How to perfect pork goulash in your oven
Pork goulash works perfectly in many different ways. It pairs well with potatoes, rice, or grains. Some believe it tastes best with potato pancakes. However, the truth is that a good goulash doesn't need any additions at all. Just a slice of fresh bread to dip in the excellent, rich sauce is enough.
You can prepare goulash from various cuts of meat, but each choice will affect the flavour of the dish. Shoulder or neck meat contains more fat than ham, which can sometimes make a goulash a bit dry. If you want to switch from pork to beef, double the cooking time for the meat.
What vegetables for oven-baked goulash?
When it comes to choosing vegetables, you have almost unlimited possibilities. You can even add potatoes to your goulash—if you do, there's no need to prepare separate sides. However, I think the best choices are vegetables that taste good even after a long cooking time, as their aromas perfectly enhance the flavour of the meat.
Personally, I choose carrots for added sweetness, bell peppers for extra boldness, chili peppers for more spiciness, and mushrooms, which complement the other ingredients well. However, you can add zucchini, eggplant, broccoli, or green beans. If you enjoy these kinds of additions to meat, everything should turn out well. For eggplant, remember to sprinkle with salt and rinse beforehand to remove any potential bitterness.
Recipe for oven-baked goulash
The key to this recipe is pre-searing the meat in a pan. If you have a pot suitable for frying and baking, you can prepare the entire dish.
Ingredients:
- 800 grams of pork shoulder or neck,
- Spices for the meat: salt, pepper, ground paprika,
- 1 tablespoon of flour,
- Oil for frying,
- 2 onions,
- 2 cloves of garlic,
- 2 carrots,
- 200 grams of mushrooms,
- 1 red bell pepper,
- 1 chili pepper,
- 200 millilitres of vegetable stock,
- 70 grams of tomato paste,
- 1 teaspoon of sugar,
- 2 bay leaves,
- 2 allspice berries,
- A few sprigs of fresh or dried thyme.
Method:
- Cut the meat into smaller pieces, sprinkle with a teaspoon of salt, a pinch of freshly ground pepper, and a teaspoon of red ground paprika. Mix the meat with your hands, spreading the spices evenly over all the pieces.
- Then, coat the meat in flour and quickly sear it in hot oil in a pan. Transfer the prepared meat to an ovenproof dish.
- Add the chopped vegetables—onions, garlic, carrots, mushrooms, bell peppers, and chili pepper.
- In a saucepan, mix the stock with tomato paste, a teaspoon of sugar, a pinch of salt, and pepper. Pour this preliminary sauce over the meat and vegetables in the roasting pan.
- Add bay leaves, allspice berries, and thyme. Cover with a lid or aluminum foil and bake in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 60 minutes.
- Remove the lid or foil about 15 minutes before the end of baking to evaporate some of the water and thicken the sauce.
