This Full House Archive

Tag: porkolt

  • Pörkölt: Hungarian Beef (Pork, Lamb or Chicken) Stew

    So, yesterday I shared my secret stash of REAL paprika (seriously, I totally felt as if it should have been illegal) today I'm super-excited to be able to post one of my favorite go to Hungarian family recipes – Pörkölt, made in a pressure cooker!

    I needed to wait for it to finish cooking and then make sure to make it look all Pinterest-worthy and stuff, but mostly because I'm a little afraid of the pressure cooker and it sort of needed my full attention.

    Good news is, the Pörkölt came out fantastic and I didn't blow anything up!

    Porkolt - Hungarian Pork Stew

    I know, riiiiiiiiiiight?!?!?!

    First, a quick Hungarian lesson: Pörkölt is a stew made from beef, pork, chicken, lamb…you name it and you can probably make Pörkölt out of it…and it's what most folks mistake as Hungarian Gulyás.

    Hungarian Gulyás is actually beef soup made with carrots, potatoes and spaetzle-type dumplings: you can find my family's recipe for REAL Hungarian Gulyas, here!

    So, on with the Pörkölt! With my sincerest apologies in advance, because I've learned to cook adding the amount of ingredients "by eye" and am really bad at actual measurements.

    Hungarian Pork Stew

    Ingredients:

    • For this Pörkölt, I whacked up a 3 lb. pork roast into stew-sized pieces.
    • 3 tablespoons olive oil
    • 1 chopped onion
    • 1 chopped green pepper (or cubanol pepper)
    • 3 cloves of garlic, chopped (or 1 1/2 teaspoons of garlic powder)
    • 3 tablespoons of Hungarian Paprika
    • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
    • 1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
    • I used half of a 32 oz. container of vegetable stock (so 16 ounces)
    • Salt, Pepper to taste

    Putting it ALL together:

    • Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven or a deep pot
    • Saute the chopped onion and green pepper for about 5 minutes
    • Add the garlic, paprika and stir for about a minute
    • Add the crushed tomatoes and vegetable stock
    • Add salt and pepper to taste (before you add the meat!)
    • Stir in your meat
    • Add the crushed pepper flakes (optional)
    • Cook covered for about 2 hours, or until the meat is nice and tender or you could use your pressure cooker instead and get it done in about 30 mins.
    • Serve over elbow macaroni (or YOUR favorite pasta) 

    P.S. This recipe would comfortably feed 8 people.

    P.P.S. You can substitute any meat you'd like.

    P.P.P.S. The measurement for the liquids can be adjusted to the amount of meat you have on hand (that's what SHE said!) and all you would need to do is make sure that the liquid covers the meat (see previous parenthesis!) completely.

    P.P.P.P.S. If using a pressure cooker, please pay attention to the pressure cooker instructions, because I am ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED OF THE PRESSURE COOKER!!!!

    Jó étvágyat (Hungarian for good appetite, pronounced yo-ate-vadj-yat)!

    ©2003 -2015 This Full House with a fan page on Facebook, a way for you to subscribe to receive This Full House blog post by Email and everything! Also, I'm attempting to blog EVERY DAY in 2015, I hope it lasts! #TFH365 

  • Sharing My Secret Stash of REAL Hungarian Paprika.

    My parents worked two (sometimes three) jobs — we lived in a 4-room apartment, upstairs in my Grandmother's house, at the time — so my brother and I grew up eating a lot of t.v. dinners — remember those?!?

    The salisbury steak with the chocolate pudding-ish cake was my favorite. Or was it the dinner that came with the hot apple lava? I forget. Either way, I almost NEVER ate the veggies — they were just too squishy for, my taste.

    Aaaaanyway, dinner planning during week nights and Saturdays (a.k.a. scrub the apartment, from top to bottom, or until everything smelled of bleach day) was kept real loosey-goosey.

    Sundays, however, we (my grandmother, mother and I) would spend the entire morning cooking Hungarian food — it was my favorite day! We still celebrate Sunday supper with my parents, whenever we can.

    Now that my kids are older, and their palates have matured enough to believe that eating anything other than chicken fingers will most likely NOT kill them, it's fun to revisit some of my favorite childhood dishes – especially, whenever I'm running late with putting dinner together (which is most nights, sorry guys!) and I've pretty much conquered my fear of the pressure cooker.

    Ummmmm, okay I'm still a little afraid of the pressure cooker.

    Tonight, I was running late with getting dinner started. SURPRISE!!! Even though my husband, Garth (not his real name) was nice enough to remember to take a pork roast out of the freezer for me, this morning.

    Pork roast takes at least 90 minutes to…you know…roast…and it was already way past hungry o'clock, so I busted out the pressure cooker and whacked up the pork roast into stew-sized pieces to make one of my favorite meals on the fly – Pörkölt!!!

    Pörkölt is a stew (made from beef or pork) and what most folks mistaken for Hungarian Gulyas — you can fine my family's recipe for REAL Hungarian Gulyas here!

    Then I reached for the paprika…in a secret little place I keep it…hidden far behind the other herbs and spices…and I couldn't help but feel as if I were hiding something…you know…illegal.

    Aaaaaaand, not because I keep it in a special tin!

    Hungarian Crack

    …OR that it's also tie-wrapped in a plastic baggie!

    Hungarian Crack 2

    Not for nothing, but paprika NEEDS to be stored in a cool, dry place, away from sunlight AND my aunt in Hungary can only afford to ship so much…every few months…and I share the delivery with my mother (a.k.a. our domestic supplier)…because REAL HUNGARIAN PAPRIKA, you guys!!!

    [sound of crickets, chirping]

    Tell you what, I'll share the recipe with you tomorrow, because I've been typing this blog post for…I'm not sure how long…and I forgot to put the danged timer on for the pressure cooker.

    Besides…GAWDFUHBID!!!…I share something that is NOT Pinterest-worthy…right?!?

    RIGHT?!?

    [go home crickets, you're drunk]

    Riiiiiiiiiight.

    Stupid pressure cooker, dumbass crickets.

    ©2003 -2015 This Full House with a fan page on Facebook, a way for you to subscribe to receive This Full House blog post by Email and everything! Also, I'm attempting to blog EVERY DAY in 2015, I hope it lasts! #TFH365