Pork & Sauerkraut Stew

(click to enlarge)	Pork & Sauerkraut Stew Hungary - Szekely Goulash
	Serves: Effort: Sched: DoAhead:	(3 qts) ** 2 hr Better		Szekely (say-ki-ee) goulash isn't goulash and it isn't from Szekely (in Transylvania). It's named for a guy named Szekely who showed up at a restaurant at closing time. All they had left was a little pork goulash and some sauerkraut. He was hungry so he told the cook to mix it all together to make a meal. That was about 1846 and the dish has been popular in Hungary ever since.

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Pork Shoulder, lean
Smoked Sausage (1)
Onion
Garlic
Sauerkraut (2)
Bacon, fatty
Caraway Seeds
Paprika (3)
Stock
Salt
Pepper
-- Serve with
Sour Cream?

Cut PORK SHOULDER into 1 inch cubes discarding excess fat. Slice SAUSAGE into rounds about 1/2 inch thick. Mix.
Chop ONION medium, chop GARLIC medium, mix.
Drain SAUERKRAUT but keep the liquid. You may need some to adjust sourness when the stew is done.
Cut BACON into 1/2 inch pieces. Put in a pan and fry over low heat until fat is rendered and it starts to brown.
Stir in Onion mix and Caraway Seeds. Fry slowly, stirring often until onions start to color. then stir in Paprika followed by Pork and Sausage. Stir to mix, then pour in Stock, and Sauerkraut, cover and simmer until Pork is tender, about 1-1/2 hours.
Check liquid, there should be plenty, season to taste with Salt (probably none will be needed) and Pepper. Adjust sourness to taste by adding some of the juice from the sauerkraut.
Serve hot. Traditionally Sour Cream is stirred in off the heat or passed separately. Personally I prefer it just a touch more tart and without the sour cream.

NOTES:

Smoked Sausage: If you can't get Hungarian kolbasz, it's pretty much the same as Polish kielbasa but with paprika added, so a quality kielbasa works fine.
Sauerkraut: A lot depends on the quality of the sauerkraut. Choose one that's fresh, crisp, sharp and tastes good right out of the jar or bag. I've had good results with Vitarol (Poland) and Meter's Wisconsin in recipes of this sort.
Paprika Real flavorful Hungarian paprika (sweet) please, not the red colored sawdust sold by American manufacturers for decorating mac-and-cheese.

U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch