Pork Goulash with Sauerkraut

As a lover of Goulash, this recipe in Donna-Marie Pye's Canada's Best Slow Cooker called out to me. As pork is often on sale but I have few recipes that I absolutely love, it seemed necessary to at least try it out. I also appreciate the idea of adding sauerkraut, because I think that it's the bee's knees. If you can't stand the thought of sauerkraut, you can simply omit as the author indicates in her book.

The Recipe
1 tbs oil
1  2lb pork roast (shoulder), cut in 1 1/2 inch cubes
2 onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1/4 sweet paprika (if you only have hot paprika on hand, half this quantity)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
19 oz can of sauerkraut (can be replaced by fresh sauerkraut)
19 oz can diced tomatoes, with their juice
1 c beef broth
1 c sour cream ( I usually use natural Turkish yoghurt)
   cooked and hot egg noodles to serve
   extra sour cream, optional and also for serving


1. In a large skillet, heat oil on medium-high. Add the cubes of pork, the onion as well as the garlic. Brown meat on all sides, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the paprika , salt and pepper and cook one minute extra.

2. With a slotted spoon, add the contents of the skillet in the slow cooker. Add the sauerkraut, the can of tomatoes, and the broth, Place the lid and cook on slow for 8-10 hours or on high, 4-6 hours. The meat should be tender.

3.Place your slow cooker on low. Add the sour cream and cook for five additional minutes. Serve on the warm egg noodles with a dollop of additional sour cream.


The Verdict

I've made this twice since I typed out the ingredients about a month ago. My first time, I doubled the portions and went a little overboard on the sauerkraut. My can was too big, I was lazy, so I just dumped everything in there instead of putting the leftovers in a Tupperware. The taste of sauerkraut was a bit overwhelming and it tasted more like a paprika enhanced sauerkraut than a meat dish.
Therefore, I decided to  retry using the real ratios.

I'm going to sound wishy-washy, forgive me. I don't hate it, but I don't love it as much as I hoped I would. Perhaps, if I had had less hopes for this recipe, I would have appreciated it more. It was a nice switch from my regular goulash; sauerkraut gives it a nice depth of flavour and the tomatoes really lighten the dish. However, I would never trade in my recipe of regular goulash for this one. I like having this recipe at hand for special occasions or for when I crave sauerkraut (because I do have huge sauerkraut cravings), but my regular goulash that is robust and meaty, has nothing to fear.

Another negative aspect of this recipe is that it doesn't freeze well if you add the sour cream as indicated in the last step. The sour cream will separate and curdle when it defrosts, something that I hadn't even thought about when I  put my extras in the freezer. Let's just say, that even though it still tastes okay, it looks awful and I was the only one that accepted to eat leftovers.

So all-in-all, an interesting take on a great dish BUT that doesn't surpass the original, unfortunately.