Hungarian Food - Beef Ragout (Marhatokány)

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Beef Ragout (Marhatokány)

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The four pillars of Hungarian cuisine are gulash, paprikash, porkolt and tokany. For further details on the other three pillars, please visit those hubs.

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What we would call ragout is called tokany in Hungary. Tokany was developed by Hungarians living in Transylvania (which is now a part of Romania but was once a part of Hungary). The name tokany comes from the Romanian word tocana which means ragout.

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The main differences between tokany and porkolt , which is Hungarian stew, are that tokany is drier, has meat cut in strips rather than cubes, and is seasoned with marjoram or just black pepper in place of paprika,

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Tokany is usually made with beef or lamb, but veal, chicken and even game are used. The recipe that I have included here is made with beef, but the method of cooking can easily be applied to other meat.

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Difficulty:

Moderate

Preparation Time:

60 Minutes

Cooking Time:

1 Hour

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Ingredients:

2 Lbs. of Beef Chuck or Sirloin

4 Ounces of Bacon

1 Large Onion coarsely chopped

1 Large, ripe tomato peeled and chopped

2 Cloves of Garlic peeled and finely chopped

8 Oz. of Mushrooms, washed and sliced in thirds

1 Tablespoon of Butter

1 Cup of Dry White Wine

½ Teaspoon Dry Marjoram

1 Teaspoon Salt

Pepper to taste

8 Oz. Sour Cream

1 Tablespoon of Flour

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Preparation and Cooking Instructions:

1. Cut the beef into strips 3 inches long by ½ inch thick like French fries
2. Blanch the tomato for 60 seconds in boiling water and quickly cool it in cold water. You should them be able to easily peel it with a sharp knife and coarsely chop it too.
3. Render the bacon in a large frying pan or Dutch oven. Then add the onions and wilt over low heat
4. Deglaze with ½ cup of water, then add the beef, garlic, tomato, marjoram, salt, pepper and the cup of wine and simmer over low heat about 1 hour until the meat is fork tender. You can add a little water if it gets too dry.
5. About 15 minutes before the meat is ready, sauté the mushrooms in 1 tablespoon of butter and add them to the meat.
6. Finally, stir the flour into the sour cream and add it to the mixture. Bring everything just back to a simmer and serve immediately.
7. Serve with galuska, gnocchi or small potato dumplings

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