Pörkölt (Hungarian Stew)

What I love most about this Pörkölt Hungarian Stew recipe is how deeply flavorful it is, despite being made with such simple, humble ingredients. My brother’s time in Hungary introduced our family to so many new dishes, but this one stuck with us. It’s cozy, comforting, and tastes like something you’ve cooked all day, even though it’s incredibly easy to prepare. The sweet Hungarian Paprika gives it such a unique and rich flavor that’s impossible to replicate with anything else. If you have to substitute regular paprika, the flavor will be a little different and you will only need a few teaspoons instead of tablespoons.

This Porkolt recipe often gets mis-titled as Hungarian Goulash. While both are delicious, Hungarian Goulash is more of a soup while Porkolt is thicker, similar to the consistency of beef stroganoff, and served over egg noodles.

What Meat To Buy For Stew

• Choose Tough Meat! Inexpensive, tough cuts of meat are perfect because the meat simmers for hours, which break down and to soft and fall apart tender.
• Don’t Use Pre-Cut: Avoid the packaged “stew meat” that is already cut into pieces because these are the odds and ends of different cuts of beef and they won’t cook as evenly.
• The Right Cut of Meat: Check the sale section for cuts of meat that come from the shoulder and rear of the cow. I always look for chuck first: chuck shoulder, chuck roast, or top chuck. If you can’t find that, choose a round roast, rump roast, or top round roast.

How to Make Pörkölt

Sear Meat: Season meat with salt and pepper then place in a skillet with hot oil, browning on all sides. Don’t crowd the meat, we don’t want this meat to steam we want it to sear. Set aside.