Goulash with Spatzel

Once upon a time we lived in Italy, and occasionally we would take a trip up to Austria or Germany to enjoy the cooler mountains and a change in food.  One time we went to a little restaurant in Austria and had the best Goulash ever.  It has haunted me ever since.  Last week I finally decided I would try and make some.  Thankfully I was able to find pre-made Spatzel in the store so I didn't have to make my own (try the international food aisle). If you can't find Spatzel you can substitute with egg noodles, not perfect but close.  Here is the original recipe I followed with my changes below.

2-1/2 to 3 pound beef roast (I think I used round?  which ever happened to be on sale) chopped
1/4 C bacon grease (or shortening if you don't have any on hand)
2 1/2 tsp Morton's Natures Seasons salt (or salt and pepper)
1 t chili powder
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground roasted garlic
1 large onion, diced
1 small green pepper, chopped
4 C water
4 tsp "Better than Bouillon" beef soup base
slurry: 1/2 C flour & 1 C water (mix well together)

Heat the bacon grease in a heavy 5 qt Dutch oven style pot. Dry the beef well with a paper towel.
Add the beef and let brown for about five minutes. Add the onion, green pepper,and season salt. Brown well until all the moisture evaporates, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with paprika and garlic. Give it a good stir. Add the 4 cups of water and beef soup base, stirring to loosen up the browned bits on the bottom. Bring to a boil. Stir in the slurry and bring to a boil again, stirring until thickened. Add the red pepper flakes, stir. Cover and reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 2-1/2 hours until the beef is fork tender.

SPATZEL

6 C flour

3 tsp salt

12 eggs

1 1/3 c milk

(Smaller batch measurements

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 tsp salt
• ▢ 8 large eggs
• ▢ ¾ cup milk, or water)

• 
  In a bowl, whisk together the flour, eggs, milk, and salt. Stir until the batter is well combined and develops bubbles. You can also use a mixer. The batter should neither be too thin nor too thick or it will be difficult to make the spaetzle with your spaetzle maker. Let the batter sit for 5-10 min.
• Put a colander into a bowl to drain the Spaetzle once cooked and bring a large pot of water over high heat to a boil, add about 1 Tbsp of salt to the water, and reduce temperature to a simmer.
• Press batter through a spaetzle maker, a large holed sieve or colander into the simmering water.
• Work in batches, after using about 1/3 of the batter stop adding new spaetzle and let them cook for about 2-3 minutes, or until they float to the top. Stir occasionally. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the spaetzle to the colander so that excess water can drip off.
• Serve the spaetzle immediately or saute them in butter to crisp them up a little. If you don't serve or saute them right away, add 1 or 2 Tbsp of butter to the hot spaetzle to prevent them from sticking together.