Czech Pork Goulash Recipe

This is a simple recipe for a delicious Czech-style pork goulash. It tastes best made with pork shoulder, slightly spicy thanks to sweet paprika and caraway seeds. Unlike slow-braised beef goulash, the pork comes together in under an hour and a half and pairs great with pasta.

About this Recipe

It is an authentic recipe from the Czech Republic, where pork is very popular. In Czech, pork goulash is called "vepřový guláš", and the word "vepřové" means pork in English.

The pork cubes are first browned, and then slowly cooked in an onion base. Typical spices include sweet paprika, ground pepper, caraway seeds, and garlic.

Traditional Czech accompaniment is elbow pasta, possibly bread dumplings, or boiled potatoes.

MY TIP: try out Szegedin Goulash with sauerkraut (tastes divine!)

Ingredients

For the homemade pork goulash, we need:

• Pork meat; pork shoulder in whole is a good option
• Tomato paste; for better taste and color
• Onions
• Pepper; black, ground
• Paprika; sweet, ground
• Caraway seeds; whole
• Garlic; crushed or pressed
• Salt
• Pork lard; possibly table oil, sunflower, or Canola
• All-purpose flour; for thickening

✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.

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Quick Instructions:

1. Fry the salted and peppered pork cubes in lard, set aside.
2. In the same fat, fry the onions.
3. Return the meat to the onions, add tomato paste, ground paprika, caraway seeds, and crushed garlic.
4. Stir and sauté for a minute.
5. Cover with water and simmer for less than an hour.
6. Dust with flour and simmer under the lid without stirring for a further 15 minutes.
7. Serve the finished pork goulash with pasta.

Instructions with Photos

STEP 1: Cut the pork into 1 inch (2-3 cm) cubes—season with salt and pepper.

STEP 2: Peel and finely chop the onion. Crush or press the garlic cloves.

STEP 3: Heat the lard in a broader, higher-sided pan and fry the meat in it. If it releases its juices, it's okay. Let it simmer and wait until the meat cubes get a golden crust on all sides. Do not forget to stir the meat. Remove the roasted pork from the pan and set it aside.

STEP 4: In the same fat, fry the onion over medium heat. If the onions tend to stick to the bottom of the pan, baste them with a tablespoon of water. The onions should be sautéed within five minutes.

STEP 5: Return the meat to the fried onions, add the caraway seeds, crushed garlic, ground paprika, and tomato paste. Stir and sauté for a minute (do not stop stirring).

STEP 6: Cover with water until the meat is about ¾ submerged. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to a minimum. Cover with a lid and simmer for just under an hour. The meat should be almost tender - test with a fork.

STEP 7: Add water to the pan so that the meat is almost submerged. Stir, bring to a boil. Dust the surface of the goulash with all-purpose flour using a sieve. Do not stir! Cover with a lid and let the flour steam inside the pot over low heat for 15 minutes. Then turn the heat down to low again.

STEP 8: Remove the lid, stir the goulash and add salt to taste. And we are done!

Serving

The pork goulash is served warm; it tastes best with pasta. The typical Czech pasta shape suitable for this type of goulash is elbows.

Goulash also pairs well with boiled potatoes, bread dumplings, or a slice of fresh bread.

Useful Tips

• Do you like spicy goulash? Then add ½ teaspoon of hot paprika to the base. The flavor of the goulash will then be close to that of the Czech pub goulashes (hospodský guláš) that are usually served with a glass of draught beer.
• Plain flour added at the end of cooking will thicken the goulash just enough. Make sure you sprinkle it evenly over the surface in a thin layer to prevent lumps from forming.
• I made this pork goulash in a cast-iron pan with a lid diameter of 11 inches (28 cm).
• A rule of thumb: goulash that you leave to rest until the next day tastes even better!

More pork recipes:

• Karbanátek – pork and beef burger
• Roasted pork shoulder
• Pork patties