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| Garrett's Goulasch made in the slow cooker. |
In the town of
Hendersonville, North Carolina at the top of
the blue Ridge escarpment is a little German restaurant called.
Haus Heidelberg.
After passing it by for several years, we
finally went inside. They have a fine selection of German beers. I tried the
Spaten "Optimator" which has great authority. After perusing the menu, I
settled on a dish called “Goulash."
As expected, the dish was a hearty beef stew, served with
amazing mashed potatoes (Sour cream and a dash of nutmeg set them apart). What
I didn’t expect was that the savory beef dish would take me back to my
childhood and a long forgotten memory of my Grandmother's kitchen.
My great grandmother on my father’s side had the last name
of Biedenbaugh from a German family that imigrated in the 19
th
century. Family lore was that their original name was
Petersbach, perhaps after the French town by the same name that was in the German-speaking
Alsace region which was annexed by Germany in 1871. Their name was
summarily changed a Ellis Island, like that of thousands of others.
Grandma Garrett was a pretty good cook, and frequently made the stew. It was
hearty and savory and contained an ingredient that I never experienced in other
stews, that gave it a special flavor. That ingredient was bell pepper.
And that was what made the stew in Hendersonville so
special. Like Marcel Proust, who smelled the madeleines, the stew flooded me with memories of things past, particularly, that of childhood dinners at my
Grandma Garrett’s Formica table savoring the stew and the aroma of A & P coffee.
I have had Goulash at home made by my wife, but I wondered
how the “authentic” dish differed. (My wife has less German blood than Senator
Warren has native American), so when I decided to re-create the recipe, I went
on the Net to find an authentic one.
Goulasch or Goulash as it is Americanized is basically a spicy
meat stew and is one of the national dishes of Hungary, which is why most
people think of the nation when they think of the stew. It is a very old
recipe, dating back to medieval times. The name relates to “Herdsman” as it was
eaten by cattle and sheep herders who dried the seasoned meat to preserve it,
(similar to jerky) and stored in in a (dead)sheep’s stomach so that the herders
in the field only needed to add water to bring it back to edible consistency.
Goulash is enjoyed in most European countries and the recipe
is pretty common with only a few regional tweaks. I say usually, because
centuries of migration between countries has more-or-less democratized the
dish.
Many countries have their own version, including Ethiopia,
which uses fish instead of red meat, and the Philippines, where goat meat is
often used. The main difference between Hungarian and German Goulash is that
Hungarians favor caraway, and have noodles as a side dish, where Germans use
potatoes, and no caraway. Paprika became a staple ingredient when it came available in
Europe in the 17
th century. American Goulash, especially when made
by Yankees, frequently includes macaroni noodles cooked in the mix.
Basic goulash is meat, usually beef or other red meat, with
tomatoes, vegetables and paprika. The emphasis on tomatoes and paprika and green pepper is what distinguishes it from American beef stew. Stock or wine is used as a braising
sauce.
Armed with this information and
my trusty slow cooker, I set about to create a goulash my grandmother would
approve of.
Garrett’s Goulash
The Meat:
2 lbs. beef stew meat, trimmed
The Vegetables:
One large onion, diced
One green pepper, diced
Baby carrots (or one or two regular carrots, diced)
3-4 redskin potatoes, quartered.
(Optional. I added the potatoes since I wasn’t
planning to serve the stew with an extra starch)
The other stuff:
2-3 Tbsp. oil
One can diced tomatoes
One-two Tbsp. tomato paste
One-two Tbsp. Beef flavored
Better Than Bullion
1-2 cloves of garlic
2-3 Tbsp. Hungarian paprika
1 cup red wine or beef stock, divided (If you want to be
persnickety make sure the wine is from Germany. Beef stock is pretty much the
same everywhere.)
1-1/2 Tsp. dried Thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
The instructions:
Brown the beef in the oil in small batches and place in the
slow cooker.
Saut
é onions and peppers in the pan juices, adding garlic in
the last minute of cooking. Add ½ cup wine or stock and deglaze the pan (I
forgot to do this. OOPs!).
Transfer all ingredients* to the slow cooker and cook for
6-8 hours on low.
*For firmer potatoes, add them during the last half of the
cooking time.
Though the Europeans serve it over potatoes or noodles, I
“southernized” mine by using biscuits.
I added hot pepper sauce at the table, since my wife has a
sensitive palette. The dish was savory, and came close to meeting my
expectations. There was enough liquid for sopping with the biscuit, but not so
much as to make a soup, which is what I was going for. Next time I will use more green pepper and add more
black pepper for a little more spice. I will probably also use wine vs. beef
stock. When I made the dish, I didn’t have any red wine on hand, plebeian that
I am, and my teetotaling grandma wouldn’t approve anyway. I also like to use a
little allspice in beef dishes for an extra nuance. I will NEVER add
macaroni.
Call me persnickety.
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