Garlic Pork Steak Bites and Potatoes - Roast a'la Brasov

garlic pork steaks

 🍴  Servings: 4


🥣 Category: Pork


💪 Difficulty Level: 3/5 


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Garlic pork steak with potatoes or Roast a’la Brasov (in Hungary: “Brassói aprópecsenye”) is a typical Hungarian dish that you can eat in almost all traditional restaurants. You do not need any special ingredients: mainly pork steak, potatoes and garlic.

The story of "Brassói aprópecsenye"

In Hungary, many theories have emerged regarding this food’s origin.

The most probable theory is that the recipe for Brassói aprópecsenye (with pork tenderloin, garlic, black pepper and potatoes) was invented by the railroad cook Gróf Nándor in 1948 on the flight from Budapest to Brassó. However, master chef Gyoergy Dózsa, referring to a 19th century cookbook, claims that this dish, a beef stew with garlic, originated in Brasov. According to Sándor Csáky’s  (cook and writer) book “Culinary Art of the 20th Century”, the origin of the dish in Brasov is unknown, but it is prepared from tenderloin (as well as tomatoes, red wine and mushrooms).

Other theories of garlic pork steak's origin

Master chef Gyula Pető prepares a garlic pork steak with smoked bacon, garlic and boiled potatoes in his book “Knowledge of Cooking”. He is silent about the origin. Master chef Endre Papp claims he invented the recipe in 1950 for a competition and named it out of Trianon nostalgia (recipe with bacon, tenderloin fillet, onions, green peas, tomatoes, green peppers and fried potatoes). The wife of the owner of the Weiss Inn in Budapest also came up with a one-course menu for the birthday of the master carpenter Károly Brassóy according to a different version. It is pork with marjoram and onions, plus tarragon.

So… who knows where this food comes from? 🙂

It's not a tipical garlic pork steak

Think of this dish as a very tasty, crumbly meat with a strong garlic flavor that, when combined with fried potato, transports us to the heaven of flavors. It’s as simple as it is wonderful. Tenderloin is the best meat for this purpose, but be careful not to overcook it, thus the sensational meat will become extremely juicy and crumbly. In Hungary, as with so many dishes, there was a debate about this dish. Some swear by adding green peas to the dish, while others go insane hearing green peas when they cook this dish. We leave it up to everyone to decide how to prepare this tasty dish because the exact origin of the recipe has not been revealed.

Fry or bake?

In terms of frying the potatoes, we chose the healthier option in our recipe and baked the fries in oven. If this bothers you, feel free to fry the potatoes in oil the traditional way. In reality, there isn’t much of a difference in the end result. Make today garlic pork steak!

Ingredients of garlic pork steak:

  • 5-6 medium potatoes
  • 100 g of fatty bacon
  • 500 g of pork tenderloin
  • a large head of onion
  • 6 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tbsp of lard or duck fat
  • 1 tbsp of tomato paste
  • 1 tsp of paprika
  • salt & pepper
  • 2 tbsp of chopped parsley

Steps:

  1. Dice the peeled potatoes and bake in a preheated (220°C) oven for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.
  2. Cut the bacon into strips and fry in lard until crispy.
  3. Add the diced tenderloin and fry over high heat for 3-4 minutes.
  4. Add chopped onion and garlic. Sauté for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and paprika powder. Season with salt & pepper. Cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes.
  5. Finally, add the parsley and baked potatoes, sauté well for 2-3 minutes and enjoy!

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