Savoury Hungarian Autumn delicacies you need to try – It is meatlovers’ heaven

Since you seemed to like our previous article about Hungarian autumn desserts, we have created another one for you in which you can try out meaty Hungarian delicacies of the autumn season.

Hunting has a long tradition in Hungary, and so does game meat in Hungarian gastronomy. Even though nowadays, you can get game meat every day of the year, the hunting season for many games starts during the autumn. According to the National Hungarian Hunting Chamber, the hunting season for fallow and red deer starts in September and October, so if you would like to get the freshest ingredient, this is the perfect time.

Hungarian red wine venison stew

Ingredients

• 2 kg venison leg (round) or venison goulash (leg, neck, shoulder) meat cubed
• 2 onions
• 1 whole paprika
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 whole garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 3-5 juniper berries
• 2 tablespoons of condensed tomatoes
• 3 litres of good-quality red wine
• 1 tablespoon of game spice mix or spices of your liking
• 1 tablespoon paprika powder (sweet)
• 2 tablespoons of lard
• salt and pepper to taste
• freshly cut parsley for decoration

Instructions

Cut the onions into small cubes and sear them in the lard until they turn translucent. Cube the tomatoes and the paprika and add them in. Once everything in the base has steamed until soft, add in the condensed tomatoes, the paprika powder, and the venison.

When the meat released its juices, add in the remaining spices, cut the garlic in half, and add it in, as well as the 0.3 litres of quality wine. Cover and cook for 2-3 hours. Add salt and pepper and decorate with a little parsley before serving. You can eat it with pasta, traditional Hungarian nokedli (dumpling) or with fresh bread. (Find the original recipe HERE.)

Hungarian Autumn desserts from 100 years ago – How did they taste?

Another animal that has its hunting season during the autumn in Hungary is the pheasant. It can be cooked on its own or used for a rich Hungarian húsleves (chicken soup). Today, we will give you the recipe for roasted pheasant.

Roasted whole pheasant

Ingredients

• 1 whole pheasant
• 15 kg bacon
• 150 millilitres of white wine
• 3 tablespoons of cream
• 50 grammes of butter
• 150 millilitres of broth
• Carrots and onions to taste
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

Rub the pheasant’s skin and inside with salt, pepper, and marjoram. If you have fresh marjoram, put it into the cavity. Cut small holes into the breasts and leg and put small pieces of bacon in there. Fold the wings under the back.

Preheat the oven to 180°C and use a heat-resistant cooking pot. Put the remaining bacon and the cut carrots and onions in the pot and lay the pheasant over it. Melt the butter and pour it onto the pheasant and pour some of the broth and white wine into the pot, under the pheasant, then put the whole pot into the oven.