The Viennese variant of goulash: cubes of beef braised slowly with a near-equal weight of onions and sweet paprika until they melt into a glossy, deeply savory sauce. Unlike soupy Hungarian versions, it is a thick, juicy stew traditionally served with bread dumplings or bread rolls.
A Viennese reworking of Hungarian goulash (gulyás) that became a coffee-house and tavern institution, served at all hours; the sauce-forward Viennese variant of goulash. The dressed-up Fiakergulasch, named after Vienna's horse-cab coachmen (Fiaker), adds a fried frankfurter, a fried egg and a fanned gherkin.
Spoon-soft beef sits in a russet, paprika-rich sauce so thick it clings to the fork. It is mellow and sweet from collapsed onions, savory-deep, with a warm caraway-and-marjoram hum that says comfort on a cold Vienna evening.
An onion mass equal to the meat slowly caramelizes and then dissolves during braising, thickening and sweetening the sauce without flour. Stirring paprika in off the heat preserves its color and prevents the bitterness that scorched paprika develops.
Variations
Beef swapped for venison (Wildgulasch), enriched with red wine, topped with a fried egg and pickle as Fiakergulasch, served with Nockerl instead of dumplings
On the Palate
Where Wiener Saftgulasch sits in the Austrian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 25 min
- 115 min
Cut beef shin or chuck into large cubes and slice an equal weight of onions thinly.
- 220 min
Sweat the onions in lard or oil over low heat until deeply golden and jammy.
Watch outCook the onions low and slow until they collapse to a deep-golden jam — this is the sauce's whole body, so rushing them pale leaves the gulasch thin and flat.
- 32 min
Off the heat stir in sweet paprika, then quickly add a splash of vinegar to stop it burning.
Watch outPull the pan off the heat before the paprika goes in, then splash the vinegar fast — paprika scorches in seconds on direct heat and turns bitter.
- 45 min
Add the beef, tomato paste, caraway, marjoram and crushed garlic and stir to coat.
- 53 min
Pour in just enough broth or water to barely cover and bring to a gentle simmer.
- 6120 min
Cover and braise on very low heat for about 2 hours until the beef is fork-tender.
Watch outIt's ready when a fork slides into the beef with no resistance — under-braise and the shin stays chewy, so give it the full couple of hours on the gentlest heat.
- 715 min
Uncover and reduce the sauce until thick and glossy, adjusting salt.
Watch outReduce uncovered until the sauce turns thick and glossy and coats a spoon — that shine is the melted onion, not flour, doing the thickening.
- 85 min
Rest briefly and serve with bread dumplings, garnished with a little fresh marjoram.
