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    Home » Main Course

    Szegedin Goulash with Sauerkraut (Székely Gulyás)

    Published: Oct 6, 2021 · Modified: Jan 21, 2022 by Marita · 4 Comments

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    If you like hearty and juicy stews during the cold winter months then Szegedin goulash is for you. This is the famous Hungarian pork and sauerkraut goulash. The original Hungarian name is Székely Gulyás and is one of the classic goulash recipes.

    A saucepan on a blue towel set on a wooden background with Hungarian Pork and Sourkraut Stew.

    This dish is especially popular in Germany and Austria, where it is served with a dollop of sour cream. Handed down through generations, the "Szegediner Gulasch" (as it is known in German) has established itself in German food culture. This stew is a unique taste experience; delicious rich paprika paired with the slightly bitter taste of sauerkraut.

    What we will cover in this post:

    • What is Szegedin Goulash
    • Szegedin Goulash Origin
    • Szegedine Goulash Recipe
    • Recipe Variations
    • What to serve with this goulash?
    • Storage Instructions
    • More German Goulash Recipes:
    • More Delicious German Main Courses
    • Szegedin Goulash with Sauerkraut (Székely Gulyás)
    • Recipe Variations
    • Storage Instructions

    What is Szegedin Goulash

    Szegedin Goulash is a hearty goulash recipe with Hungarian roots. It consists of pork cuts (ideally from the pork shoulder) and sauerkraut.

    This dish was adapted by German settlers in Romania, Hungary, Slovenia, Moldova and Ukraine and brought to Germany.

    szegedin goulash on a white plate on a wooden background with spätzle. A hand holding a fork is digging into it. In the background you can see a sauce pan with the goulash. Two little pots with parsely and sauerkraut.
    Delicious Szegedin goulash tastes amazing with Spätzle

    Szegedin Goulash Origin

    There are many fascinating legends surrounding the famous Székely Gulyás, which makes this stew so intriguing.

    One of the legends says that the stew was invented in a restaurant in Budapest called "Zur Spieluhr". The town's librarian, named Székely, arrived late one evening at the restaurant and wanted to order some food. As the waiter refused, because the chef had already left. Székely was beside himself. "It must be possible to warm up some goulash and Sauerkraut" he cried. "You do not need a cook for that". So he was served some stew, sauerkraut and a spoon of sour cream by the intimidated waiter.

    Szándor Petöfy, the famous Hungarian writer, witnessed the altercation. When he ordered the same dish the next day, the Székely Goulash was born, and its fame spread. Soon the dish had reached Austria, where it became known as "Szegediner Gulasch" (Szegedine goulash) in German.

    Other legends claim that the Hungarian writer and poet József Székely was the true inventor of the soup. Another candidate is the Hungarian painter Bertalan Szekley. (Source: Gulasch Austrian Ministry for Agriculture, Regions and Tourism)

    This stew does not originate from Szegedin

    It is easy to mistake the dish with the Székler Gulyás from the Hungarian town of Szegedin. Beware, because if you order a Székler Gulyás in Szegedin, you will get served a completely different dish without sauerkraut. It resembles more a goulash soup than this hearty stew.

    Szegedine Goulash Recipe

    I used a mixture of beef and pork meat for my recipe. Authentic Székely Gulyás uses pork meat, ideally a cut from the shoulder.

    Ingredients

    • 1 kg pork cubes (ideally from the shoulder or use 500 g pork cubes and 500 beef cubes)
    • 4 tablespoon vegetable oil
    • 30 g flour
    • 500 g onions
    • 500 g sauerkraut (from a jar)
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon white pepper
    • 1 teaspoon ground caraway seeds
    • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
    • 1 teaspoon dried marjoram (affiliate link)
    • 5 tablespoon sweet paprika
    • 2 garlic cloves
    • 3 tablespoon tomato puree
    • 500 ml beef or vegetable broth

    To serve

    • 100 g sour cream
    • 1 small bunch of parsley

    Recipe Steps

    1. Season the meat with salt and pepper. Peel and roughly slice the onion. Crush the garlic. Drain the sauerkraut with a sieve.
    2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the meat until browned.
    3. Now coat the meat with the flour and continue to brown, while stirring continuously.
    4. Add the onions, and continue to fry until these turn translucent. Reduce the heat and add in the paprika powder. (make sure the powder does not burn as the taste will turn bitter). Add the salt, pepper, caraway seeds, thyme, marjoram (affiliate link), tomato puree, garlic and shortly fry with the meat and onions.
    5. Pour in the vegetable stock, cover the pot with a lid and cook or around 30 minutes on a low heat.
    6. Now add in the drained sauerkraut and mix with the meat. Cover the pot again and cook for a further 30 minutes.
    7. Serve with a dollop of sour cream. (it is better to only add the sour cream when serving, as otherwise you cannot reheat the goulash at a later stage)
    collage of recipes steps. 1 meat and onions fried in a saucepan. 2 added paprika and fried in a saucepan. 3. stock is poured into the saucepan. 4. Sauerkraut added into the strew

    Recipe Variations

    • traditional Szegediner Gulasch is made with pork meat, but you can subsite it with beef or a mixture of the two.
    • if you like a bit of spice to your stew, you can replace two teaspoons of the mild paprika powder with a spicy one.
    • instead of thickening the stew with flour, you can also grate in a potato at the end to achieve the desired consistency
    • replace the sour cream with crème fraiche
    szegedin goulash on a white plate on a wooden background with spätzle. A spoon is adding a dollop of sourcream to the stew

    What to serve with this goulash?

