These Bakony Style Pork Steaks are a real Autumn treat. Just cook some lean pork leg steaks in a mushroom and sour cream sauce until just tender. At a basic level, Bakonyi Sertésszelet is a paprikas style dish. A Hungarian method of cooking with a sour cream sauce thickened with flour. But it is the addition of mushrooms to the dish that makes it ‘Bakony Style’.
The Bakony is a huge forest area in the Transdanubia region of Hungary, north of Lake Balaton. The forests of the Bakony stretch for hundreds of square kilometres. In some places, the tree canopy still covers 80-plus % of the land. The woodlands of the Bakony have been standing, in one form or another, for many centuries.
In fact, you can still find huge oak trees near Zirc that are over 400 years old. Historians trace woodland cover here continuously back at least 500 to 1000 years.
You can make Bakony Style Pork Steaks (Bakonyi Sertésszelet) any time of the year with farmed mushrooms. But for a real taste of Hungarian Autumn food, make this dish in October or November when wild foraged mushrooms are in season.
🇭🇺 Jó étvágyat!
Also Read
Looking for more classic Hungarian dishes? If so, you might be interested in these posts:
- Tökfőzelék – Hungarian Stewed Squash
- Töltött Paprika – Hungarian stuffed peppers
- Cold Sour Cherry Soup (Hideg Meggyleves) – a refreshing cold Hungarian fruit soup
- Hungarian Food – the Ultimate Guide
- Főzelék – A guide to Főzelék, the Hungarian Vegetable Stew
Or take a look at my full collection of Hungarian recipes for more Hungarian flavours.
Bakony Style Pork Cops (Bakonyi Sertésszelet)
Ingredients
- 800 grams pork chops or pork leg slices
- 100 grams szalonna or smoked bacon
- 1 large onion (chopped)
- 2-3 large cloves garlic (chopped)
- 250 grams chestnut mushrooms (sliced)
- 2 medium TV Paprika (diced)
- 2 medium tomatoes (chopped)
- 1 tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika
- salt
- 3 tbsp plain flour
- 200 ml sour cream
Instructions
- Fry szalonna
- Meanwhile, bash the slices then season the meat and dust with flour.
- Remove salonna lumps, then fry the slices in the salonna fat. Cook for a few minutes each side until browned then set aside. (pork leg will cook quickly so dont allow to overcook).
- Add the onions and a large pinch of salt to the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes (the liquid that releases from the onions will deglaze anything left from frying the pork slices from the pan).
- Add the garlic and cook for a further minute, making sure the garlic doesnt burn. Then add the sliced mushrooms along with the reserved szalonna pieces.
- Add the TV Paprika and the tomatoes, and the sweet Hungarian paprika and stir well.
- Return the cooked pork slices to the pan, along with any resting juices.
- Add just enough water or chicken stock to the pan to almost cover the pork slices. Simmer very gently for 10-15 minutes until the pork is tender.
- Meanwhile make a sour cream slurry by mixing the sour cream with the flour. Add some liquid from the pan and whisk well to remove any lumps.
- Stir in the sour cream slurry into the meat and mushroom sauce. and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- Serve with nokedli and few extra dollops of sour cream.
