Hutsul bograch

Hutsul bograch is one of the special dishes of the Ivano-Frankivsk region. With its extraordinary aroma and special taste notes, bograch is able to conquer the heart of everyone who tries it. In the Carpathians, the dish has several names: Magyar goulash, bograch-goulash, bogorash, bogorosh, transcarpathian goulash. Today we will talk about the traditional Transcarpathian Bograch, but with a twist from the Hutsuls.

When visiting Ivano-Frankivsk region, order a dish cooked only over an open fire. We assure you: the special aroma and amazing taste will be remembered for the rest of your life. Transfer-Bukovel company has prepared some interesting information about this dish.

History of bograch

The origin of the dish dates back to the time of the Hungarians in Transcarpathia, who desperately resisted the Turkish invasions. One of the main components of bograch is paprika and, according to some reports, it accidentally ended up in the soup. When the cook cooked the meat with roots and spices, he added a lot of paprika.

The Turks refused to taste the prepared dish, which was incredibly spicy, so the captive Ugers became the first test subjects. The captives realized that they would have a delicious soup for lunch every time, if they did not “accidentally” calculate the amount of paprika in it.

In the period from the 6th to the 16th century, bograch was prepared without potatoes, but today the recipe has changed a little. Of course, each region uses its own ingredients, but the basics remain the same. Today, it is difficult to imagine the Carpathians without the Bograch. It is more popular than shashlik. 

Real Hutsul Bograch is prepared exclusively from selected meat of several species. The main constant rule of cooking is to follow the traditional stages of product processing and cooking.

Secrets of Hutsul housewives

Bograch is considered an expensive dish. Some restaurants do not prepare real Carpathian soup, but its analogue. Therefore, go to the Carpathian mountains with the Transfer-Bukovel company to taste a traditional dish. The indigenous inhabitants of the Carpathians told about several cooking secrets:  

• take grated natural paprika with hard skin and light shades, not sweet ordinary pepper;
• add components to taste. It is not necessary to strictly follow the recipe;
• a very spicy dish can be “diluted” with sour cream;
• a sprig or juniper fruit dropped into the cauldron will help give the soup sophistication;
• add a teaspoon of sugar to onions during roasting, then the color will become more saturated, and aromatic notes will be revealed;
• tomatoes can be replaced with lecho or tomato paste. Hutsul bograch is easy to prepare, but takes a long time, so you need to be patient and put a lot of love into the dish.

Features of cooking bograch

Below is the most popular recipe used by professional chefs and local housewives in the Ivano-Frankivsk region. We assure you, the names of the ingredients will make your stomach sing in anticipation. Bograch is cooked only in a large cast-iron cauldron (8+ liters) and over an open fire.

Basis:

• 150 g – smoked lard (sponder);
• 500 g – pork;
• 500 g – veal;
• 500 g – beef;
• 250 g – smoked ribs;
• 1 pc. – veal or pork loin;
• 200 g – homemade sausage;
• 1 kg – potatoes;
• 250 g – carrots;
• 300 g – onion;
• 150 g – tomatoes;
• 2-3 pcs. – red/green pepper;
• 3 Art. l. – Red crushed paprika;
• 150 ml. – dry red wine;
• 1 goal. – Garlic;
• cumin;
• spices (optional);
• some hot pepper.

Chipetke:

• 2 eggs;
• 300 g – flour;
• salt.

1. Cooking of the base of Hutsul bograch
   Finely chopped lard should be melted over low heat. In the boiling fat, fry the onion chopped into small cubes until golden, then add the chopped paprika and mix well. The meat is cut into cubes of 4 cm, sent to the cauldron, adding a small amount of water.
   Simmer a little, add the smoked ribs and pork belly to the meat, pour in water to cover the ingredients. When the golyashka evaporates, it is taken out, cooled, the pulp is removed, chopped into large pieces, sent back to the cauldron. The components are cooked over low heat for about 2-3 hours. Do not forget to regularly stir and add water as it evaporates (the meat must always be covered).
2. Cooking of chipetke
   Chipetke is a pinched dough consisting of eggs, flour and salt. The dough is well kneaded to a stiff state. They form a complete circle, pinch off small pieces, lay them out on the table to dry, and lightly sprinkle with flour.
3. The last part
   Crushed hot pepper, finely chopped or crushed garlic and carrots cut into small cubes are added to the cauldron. Then salt and season with thyme. Cut the potatoes coarsely, put them in a cauldron, and boil them for about 20 minutes.
   Then sweet pepper, tomatoes and sausage are finely diced and poured into the rest of the ingredients. Prepared chipetke are sent to the soup after 15 minutes, adding a lot of greens and wine. When the dish boils, remove it from the heat. It can be “improved” with a branch of any coniferous tree, lowered into the cauldron – this is one of the “Hutsul” features of the bograch.

Hutsul bograch cooked in a special cauldron over an open fire with a piquant flavor of Magyar paprika and a soft taste of smoke is a dish for true culinary gourmets.