    This pork and sauerkraut stew goes best with hearty side dishes. Here are some traditional suggestions

    • Spätzle
    • Pasta
    • Boiled potatoes
    • Bread Dumplings
    • Potato Dumplings

    Storage Instructions

    This Hungarian pork goulash will keep in your fridge for up to 4 days. It is best to only add the sour cream to stew before serving, as this will enable you to reheat the dish again.

    This dish freezes well and will last in your freezer for up to three months.

    More German Goulash Recipes:

    • German Beer Goulash
    • German Goulash Soup
    • Venison Goulash
    • Sausage Goulash
    szegedin goulash on a white plate on a blue towel on a wooden background with spätzle. A fork is reasting on the plate In the background you can see a sauce pan with the goulash. Two little pots with parsely and sauerkraut.

    More Delicious German Main Courses

    • Königsberger Klopse
    • Käsespätzle- German cheese spätzle
    • Frikadellen - German Meatballs
    • Szegedin Goulash - Goulash with Sauerkraut
    • Wiener Schnitzel
    • Turkey Schnitzel
    • Chanterelle Pasta
    A saucepan on a blue towel set on a wooden background with Hungarian Pork and Sourkraut Stew.

    Szegedin Goulash with Sauerkraut (Székely Gulyás)

    Marita
    Szegedin Goulash is a hearty goulash recipe with Hungarian roots. It consists of pork cuts (ideally from the pork shoulder) and sauerkraut.
    4.34 from 3 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 1 hr 30 mins
    Total Time 1 hr 45 mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine German, Hungarian
    Servings 6 people
    Calories 633 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 kg pork 35 oz (ideally from the shoulder or use 500 g pork cubes and 500g beef cubes) - cubed
    • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
    • 30 g flour 1 oz
    • 500 g onions 17.6 oz
    • 500 g sauerkraut 17.6 oz - the exact taste will depends on which sauerkraut you use ( I used German Weinsauerkraut). If your sauerkraut it very tangy use less. You can adjust according to your taste preference.
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon white pepper
    • 1 teaspoon ground caraway seeds
    • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
    • 1 teaspoon marjoram can be substituted with sage
    • 5 tablespoon ground sweet hungarian paprika
    • 2 garlic cloves
    • 3 tablespoon tomato puree
    • 500 ml vegetable broth 17 fl oz

    To serve

    • 100 g sour cream 3.5 oz can be substituted with creme fraiche
    • 1 small bunch parsley

    Instructions
     

    • Season the meat with salt and pepper. Peel and roughly slice the onion. Crush the garlic. Drain the sauerkraut with a sieve.
    • Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the meat until browned.
    • Now coat the meat with the flour and continue to brown, while stirring continuously.
    • Add the onions, and continue to fry until these turn translucent. Reduce the heat and add in the paprika powder. (make sure the powder does not burn as the taste will turn bitter). Add the salt, pepper, caraway seeds, thyme, marjoram, tomato puree, garlic and shortly fry with the meat and onions.
    • Pour in the stock, cover the pot with a lid and cook for around 45-60 minutes on a low heat.
    • Now add in the drained sauerkraut and mix with the meat. Cover the pot again and cook for a further 30 minutes.
    • Serve with a dollop of sour cream. (it is better to only add the sour cream when serving, as otherwise you cannot reheat the goulash at a later stage)

    Notes

    Recipe Variations

    • traditional Szegediner Gulasch is made with pork meat, but you can substitute it with beef or a mixture of the two.
    • if you like a bit of spice to your stew, you can replace two teaspoons of the mild paprika powder with a spicy one.
    • instead of thickening the stew with flour, you can also grate in potato at the end to achieve the desired consistency
    • replace the sour cream with crème Fraiche if desired

    Storage Instructions

    This Hungarian pork goulash will keep in your fridge for up to 4 days. It is best to only add the sour cream to stew before serving, as this will enable you to reheat the dish again.
    This dish freezes well and will last in your freezer for up to three months.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 633kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 31gFat: 48gSaturated Fat: 17gPolyunsaturated Fat: 9gMonounsaturated Fat: 19gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 129mgSodium: 1390mgPotassium: 869mgFiber: 5gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 1160IUVitamin C: 34mgCalcium: 110mgIron: 4mg
    Keyword goulash with sauerkraut, Hungarian pork and sauerkraut goulash, pork and sauerkraut stew, Szegedin goulash, Székely Gulyás
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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    Filed Under: Main Course, Meat, One Pot Recipes

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Shawn Sebora

      January 11, 2022 at 1:05 am

      3 stars
      Great flavors but the amount of spice was too intense. I hesitated to use all of the spice blend, another recipe called for 3 T of sweet Hungarian paprika, that was enough. I love the sauerkraut though.

      Reply
      • Marita

        January 12, 2022 at 9:45 am

        Hi Shawn, thanks for your comment. I am glad you enjoyed the recipe and you could adjust the seasoning to your liking.

        Best Wishes
        Marita

        Reply
    2. Lucy

      April 20, 2014 at 9:28 pm

      5 stars
      Yum! I'm still daydreaming about eating this, it was delicious.

      Reply
      • Marita

        April 22, 2014 at 12:56 pm

        Thanks, I am glad you enjoyed it! Next time we have to think of another delicious German recipe

        Reply

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    Food enthusiast & home cook. I returned to Germany after living in the UK for 20 years. I love making German recipes and exploring the cultural history behind each dish.

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