Goulash-style Slow Cooker Beef Stew

[phatj]

Goulash-style Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Serves 12 as Main Dish.

This is my version of Hungarian Goulash. It's pretty far from traditional, I'm sure, but it's pretty tasty, and the recipes I've read don't agree much on what "traditional" goulash is.

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Goulash

• 2 lb Beef chuck roast, excess fat trimmed and cut into large chunks
  
• 2 T Oil (olive or neutral vegetable oil)
  
• 3 White or yellow onions, sliced (about 4 cups)
  
• 6 Cloves garlic, pressed or minced
  
• 6 T Paprika (sweet or hot)
  
• 4 T Flour
  
• 1 tsp Caraway seeds
  
• 1 tsp Dried marjoram
  
• 1/2 tsp Freshly ground black pepper
  
• 1/2 tsp Salt
  
• 1/2 tsp Ground cayenne (optional -- reduce or omit if using hot paprika)
  
• 3 c Beef or chicken stock, water, beer or wine, or a combination
  
• 2 T Tomato paste
  
• 2 Bell peppers (pref. red)
  
• 8 oz Fresh mushrooms, sliced
  
• 3 Tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
  
• 1 c Sour cream
  
• Corn starch (if desired -- 2 T plus 2 T water)
  

Herbed Buttered Noodles

• 1 lb Egg noodles
  
• 4 T Butter
  
• 1 T Garlic, minced or pressed
  
• 1 T Fresh parsley, minced
  
• 1/4 tsp Freshly ground black pepper
  

1. In a large skillet, heat a little oil over high heat until shimmering. Add meat chunks and brown quickly on all sides (2-3 min. per side). Remove meat to a bowl and set aside.

2. Add a little more oil to the skillet, then add the onions. Saute, stirring frequently, until beginning to brown, ~ 5 min.

3. Remove onions to the bowl with the meat. Toss with the flour and spices. Deglaze skillet with some of the stock/water/wine if desired.

NOTE: steps 1-3 (plus all prep work) can be done in advance. Put the meat & onions in a container or large Ziploc bag (or the slow cooker insert if it fits in your fridge) until ready to stew, and reserve deglazing liquid (if any).

4. Beat together stock/water/wine and tomato paste, then add to slow cooker with meat & onion mixture. Turn slow cooker to low and go to work.

5. Come home from work and skim off fat from surface of stew. If cooking without leaving for work, let cook for at least 4 hours.

6. Saute peppers and mushrooms briefly if desired, then add to stew along with tomatoes. Turn heat to high & cook 30 minutes.

7. Remove meat chunks from stew; set aside and let cook for a few minutes. Shred with a pair of forks or your hands into bite-size pieces.

8. Add sour cream (to help incorporate sour cream without lumps, first mix some of the stew liquid with the sour cream, then stir the mixture into the stew) and beef to stew, and cook until bubbling again. If a thicker consistency is desired, mix corn starch and water and add with the sour cream.

9. Cook noodles in 5 Qt. salted water. While noodles are cooking, in a small saucepan or in the microwave, melt butter and mix in garlic, parsley and pepper. Toss cooked noodles with butter/herb mixture.

10. Serve goulash over noodles.

Keywords: Main Dish, Intermediate, Beef, Dinner, Eastern Euro/Russian, Crock Pot

( RG1898 )