Porkolt (Hungarian Stew) Made With Pork

A flavorful stew, Pörkölt is redolent with the fragrance of paprika and bell peppers. It has few ingredients, and is surprisingly easy to make. Save time by using boneless pork chops and cubing them after they are browned. There should be enough salt in the canned tomatoes to season the stew, but if not, add more to your taste. Use best-quality, real Hungarian paprika for best results. We prefer to serve it with noodles, but galuska (Hungarian dumplings) or rice are good, too.

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 1 hr 55 mins
• Total Time: 2 hr 15 mins
• Calories: 323 Calories

Ingredients

• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 5 slices bacon, diced
• 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 large onions, diced
• ⅔ cup beef broth
• ¼ cup Hungarian paprika
• 5 pounds boneless pork chops, trimmed
• 1 large yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 2 (14 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, with liquid
• 2 cups reduced-fat sour cream
• 2 (6 ounce) packages wide egg noodles

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain, and reserve the drippings. Add the onions to the bacon and cook together until the onion is translucent. Remove skillet from heat and stir the paprika, garlic powder, and pepper into the bacon mixture. Transfer the mixture into a large stockpot.

Step 2

Heat a small amount of the reserved bacon drippings in the skillet again over medium-high heat. Cook the pork chops in batches in the hot drippings until evenly browned on both sides. Use additional bacon drippings for each batch as needed. Remove the pork chops to a cutting board and blot excess fat off the surface of the chops with a paper towel; cut into bite-sized cubes and stir into the bacon mixture.

Step 3

Heat a small amount of the bacon drippings in the skillet; cook and stir the bell pepper in the hot drippings until softened and fragrant; drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Stir the cooked pepper into the bacon mixture.

Step 4

Pour the tomatoes with liquid and beef broth into a stockpot and place the pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until the stew begins to thicken, stirring occasionally, about 90 minutes. Stir the sour cream into the stew just before serving.

Step 5

Bring a pot with lightly-salted water and bring to a rolling boil; add the egg noodles to the water and return to a boil. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 5 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink. Ladle the stew over the drained noodles to serve.