Czech Svíčková na Smetaně Recipe
Svíčková na Smetaně is a classic Czech dish made with larded beef and dumplings, served with a creamy vegetable sauce. The beef is slow cooked with vegetables until tender, and these vegetables are then blended into the sauce. This comforting, flavorful meal is a beloved traditional dish in the Czech Republic.
Ingredients
- Beef - 3 lbs
- Bacon fat
- Lard – 1 ½ tbsp
- Ground pepper - to taste
- Salt - to taste
- Water - 6 cups
- Carrots - 2
- Parsley root - 2
- Celeriac - 7 oz.
- Onions - 3
- Apple - 1
- Butter (unsalted) - 1 stick
- Granulated sugar - ½ cup
- Vinegar (5% acidity) - 1/3 cup
- Bay leaves - 6
- Allspice balls - 10
- Peppercorns - 10
- All-purpose flour - 3 tbsp
- Heavy cream (at least 30 % fat content) - 1 cup
- Lemon - 1
Instructions
Lard the beef
- Cut fat bacon into ⅓ inch thick x 4-inch-long pieces and put them into a freezer for 30 minutes to harden them.
- Use a thin knife with a long edge and make some holes into the meat.
- Stick your index finger inside each hole and wiggle it so the hole enlarges.
- Press strips of lard into the holes.
- For a better shape, you can tie the irregular-shaped meat with a kitchen twine.
- After the meat is larded, salt and pepper it properly from all sides.
Prepare the vegetables and spices
- Peel the carrot, parsley root, celeriac and apple dice into ½ inch pieces.
- Peel onions and chop them roughly.
- Tie the spices tightly in a piece of cheesecloth.
Prepare the beef
- In a large heavy pot, melt lard over high heat and sear the beef from all sides until golden brown. Remove the browned meat and set it aside.
Cook the Vegetables
- Using the same pot, reduce the temperature to medium heat, add butter and any leftover fat bacon from larding.
- Add diced carrots, parsley root, and celeriac and cook until slightly golden, stirring occasionally.
- Add the onions to vegetables and cook until lightly golden.
- Add the diced apple and cook for another 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add sugar, mix, and let it melt while stirring.
- Pour in vinegar, mix, and let vinegar evaporate, so that there are only vegetables and some fat on the bottom of the pot.
- Pour in vinegar, mix, and let vinegar evaporate, so that there are only vegetables and some fat on the bottom of the pot.
Cook the beef
- Return the browned beef to a pot, pour hot water over it until you have the meat almost submerged.
- Add 1 teaspoon of salt and spices.
- If adding the bay leaves freely, count them so they can all be removed later.
- Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to very low. Cover with a lid and allow it to simmer for 2.5 hours.
- Remove the spices, especially all bay leaves.
- Remove ¼ of vegetables.
- Take the beef out and keep it in a warm place.
Roux
- In a pan, melt ½ stick butter on medium heat.
- Add flour, frequently stir until lightly golden.
- Put the roux into a sieve, submerge into the svíčková and press roux through the sieve.
- Continuously mix the roux in the sauce.
- Bring the pot back on a stove, let it simmer for 15-20 minutes- the sauce will thicken and lose the floury taste.
- Add heavy cream into sauce and turn off the heat.
- Mix everything with an immersion blender or blend till smooth.
- Strain the sauce in a clean pot.
- Season with lemon juice and salt to your liking.
- Serve with bread dumplings and a slice of beef.
Nutrition
Calories: 1059kcalCarbohydrates: 42gProtein: 63gFat: 72gSaturated Fat: 36gTrans Fat: 2gCholesterol: 289mgSodium: 395mgFiber: 5gSugar: 25g
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