Outdoor Cooking at Csendzug – Bográcsozás by the Water with a Classic Paprikás Krumpli Recipe
One of the things guests at Csendzug remember most isn't the fishing or the sunsets — it's the evening they spent cooking outside by the Holt-Körös. There's something about stirring a bogrács over an open fire, with the smell of onions and paprika drifting across the water, that turns a holiday meal into a memory.
The Csendzug Guesthouse garden is set up for exactly this. A charcoal grill, a bogrács hook over an open fire pit, and a disc cooker (tárcsázó) are all available for guests — everything you need for a proper Hungarian outdoor cooking session, right on the riverbank.
This post explains what bográcsozás is, what you can cook at Csendzug, and includes a step-by-step recipe for paprikás krumpli (Hungarian paprika potato stew) — one of the simplest and most satisfying dishes you can make in a cauldron.
What is Bográcsozás?
Bográcsozás is the Hungarian tradition of cooking over an open fire in a bogrács — a cast-iron or steel cauldron suspended over flames. It's not just about the food. It's a social ritual: someone tends the fire, someone chops the onions, someone argues about when to add the paprika. The cooking takes an hour or two, and that's the point.
The most popular bogrács dishes are gulyásleves (goulash soup), pörkölt (stew), halászlé (fisherman's soup), lecsó (pepper and tomato stew), and paprikás krumpli. Of these, paprikás krumpli is the most forgiving for beginners — hard to ruin, endlessly customisable, and ready in just over an hour.
What You Can Cook at Csendzug
The guesthouse provides three outdoor cooking setups:
- Bogrács hook with fire pit — for cauldron cooking (gulyás, pörkölt, paprikás krumpli, halászlé)
- Charcoal grill (faszenes grillrács) — for grilled meats, sausages, vegetables
- Disc cooker (tárcsázó) — a concave steel disc over a gas flame, ideal for stir-frying, lecsó, or scrambled eggs with sausage
Firewood and charcoal are provided in limited quantities — pick some up at a local shop in Békésszentandrás or Szarvas before you arrive. The kitchen inside the guesthouse is fully equipped if you need a cutting board, knives, or bowls for prep.
Paprikás Krumpli in a Bogrács — Recipe for 6 People
This is a traditional, straightforward version — the kind of recipe that works over an open fire without fuss. It's a one-pot dish: everything goes into the cauldron in stages, and you eat it straight from the bogrács with bread.
Ingredients
- 150 g smoked bacon (szalonna), cut into small cubes
- 2 large onions, finely diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, sliced or crushed
- 1.5 kg potatoes, peeled and cut into chunky pieces (roughly 3–4 cm)
- 2 tablespoons Hungarian sweet paprika (édes pirospaprika)
- 1 fresh tomato, diced
- 1 sweet pepper (green or pale yellow), diced
- 300 g smoked sausage (kolbász), sliced into rounds
- 6–10 frankfurters (virsli), halved or left whole
- Salt, black pepper, a pinch of ground caraway (optional)
- Water
- Bread for serving
Method
Build the fire and let it burn down to a steady, medium heat. The bogrács should be hot but not scorching — you want to fry, not burn.
Render the bacon. Add the cubed szalonna to the dry bogrács and fry until the fat melts and the edges turn golden. This is the cooking fat for the whole dish.
Fry the onion. Add the diced onion to the bacon fat. Stir occasionally until the onion turns translucent and soft — about 5–8 minutes. Add a pinch of salt to help it along.
Add the paprika. Pull the bogrács slightly off the direct heat (or let the fire die down a little). Stir in the paprika and fry for no more than 30 seconds — paprika burns easily and turns bitter. Immediately add a splash of water to stop the cooking.
Add the tomato and pepper. Stir them in and let them soften for a few minutes.
Add the garlic, potatoes and sausage. Stir everything together, then pour in enough water to just barely cover the potatoes. Season with salt, pepper and caraway if using.
Simmer for 20–25 minutes. Don't stir aggressively — the potatoes will break apart. Instead, gently shake or rotate the bogrács from time to time. The stew is ready when a knife slides through a potato piece without resistance and the liquid has reduced to a thick, saucy consistency.
Add the virsli in the last 5 minutes — they only need to heat through.
Taste, adjust seasoning, and serve straight from the bogrács with fresh bread and pickles (savanyúság) on the side.
Tips
- Cut the potato pieces to a similar size so they cook evenly.
- The stew should be thick and saucy, not watery. If it looks too liquid towards the end, let it reduce with the lid off. If it's too thick, add a small splash of water.
- Don't skip the szalonna. The rendered bacon fat is what gives the dish its base flavour — cooking oil won't achieve the same result.
- Leftover paprikás krumpli reheats well the next day in the guesthouse kitchen.
What to Bring
If you're planning to cook outdoors during your stay, here's a quick shopping list to pick up before arrival. Békésszentandrás has a few small shops, and Szarvas has larger supermarkets.
- Smoked bacon (szalonna) and smoked sausage (kolbász) — available at any Hungarian supermarket or butcher
- Good quality Hungarian paprika — édes (sweet) is the standard; you can add csípős (hot) to taste
- Potatoes, onions, garlic, a tomato and a pepper
- Virsli (frankfurters)
- Bread — ideally a rustic white loaf (fehér kenyér)
- Firewood or charcoal (some available at the guesthouse)
- Pickles (savanyúság) or a simple salad for the side
Everything else — knives, cutting boards, bowls, water — is available at the guesthouse.
Cooking over an open fire by the water is one of those experiences that's hard to replicate back home. At Csendzug, the setup is there and the setting does the rest. All you need is the ingredients, a bit of patience, and someone willing to tend the fire.