Beef goulash with bacon

Beef goulash is one of the traditional meals served in almost every restaurant in the Czech Republic and does exist in many variations – with/without garlic, with/without tomatoes purée, made from beef, pork or combination… My well tried classic is the one, which I learned by my aunt Milada from Mikulov and I have to say, that this goulash made with added bacon gives just the right taste…

Ingredients:

1,5kg beef (depends on taste – the best part for goulash is beef shin)
1,5kg onion (chopped)
5 strips bacon (chopped)
5 cloves garlic (mashed with some salt)
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp caraway seeds
3 tbsp paprika
4 cup beef broth
1 tsp marjoram

Directions:

1. Cut the fat off (the cut-offs can be grind on meat grinder and use as required – see below) and cut into cubes, add salt, pepper, cayenne, caraway seeds, 1 tbsp paprika, mashed garlic and 1 tbsp vegetable oil. Mix everything nice together using hands.

2. Roast bacon on 1 tbsp vegetable oil.
 
3. Add chopped onion and roast till light brown colour.
 
4. Add 2 tbsp paprika and let warm up (max. 1 minute – not too much, otherwise it turns bitter).
 
5. Add meat and spice mixture and roast until meat starts release juice.

6. Then add broth and ground cut-offs and cook (best in pressure cooker – approx. 25 minutes). Then open the pressure cooker and let the liquid evaporate (next 20-30 minutes) until thick goulash consistency – stir regularly. In the end add marjoram.
7. Serve with dumplings or bread, on the top you can add fresh sliced onion rings. Don’t forget – goulash taste better “ripen” = the second day…