🇸🇮 Slovenia · Prekmurje (Lendava)
BogračSlovenian goulash
Slovenian Prekmurje cauldron dish related to goulash: at least three kinds of meat (pork, beef, game) cooked with onion, garlic, paprika and potatoes cooked in the pot, in a bograč over a fire.
Origin and history
Bograč is the cauldron dish of Prekmurje, the north-eastern corner of Slovenia that was under Hungarian rule for centuries. It takes its name from the bogrács kettle it is cooked in, and grew from everyday fare into a regional symbol now served across Slovenia. Lendava, on the Hungarian border, was declared the bograč capital in 2011 and hosts Bogračfest each late summer, where more than 100 teams compete.
Make it at home
- Makes
- 6 servings
- Total time
- 3 h 30 min
- Hands-on
- 45 min
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp lard or sunflower oil
- 600 g1.3 lb (4 large) onions, very finely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp dried marjoram
- 1/2 tsp ground caraway
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 2 tbsp sweet paprika
- 1 pinch hot paprika or dried chili, optional
- 450 g1 lb beef shank or shoulder, in 2–3 cm (1 in) cubes
- 450 g1 lb game: venison or wild boar, in 2–3 cm (1 in) cubes
- 450 g1 lb pork shoulder or neck, in 2–3 cm (1 in) cubes
- 1.5 l6 1/4 cups water, added little by little
- 900 g2 lb waxy potatoes, peeled, in chunks
- 250 ml1 cup dry red wine, a Prekmurje or other Slovenian red
- salt and black pepper, to taste
- to serve: crusty bread
Method
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1. Heat the lard in a heavy pot or a kettle over a fire, add the onions with a pinch of salt and cook them slowly for 15 minutes, stirring, until soft and golden; they should melt into the sauce.
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2. Add the red pepper, garlic, bay leaves, marjoram, caraway and thyme and cook for 5 minutes more.
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3. Take the pot off the heat for a moment, stir in the sweet and hot paprika so it does not scorch, then return it to the heat.
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4. Add the beef and stir to coat it. Pour in about 500 ml (2 cups) of water, cover and simmer for 1 hour.
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5. Add the game and another 500 ml (2 cups) of water and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour more.
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6. Add the pork and the potatoes with enough water to just cover, and simmer for 40 to 45 minutes, stirring now and then, until all the meat is tender and some potato has broken up to thicken the broth. It should be thick but still spoonable.
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7. Season with salt and pepper, pour in the red wine and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes more.
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8. Rest the pot off the heat for 10 minutes and serve in deep bowls with bread.
Notes
- What sets bograč apart from Hungarian gulyás: at least three kinds of meat, added in order of how long each takes to cook, and the potatoes cooked in the same pot rather than on the side.
- Game (venison or wild boar) is the classic third meat, and some cooks treat it as required. Without game, use more beef plus some lamb; the result is good but less gamey and deep.
- The traditional way is a large bograč kettle over an open fire, where the heat rises and falls; some competition cooks slice the potatoes and use their starchy soaking water as the cooking liquid to thicken the pot.
- Some cooks add mushrooms, ajvar or homegrown fresh chili; the wine is added at the end to keep the meat and potatoes from falling apart.
- Bograč is even better reheated the next day.
- Related soups: goulash soup (gulyás) and halászlé, the Hungarian kettle fish soup.
Adapted from Sundays with traditional Slovenian recipes: Bograč, slovenia.si (Government Communication Office) with Jernej Kitchen and Zmagovalni bograč (20th Bogračfest winners, AC Profekt), Jana.
At the festivals
Served at 1 festival in Slovenia.
Earlier editions
- August 28, 2021