Prekmurski bograč
Prekmurje's paprika stew cooked in a cast iron kettle: beef, pork and game with plenty of onions, red peppers and potatoes, simmered until thick and glossy.
- prep
- 30 min
- cook
- 2 h 30 min
- total
- 3 h
- serves
- 8
- level
- medium
Bograč is the stew of Prekmurje, Slovenia's eastern plain, traditionally cooked outdoors in a cast iron kettle that gives the dish its name. The base is a great deal of onion cooked down in lard, a generous amount of paprika, and a mix of meats: beef, pork and, when available, venison or wild boar.
It sits between Hungarian gulyás and Slovenian farmhouse stew: no flour, no cream, just meat, onions, paprika and time. Potatoes go in for the last half hour.
Prekmurski bograč is one of the twenty most famous Slovenian foods.
method
Melt the lard in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and cook slowly, stirring, for 15 minutes until soft and golden.
Add the garlic and caraway for a minute. Take the pot off the heat and stir in the paprika so it does not burn.
Return to the heat and add all the meat. Stir to coat, then cook for 10 minutes until it releases its juices.
Add the peppers, tomatoes, bay leaves, salt and water to just cover. Bring to a gentle simmer.
Cover partly and cook very gently for 1.5 hours, until the meat is nearly tender.
Add the potatoes and simmer for another 30 minutes until they are tender and the sauce has thickened. Season and serve with bread.
chef's tips
- A lot of onions is not a mistake: they melt into the sauce and replace flour as the thickener.
- Never add paprika to a hot, dry pan; it turns bitter in seconds.
- Several kinds of meat give a rounder flavor than beef alone, so use at least two.