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Guide to Hungarian outdoor cooking – Bográcsozás
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If there is one thing that can bring Hungarians outside, whether it is summer or winter, it is the typical Hungarian practice of preparing food outside, in a cauldron or kettle hanging above a fire. We call it “bográcsozás” and it is not just simply cooking, it is a ritual that brings together the family and friends, no matter the size or importance of the event. This method gives a special taste to the food, which would be impossible to reproduce in a kitchen. Magyarorszagom.hu shares some interesting facts with us about outdoor cooking and the history of the cauldron.
The most popular dish to prepare in a kettle or cauldron is the goulash. There are many different recipes, and every chef or housewife has their own tips, special ingredients or a preparation method that they perfected over the years.
Read about the history of the Goulash in our previous article, where you can also find out about different goulash variations.
In case you want to try your hand at preparing goulash, check out our recipe:
[button link=”https://dailynewshungary.com/recipe-of-the-week-goulash-soup/” type=”big” newwindow=”yes”] Goulash recipe[/button]
The Hungarian gastronomy is world-famous for a reason: it is not bound by rules, it is always changing, adapting, becoming more colourful every day.
And this is not only because of the work of master chefs, but every Hungarian who cooks at home is responsible for this evolution because they are always trying to incorporate some new flavours from other cultures.
The speciality of Hungarian dishes lies in the most basic steps. Using lard for frying is in itself a pretty unique idea – and most Hungarian dishes start with this. The next ingredient is the onion, usually accompanied by more onion, and of course the paprika. These are the most basic ingredients which are at the core of almost every Hungarian dish, be that a soup or a stew.
The finishing touches are also mostly the same – a great number of Hungarian dishes are served with sour cream.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Hungarian gastronomy is cooking in a kettle hung above an open fire. Making goulash, for example, outside is not like cooking in a kitchen. Preparing food on a stove top is pretty easy compared to cooking in a huge cauldron. This requires a lot of precision and attention to detail. Of course, the result is worth all this trouble. A great number of Hungarian dishes that we nowadays prepare in the kitchen were once cooked outside.
