Traditional Hamburger Goulash

Why This Traditional Hamburger Goulash Works

As the onion and garlic cook in the oil, they soften and lose their sharp bite. They start to taste a little sweeter, so they don’t overpower the rest of the dish. When the ground beef goes in, it browns on the outside and firms up, so it doesn’t fall apart into mush once the liquids are added.

After the tomato sauce, beef broth, and Worcestershire sauce are stirred in, the beef is surrounded by liquid instead of sitting in its own grease. The meat stays tender while it simmers, and the sauce thins out enough for the pasta to move around in it.

Once the elbow macaroni is added, the pasta slowly soaks up the hot broth and tomato sauce as it cooks. The starch from the macaroni leaks into the pan and gently thickens the liquid. By the time the pasta is soft, the sauce has tightened up and clings to the beef and noodles, so everything holds together in one hearty pan of goulash.

Mistakes To Avoid

Letting the beef go in before the onions and garlic are softened leaves the onion still crunchy and the garlic half-raw by the time the meat is done. The onion never really melts into the sauce and the garlic can taste sharp, so the sauce feels uneven and the bites don’t blend together.

Cooking the beef on very low heat so it steams instead of browns makes the whole goulash taste flat and watery. The meat releases liquid and just simmers in it, so the sauce ends up thin and grayish, and the beef pieces stay a bit rubbery instead of slightly crisp on the edges.

Adding the macaroni before the liquid is at a steady simmer often leads to uneven pasta. Some pieces soak and swell too fast while others stay firm in the center, so the final dish has a mix of mushy and undercooked macaroni.

Forgetting to stir while the pasta cooks lets the macaroni sink and stick to the bottom of the pan. The stuck layer can burn while the top stays soupy, giving scorched bits and a sauce that’s thicker in some spots and thin in others.