These Hungarian cowboys often camped out with their cattle days away from populated areas, so they had to make their food from ingredients they could carry with themselves, and this food had to be cooked in the one available portable cauldron (called bogrács) over an open fire.

Traditional Hungarian bográcsgulyás 'cauldron goulash' is often still cooked outdoors over an open fire in a cauldron, giving the appearance of a barbecue.

Later on when the dish left the peasant cuisines and became popular even in the town,[1] it started to be cooked more like a soup.

The official vocational cookbook for Hungarian restaurant trainees still contains recipes for both and lists the core ingredients as finely diced onions, peppers, tomatoes, meat, garlic, salt, caraway seeds, potatoes and homemade noodles called csipetké.

Cubed potatoes or pasta squares are typically added to this spicy soup.