulash to simmer gently. The meat was perfectly cooked in about an hour and a half, and we were then able to thicken the goulash.

Thickening with cornflour is ideal

To thicken the goulash, we used cornflour, which we mixed thoroughly with water. We then added it to the goulash. We cooked it for a little while longer and then it was ready to serve. It was brilliant.

Sources: Author, own recipe

Photo and photogallery: Radek Stepan