Polish Beef Goulash {Gulasz Wołowy}

Anna

7 years ago

85 / 100

Polish Beef Goulash {Gulasz Wołowy}

Gulasz… a warm and smooth sauce with tender pieces of favorite meat slowly dripping over kluski śląskie or kopytka. You had me at gulasz.

Today, I’m doing gulasz wołowy the way it was made in my home. Beef seared and then stewed with onion, carrots and spices. Aroma fills the kitchen and moves out into the rest of the house. Nothing brings me back home like the scents of my parents and grandparents kitchen. I feel very accomplished if I can recreate those scents in my home. I’m hoping they are secretly sneaking into my daughters part of the brain responsible for making and preserving memories. I’m hoping that she, like I, will feel a bit closer to her family after we’re long gone, just because she just smelled or ate some stewed beef. 🙂

In my home gulasz wołowy [goo-lash voh-woh-vyh] was almost always served with kasza gryczana (buckwheat) and a side of home-made pickles. To me, this combination goes so well together, its my favorite way to eat it. Pickle cuts the boldness of the gravy, and makes it sweeter. Silky sauce soaks into the kasza, paired with a piece of tender meat, they make a perfect bite.

Poles still eat a lot of kasza, not only buckwheat, but also pearl barley, millet, bulgur, in soups, cabbage rolls, or even sausages. I feel it’s a bit under-appreciated here in the US. Maybe you can help me bring it back to life.

Polish Beef Goulash {Gulasz Wołowy}

Yields: 4-5 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 60-90 minutes

Ingredients

About 1 lb / 500 g of stewing beef
½ tsp of salt
¼ tsp (or more) of ground pepper
3 tbsp of oil / grease
3 bay leaves
5 whole peppercorns and allspice berries (each)
1 onion
4 c / 1 l of broth (beef or chicken)
3 carrots
½ c / 120 ml of cold water
4 tbsp of all-purpose flour

Instructions

Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. In a medium saucepan, heat oil/grease, add beef, bay leaves, peppercorns and allspice berries.
Brown on high heat until edges start to brown, add chopped onion and sauté another few minutes, until onion cooks and browns a bit around the edges.
Add broth and simmer for about 45 minutes on medium-low.
Add cleaned, peeled and sliced carrots and simmer for another 15 minutes until beef reaches desired tenderness.
In a small bowl, mix COLD water with flour and whisk with a fork or a whisk. Add to sauce and bring to boil.
Taste. Add more salt, if needed.