This recipe for beef cheek Goulash is a rich and sumptuous rendition of the Hungarian classic.
Ingredients
1/3 cup rendered duck fat
5 large onions ( 1kg ), sliced
5 red bell peppers, trimmed, seeded, and roughly chopped
3/4 cup tomato paste
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons hot paprika
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons dried marjoram
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 teaspoons toasted caraway seeds, freshly ground
1/8 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh marjoram, plus additional for garnish
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
3 1/2 pounds beef cheeks, trimmed and halved, or boned short ribs, trimmed and cubed
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons cornichon juice
Serve
6 – 8
Method
Melt the duck fat in a large heavy pot over medium-low heat, and add the onions. Cook them very slowly and evenly, stirring occasionally, until they are very dark brown, about 2 hours. Meanwhile, place the bell peppers in a steamer set over boiling water and steam until very soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a food mill or blender, and purée (straining after, if you use the blender). You should have 3/4 cup red pepper purée.
Add the tomato paste to the onions and cook until it darkens, about 5 minutes. Add the sweet and hot paprikas, and mix well. Add 7 cups water, the red pepper purée, vinegar, dried marjoram, garlic, ground caraway seeds, and lemon zest. Add half of the fresh marjoram, thyme, and rosemary.
Season the beef cheeks with salt and pepper, and add them to the pot. Bring the liquid to a bare simmer and keep it there, stirring only three or four times, for 3 hours. Add the rest of the fresh herbs and begin to check the tenderness of the cheeks with a fork. They are done when they fall easily from the fork, after about 4 hours. They should be meltingly tender, but not so soft as to fall apart. Some pieces of meat will take longer than others; pull them from the liquid as they are done. Spread the cooked beef cheeks in a single layer in a pan.
When all the cheeks are cooked, put the cooking liquid through a colander. (Don’t use a sieve, as you want to push the tiny bits of onion through to make a slightly chunky sauce.) Pour the sauce over the cheeks and season to taste with salt, pepper, additional fresh marjoram, and the cornichon juice. Serve very hot.
Serve with Noodles.
note: We always make the full amount, freeze what’s left and serve as a ragu sauce, with pasta.
Original Recipe taken from “East of Paris” by David Bouley, Mario Lohninger and Melissa Clark
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