Bison Pörkölt with Nokedli and Uborke Salata

Shared by Dr. Keith Valachi

I have so many customized recipes, but the latest favorite is my Americanized version of a family favorite: Bison Pörkölt (aka Hungarian Goulash) with Nokedli (spaetzle egg dumplings) and Uborke Salata (Cucumber salad). A winning combination of Central European flavors!

Author

Keith Valachi

Ingredients

• 2 medium/3 small onions, medium chop
• 1-2T vegetable oil
• 1 large or 2 smaller green bell peppers, medium chop
• 1-2 small-medium ripe tomatoes (romas work well)
• 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3# Wild Idea Bison Stew Meat
• 1-1.5T ground caraway seed
• 3+T HUNGARIAN (if possible) paprika. Hard to overdo the paprika!
• 1t Salt & 1/2t Pepper, to taste
• Optional: red pepper crème/concentrate to add richness
• Sour cream and chives for garnish
• 2 eggs
• ½ t salt
• ¾ c H2O
• 2c flour
• 3 cucumbers, sliced thin with a mandolin
• ½ onion, sliced thinly and chopped into ½” length pieces
• Lots of Salt
• ¼ c white vinegar +/-
• ¾ c H20
• 1T sugar +/-
• 2 garlic cloves, minced

Directions

1. Sauté onions on medium heat until transparent, with salt to sweat.
2. Add bison and brown.
3. Add remaining ingredients and simmer on low for 2-3 hours, until meat is tender and the onions and peppers have reduced and become the essence of the sauce.
4. Add small amounts of water if sauce becomes too thick.
5. Add add’l S&P to taste.
6. Mix all ingredients and add additional water or flour to develop a thick, sticky, wet dough.
7. Use a spaezle board to drop mixture into boiling water.
8. Cook for a couple minutes and strain noodles into a oven-proof dish with a pat of butter to keep from sticking.
9. Keep in a warm oven until serving.
10. Can double recipe as needed, or I usually use 3 eggs and additional flour and water if cooking for a group.
11. Slice cucumbers and onion into a large dish into layers, adding salt liberally to each layer. Mix remaining ingredients for the dressing –  it should be both acidic and sweet, this will mellow considerably when added to the cukes.
12. Allow salted cucumbers/onions to rest for 2-3 hours which will take lots of water out of the cucumbers.
13. Hand squeeze out excess water several times from cucumbers until most water (and salt) is out.
14. Pour dressing over cukes, mix and let soak in for an hour or so before serving.  An excellent foil to the rich goulash.