Recipes for tokán or Hungarian meat dish in 4 ways. Which one will you try?

Perhaps everyone knows goulash, but what about a stork?

A stew with meat cut into strips is a real delicacy.

And that’s why we bring you 4 luxurious recipes for tocán, according to which you can prepare it.

Try the variant with turkey, beef or pork.

Enjoy it!

Turkey toccan with mushrooms

Tokán does not have to be prepared only from pork or beef, and this dish is proof of that. It is tasty, simple and perfectly seasoned. The combination of flavors is absolutely luxurious and you can easily conjure up the perfect hearty meal with our recipe.

Ingredients

• 800g turkey breast, cut into about 4cm pencil-thick strips
• 150 g of sprouted bacon, finely chopped
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, pressed
• 300 g of wild mushrooms, cut into strips
• 3-4 pickles, cut into strips the same size as the meat
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon of ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon marjoram

Method

1. Prepare a large enough pot.
2. Melt the chopped bacon.
3. While the bacon is rendering, prepare the onions, garlic, mushrooms, cucumbers and meat.
4. Add the onion to the baked bacon, sauté and add the meat.
5. Salt, pepper, add cumin and mix well.
6. Add the mushrooms, stir for a few more minutes and cover with water.
7. Taste and add whatever is missing to taste.
8. Let it cook for the flavors to blend.
9. The meat will soften in 20-30 minutes.
10. In the last step, add chopped cucumbers and mustard.
11. Cook for a short time.
12. Enjoy it!

Beef cheek tok

Why not prepare tocán, for example, from beef cheeks? It’s a treat! Don’t forget to deglaze them with red wine and braise them, and you’ll have an absolutely luxurious weekend lunch.

Ingredients

• 600 g beef cheeks
• 2 tablespoons lard
• 300 g of onion
• garlic to taste
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• tomato puree
• cumin to taste
• 300 ml of red wine
• chilli pepper
• marjoram

Method

1. Clean the beef cheeks and cut them into strips.
2. Fry the chopped onion in lard until golden.
3. Add the meat and fry together.
4. Add the tomato puree and sauté.
5. Deglaze with red wine and let evaporate.
6. Pour in beef stock or water and simmer gently under the lid.
7. Add garlic, pepper, cumin, chili and salt.
8. Finally, add the marjoram and bring to a boil.
9. Serve with homemade bread or tarragon.

Hungarian pork tocán with rice

You simply have to try this delicacy! Spicy sauce with strips of pork, tomatoes and peppers served with rice will delight you.

Ingredients

• 800g boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1cm x 3½cm long pieces
• 200 g smoked pork belly or bacon (skinless), cut into small cubes, about 1 cm
• 350 g long-grain rice, rinsed
• 2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt (more to taste)
• 1 teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika
• 3 pinches of ground pepper
• 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes, peeled and cut into very small pieces (or blitzed to a smooth paste using an immersion blender)
• 1 Hungarian yellow pepper, seeded and cut into very small pieces (or blended to a smooth paste using an immersion blender)
• 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
• 250 g sour cream
• 1 tablespoon plain flour

Method

1. Add the pork belly pieces or bacon to a large pot and cook over medium heat until the meat is golden brown and crispy, about 8-10 minutes.
2. When ready, remove chunks of bacon or bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside in a small bowl.
3. Keep burnt fat in the pan.
4. Add the chopped onion to the pot and sauté in the hot fat until translucent, about 6-8 minutes.
5. Add the pork and cook until lightly browned, about 4-5 minutes.
6. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in the paprika, crushed garlic, small pieces of tomato and yellow pepper, salt and freshly ground pepper.
7. Add ½ cup water, cover the pot, and simmer until the pork is tender, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
8. While the meat is cooking, prepare the rice.
9. Rinse the rice in cold running water and then drain well.
10. Add the rice to a small pot and cover with 2 and ½ cups of cold, salted water.
11. Close the lid and bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to very low and continue to cook for about 15 minutes, until the rice is soft but not mushy.
12. Then turn off the stove, remove the lid and let the rice cool for 15 minutes.
13. Finish the sauce.
14. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream and flour.
15. Turn off the stove and add the sour cream mixture to the sauce pot and mix well.
16. Heat over medium-high heat and allow the sauce to thicken to a creamy consistency at a gentle simmer for 1-2 minutes.
17. Season the sauce with salt and pepper and add more if needed.
18. Serve the toccan and rice side by side on a plate and garnish with crispy pieces of pork belly and chopped parsley.

Beef stork in wine

Try the popular version with beef prepared in white wine. This sauce goes well with rice or potatoes.

Ingredients

• 800 g beef flank
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 and 1/2 tablespoons of oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 200 ml of dry white wine
• tomato puree

Method

1. Cut the beef into strips 5 mm thick and 5 cm long.
2. Fry the onion in oil until golden.
3. Add the meat and sear on all sides.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Add the garlic and wine, cover with a lid and simmer over low heat.
6. Top with a little water if necessary.
7. When the meat is half cooked, add the tomato puree. If necessary, add a little water and continue cooking until the meat is done. Let the liquid reduce as much as possible.
8. The sauce goes well with boiled or mashed potatoes, rice or polenta.

What makes a toca a toca?

• It is important to cut the meat into strips , not into cubes like perkelt or goulash.
• We can prepare it from pork, beef and poultry.
• Less paprika is added to it than to stew, and it is often topped with wine .
• The sauce tends to be thicker .
• We can also add mushrooms, beans, tomatoes, bacon, sausage or cream to it.

A bit of that history

There are thousands of myths and legends about the origin of the tocán, its history and, indeed, what exactly this dish includes. It is said to have originally come from Transylvania and its name is Romanian for ragout. It is among the oldest Hungarian-Transylvanian dishes . Many claim that tokán differs from goulash and other similar dishes by the way we cut the meat – into noodles.

And how did you like our recipes? Write to us in the comments!