A hearty Slovak braise of tender pork simmered with tangy sauerkraut, sweet paprika and a finishing swirl of sour cream. Despite the name it is a Central European staple, traditionally served with steamed bread dumplings (knedle) to soak up the rich, slightly sour gravy.
Its name appears to point to the Hungarian city of Szeged, but the connection is a misnomer. The dish is usually traced to József Székely, a 19th-century writer and chief archivist of Pest County: by legend, in 1846 he and the poet Sándor Petőfi were dining at a Budapest inn when the kitchen ran out of food, and the cook combined leftover sauerkraut stew with pork stew — a dish Petőfi later reordered as "Székely cabbage." Hungary still calls it székelykáposzta. "Székely" is a common Hungarian surname, and as the dish passed into Slovak and Czech kitchens the name was corrupted by sound into the city name "Szeged" (segedín). Today it is firmly Slovak and Czech home cooking — pork stewed with sauerkraut and sweet paprika, finished with sour cream — the comfort stew of the Central European winter, served with bread dumplings.
The first spoonful is all comfort: silky pork that pulls apart, wrapped in a creamy paprika gravy that hums with sweet warmth. Then the sauerkraut cuts back with a bright, fermented tang, and the caraway leaves a faint earthy whisper. It is rich without being heavy, sour without being sharp.
Blooming paprika in fat releases its fat-soluble carotenoid color and aroma without scorching the sugars. The sour cream-flour liaison both thickens and emulsifies, taming the sauerkraut's acidity into a rounded, velvety sauce.
Variations
Beef instead of pork, smoked sausage added, extra caraway, a bay leaf, or finished with fresh dill
On the Palate
Where Segedin Goulash (Slovak) sits in the Slovak flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 20 min
- 110 min
Cut pork shoulder into bite-sized cubes and season with salt.
- 28 min
Sweat finely chopped onion in lard or oil until soft and golden.
- 32 min
Stir in sweet paprika off the heat so it does not burn, then return to the heat.
Watch outStir the paprika in off the heat and only for seconds — scorched paprika turns bitter and muddy-brown instead of red.
- 415 min
Add the pork, brown lightly, then pour in a little water or stock and braise covered.
- 545 min
Rinse sauerkraut, chop roughly and add to the pot with caraway seeds; simmer until pork is tender.
- 65 min
Whisk sour cream with a spoon of flour and stir through to thicken the sauce.
Watch outWhisk the flour smooth into the cold sour cream before it goes in — dumping it straight into the hot pot leaves lumps.
- 76 min
Simmer gently a few more minutes, adjusting salt and a pinch of sugar to balance the sourness.
Watch outTaste and balance with a pinch of sugar until the sauerkraut's sour edge rounds off — you want tangy, not sharp.
- 84 min
Serve hot with steamed bread dumplings or boiled potatoes.
