Sausage Goulash – Czech Buřtguláš

Spicy and extra delicious! Such is a recipe for buřtguláš, Czech sausage goulash. It is on the table in just 30 minutes, and it tastes great with fresh bread.

➜ What is burtgulas

Buřtguláš is a type of classic Czech goulash made with potatoes and sausages. It contains spices typical for Czech cuisine: caraway seeds and sweet ground paprika. Buřtguláš is also known as potato goulash (bramborový guláš).

Making buřtguláš doesn't take much time, plus you won't use too many dishes while cooking. It falls into the category of one-pot recipes.

TIP: Here you’ll find a recipe for traditional Czech goulash made from beef.

➜ Czech spekacek

Let me introduce to you a typical Czech soft sausage: špekáček! 

It is the špekáček that is usually used as the main ingredient while making buřtguláš. Špekáček is a type of sausage prepared from a finely cut mixture of pork and beef with an insert of smoked speck (špek), which gave the product its name.

It's obvious it won't be easy to get a classic špekáček outside the Czech Republic. I asked the community of Czechs living in the USA, and they were very nice with their tips on how to replace the Czech špekáček. Try one of these: polish kielbasa or sausage, skinless Frankfurt’s or Wiener’s, German bockwurst. Hope this helps a bit.

Now, let's go to the kitchen!

➜ Ingredients

• Sausages; Czechs use a sausage called “špekáček” to make buřtguláš
• Potatoes; any all-purpose potatoes will work well
• Onions
• Cloves of garlic; garlic lovers can add more garlic than recommended!
• Pork lard; or vegetable oil
• Beef or chicken broth
• Sweet ground paprika
• Caraway seed; crushed (do not use cumin)
• All-purpose flour; to thicken the goulash
• Salt and ground pepper; for the final taste

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

➜ Instructions with Photos

STEP 1: Before you start cooking, prepare the ingredients for the sausage goulash:

1. Peel potatoes and cut them into 1-inch (2,5 cm) cubes.
2. If necessary, peel the sausages then cut them into 1,5 cm (2,5 cm) cubes, about the same size as diced potatoes.
3. Roughly chop the onion.
4. Peel and crush or press garlic cloves.

STEP 2: Heat the lard in a pot over higher heat, add the onions and fry them, frequently stirring, until slightly golden. 

STEP 3: Add the crushed caraway seeds and sausages. Sauté for 2 minutes. 

STEP 4: Sprinkle with flour and fry for 1 minute while stirring.

STEP 5: Add cubed potatoes, garlic, sweet paprika, and sauté for 1 minute.

STEP 6: Pour in the broth so that the potatoes and sausages are just submerged, but not more. Otherwise, the goulash will be thin and will resemble a soup.

STEP 7: Stir well, bring to a boil. 

STEP 8: Reduce heat to a minimum, cover with a lid, and cook, occasionally stirring, for 20 minutes or until potatoes soften.

STEP 9: Season with salt and pepper to taste as the final step.

➜ Serving

Serve this sausage goulash with fresh bread. Czechs love their rye bread, and one slice is never enough!

Sprinkle the goulash with chopped green parsley while served.

➜ Useful tips

• As it is with goulashes, this dish tastes better the next day, when its flavors develop even more. 
• If you add more potatoes to the buřtgláš, you don't need any other side dish, and you can eat it on its own.
• The buřtguláš includes crushed caraway seeds. According to some recipes, you should also add dried marjoram- feel free to try.

More Czech recipes:

• Szegediner goulash
• Vepro knedlo zelo – iconic Czech pork roast with braised sauerkraut
• Svickova – creamy sauce made from root vegetables
• Pickled sausages – Utopenci