Dish of Pork Tokány Stew
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Pork Tokány Stew


Hungary   -   Csikös Tokány
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 4 main
***
2-1/4 hrs
Yes		 Tokány means something like "Stew of strips", and is drier than a Pörkölt, which in turn has much less liquid than a Gulyás.

2
4
9
1
7
3
1/2
2
1
ar
1/2
------

#
oz
oz
#
oz
T
c
t
t

c
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Pork (1)
Bacon, smoked (2)  
Onion
Tomatoes
Hungarian Pepper (3)
Lard (4)
Water
Paprika (5)
Salt
Water
Sour Cream
-- Serve With
Galuska (6)

This is an excellent tasty stew with plenty of pork. Myself, I like it also without the sour cream, but that just wouldn't be Hungarian, now, would it?

Prep:   -   (20 min)
  1. Trim the PORK of excess fat and cut into strips about 2 inches long and 1/4 inch on each side.
  2. Cut the BACON into dice about 1/4 inch on a side.
  3. Cut ONION in quarters lengthwise, then slice thin crosswise.
  4. Scald TOMATOES 1 minute in boiling water, quench in cold water, peel and cut into chunks about 1/2 inch on a side.
  5. Char the skins of the PEPPERS with your Kitchen Torch and brush them off under running water (this prevents annoying curls of skin floating in the stew). Core and cut into strips about 1/2 inch wide by 1 inch long. Mix with the Tomatoes.
Run:   -   (1-3/4 hrs)
  1. In a well seasoned iron skillet, heat Lard and fry Bacon until light golden. Remove to a heavy bottomed stew pot or spacious sauté pan leaving as much fat in the skillet as possible.
  2. Fry Pork in batches until lightly browned on all sides. Place each batch in the pan with the Bacon leaving as much fat behind as possible.
  3. Over moderate heat fry Onions until just starting to color. Pour all into the pan with the Pork.
  4. Pour 1/2 c Water into the skillet, bring to a boil and scrape up the fond adhering to the pan, then pour into the pot.
  5. Stir Paprika and Salt into the pot.
  6. Stir in enough Water to cover halfway up the contents. Bring pot to a boil, then simmer covered over low heat for 45 minutes, stirring a couple of times. Keep the water level about 1/2 way up on the ingredients.
  7. Stir in Tomato mix and simmer another 20 minutes. This should end up with only a little liquid, so do some of the simmering uncovered if necessary.
  8. Meanwhile set your Sour Cream out to warm to room temperature and boil your Galuska.
  9. When nearly ready to serve, let it cool just a bit, then stir 2 T of the sauce into the Sour Cream, then stir the Sour Cream mix back into the pot. Bring it back just to a simmer for a couple of minutes.
  10. Put some Galuska at one side of each shallow bowl or deep plate, and spoon Tokány to fill the rest.
NOTES:

  1. Pork:

      Weight is boneless with all excess fat removed. Shoulder is preferred but leg (fresh ham) will do just fine.

  2. Bacon:

      This should be slab bacon (available from European delis).

  3. Hungarian Pepper:

      These are yellow-green peppers with no or nearly no heat. For details see our Hungarian Pepper page.

  4. Lard:

      If it isn't fried in lard it just isn't Hungarian. Not to worry, lard it isn't nearly as bad for you as the deadly trans fats you were told to use instead - and you survived those (we hope) - but if you must, you can use non-virgin Olive Oil, or better, Avocado Oil. For details see our Lard page.

  5. Paprika:

      Please, real Hungarian sweet paprika, not that sawdust flavored stuff from the supermarket. The real thing has better flavor and more intense color.

  6. Galuska:

      These are home made (easy to make) dumplings. See Hungarian Fresh Dumplings for the recipe and method. This stew can also be served with mashed potatoes if desired.
  7. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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