Slow-simmered Chicken Paprikash
Submitted by sriksheim
Hungarian chicken paprikash simmers bone-in chicken with sweet paprika, onions, peppers, and tomato, then finishes with a sour cream sauce. Traditional one-pot dinner served over noodles or dumplings.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
60 minREADY
90 minChicken paprikash is one of those Hungarian dishes that lives or dies by the paprika. Use the dusty pre-ground stuff in the back of your spice rack and you’ll get a flat, ordinary chicken stew. Use fresh, fragrant Hungarian sweet paprika and you’ll understand why this dish is the national pride of Hungarian home cooking.
Blooming the paprika in hot fat for a full minute before adding the onions is the technique most home cooks skip. The fat releases the paprika’s water-soluble red pigment and oil-soluble flavor compounds, building a deep, brick-red base that infuses the entire dish. Done right, the chicken comes out colored a glowing red-orange.
Lard is traditional and gives the most authentic flavor, but a neutral oil works too. The fresh chiles add gentle heat without overpowering the paprika, and the tomato tempers everything with a touch of acid.
The sour cream finish is the textural payoff. Whisking the cream with flour first prevents curdling, and stirring in a cup of hot pan juices before adding it back tempers the cream so it integrates into the sauce as a glossy, tangy finish instead of breaking into curds.
Serve over wide egg noodles or traditional Hungarian nokedli dumplings to catch every drop of the sauce.
Chef Tips
- Buy Hungarian sweet paprika if you can find it. The flavor is incomparable to standard supermarket paprika.
- Don’t let the paprika scorch. Burned paprika tastes bitter and ruins the dish. Bloom over moderate heat, not high.
- Use bone-in, skin-on chicken for the most flavor. Boneless breasts dry out in the long simmer.
- Temper the sour cream gradually. Cold cream into hot pot equals broken sauce.
Variations
- Add a teaspoon of hot Hungarian paprika alongside the sweet for more heat.
- Stir in 1⁄2 cup heavy cream alongside the sour cream for a richer, mellower sauce.
- Use pork shoulder cubes in place of chicken for a hearty pork paprikash.
Ingredients
Directions
Heat a 6 quart heavy stove-top casserole and add the lard or oil and paprika.
Sauté the paprika for about 1 minute and add the onions.
Sauté for a few minutes and add the remaining ingredients except for the thickening.
Bring to a simmer and cook, covered for about 45 to 60 minutes (all is tender).
Remove the chicken pieces and set aside.
Mix the sour cream and flour well with a wire whisk.
Add 1 cup of the juices from the pot to the cream and stir well to avoid lumps.
Stir this mixture into the pot and stir while it thickens.
Return the chicken to the pot and restore the heat.
Serve with noodles or Hungarian dumplings.
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