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About This Chicken Paprikash Recipe
Our recipe calls for boneless chicken thighs which brings about several advantages over traditional recipes using bone-in chicken:
- boneless, skinless chicken thighs cook faster
- they are flavorful, typically laced with a thin layer of delicious chicken fat on the periphery
- when the dish is done you do not have to dance around bones and remove the gummy chicken skin that results from braising skin-on chicken
We also do not use canned tomato sauce or bell peppers (which are variations rather than the norm). The only inclusion of tomato in our recipe is the tomato paste.
We prepare an authentic paprika roux that infuses the braising liquid with richness and cooks out the raw taste of flour added as a thickener.
We use the culinary technique of tempering to incorporate the sour cream into the sauce. This is done at the end of the cooking process.
What Is Hungarian Paprikash?
Hungarian paprikash is the name of a traditional Hungarian dish with chicken and paprika symbolic of the culinary traditions of the country. If you ever wondered why paprika is so popular in Hungary, consider this.
The Hungarian names paprikás csirke or csirkepaprikás basically translate to paprika chicken.
Chicken paprikash is overwhelmingly about the sweet paprika spice used to make the sauce. According to Wikipedia, Hungarian paprika was named so because the country made the ground sweet pepper spice popular by perfecting the cultivation techniques of sweet peppers and the use of the spice in its culinary tradition. The actual sweet peppers that were used to make the spice were initially called Turkish peppers, having reached the Ottoman empire first from the Americas.
Hungarian paprikash emerged as a way to cook tough chicken meat into tenderness. Traditional recipes call for whole chickens, portioned into pieces and to be cooked skin-on and bone-in. This naturally required prolonged simmering and the presence of the bones infused the dish with a lot of natural collagen. The simmering was done in a braising liquid built upon a roux infused with a lot or paprika.
Ingredients
Chicken. Our simplified recipe calls for boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Do not trim the extra fat from around the meat - it will cook into more flavor and add richness to the braising liquid. No bones and skin means shorter cooking time and also a better eating experience.
Oil. A little bit of olive or vegetable oil to get the chicken to sear is useful. The rendered chicken fat joins it so go easy on the oil.
Seasonings. Kosher salt and black pepper to taste are essential to season the chicken before searing it.
Onion and garlic. Thinly sliced yellow onion and minced garlic become the savory aromatics to aid the sweet paprika.
Flour, tomato paste and paprika. The all purpose flour and the tomato paste are meant to form a roux and thicken the sauce, lending it an additional dimension of umami richness. The paprika, and we emphasize the GENEROUS use of fresh Hungarian paprika, is the key flavoring agent. Use sweet paprika that is as fresh as possible for maximum flavor.
Chicken broth. Use homemade if you have it because the broth is infused with melted collagen that contributes flavor.
Sour cream. We add it at the end to establish the creaminess of the paprika sauce and add a bit of a tang.
Parsley. We add fresh parsely, finely chopped, to the parpika sauce at the very end and also sprinkle it over the served chicken as a fresh, fragrant garnish.
Interesting Fact: The two most famous sweet paprika growing regions in Hungary are Szeged and Kalocsa. New varieties of sweet peppers were cultivated and perfected there over time. There is even a paprika museum located in Kalosca.
Types of Pasta Served with This Dish
Hungarian chicken paprikash is traditionally served with dumplings or egg noodles known as nokedli, very similar to the German spaetzle.
While you can make your own egg noodles (follow our tutorial here), we often buy one of the three different types of spaetzle pictured below. Fast work and delicious. Our favorite, and the one that we demonstrate with here, is the one arranged on top in the picture. Known as Blackforest Style it is the broadest spaetzle noodle available. We buy them at World Market.
You can also buy traditional American style egg noodles, the really broad ones. They work quite well with this dish and you will not regret your choice.
Step-by-Step: How to Make Chicken Paprikash
Watch the video demonstration to gain an understanding of the workflow of the easy process to make chicken paprikash with boneless, skinless chicken thighs. The whole dish is cooked on the stovetop.
In the Recipe Card below we include detailed step descriptions and clarifying pictures of the cooking sequence.
The overall process includes these key steps:
- Brown the chicken thighs on both sides, in batches, simply seasoned with salt and pepper and remove them from the pan. Brown at medium-high, until golden brown, then lower the heat to medium.
- Saute the thinly sliced onion and garlic, then add flour and paprika and cook to form a fragrant roux. In about a minute or so the raw flour flavor will cook off and the paprika will become irresistible.
- Combine the chicken broth with the roux, stir, and add back the chicken thighs. Lower the heat to low and cover. Simmer the chicken for 15 minutes until very tender.
- Remove the chicken from the pan. To a container with a cup of sour cream add a few ladlefulls of the paprika sauce and stir to temper. Add the mixture back into the pan and stir until all the sauce is creamy. Return the tender chicken to pan.
Chef's Tips
- Leave the fat around the boneless chicken thighs on - it translates into flavor.
- Cut the onions really thin so they can melt into the sauce while the chicken is simmering.
- Use paprika that is as fresh as possible. If your container of paprika has been in the spice cupboard for over a year you may want to buy a new one. The fresher the flavor of the sweet paprika, the better the paprikash chicken will taste.
- Do not skip the sour cream tempering step - adding the hot sauce to the sour cream bit by bit to let it come to temperature before you stir it into the pot helps prevent any curdling.
- Be sure to butter your egg noodles as they await the chicken paprikash - this will avoid clumps of dried out noodles.
How to Serve This Dish
Egg noodles, as already discussed above, are the traditional choice for a side for chicken paprikash.
A traditional way to serve is to place the buttered noodles at the bottom of a deep serving dish, arrange the chicken over them and smother the entire thing with the paprika sauce.
Other good options for side dishes include:
- white rice, steamed or boiled
- kasha, buckweat cooked with butter and water
- mashed potatoes
Storing Leftovers and Reheating
Store leftover chicken paprikash in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
To reheat, place chicken, any remaining noodles, and sauce in a skillet over medium heat. Add a couple of tablespoons of water, stir and cover with a lid. After a few minutes the chicken should be warmed through and the paprikash smothered noodles alive again.
REUSE IDEA: Chicken paprikash leftovers, when chopped up small and combined with a good melting cheese such as mozzarella or Chihuahua quesadilla cheese make a wonderful filling for empanadas.
Recipe
Easy Hungarian Chicken Paprikash
Ingredients
- 8 chicken thighs, boneless, skinless, about 2 lbs
- kosher salt, to taste
- ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil (vegetable, sunflower, olive)
- 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoon AP flour
- 4 tablespoon Hungarian paprika (aka sweet paprika)
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
Instructions
- Pat dry the chicken thighs while you heat a 12 inch deep pan over medium-high heat with the 1 tablespoon of oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper on one side.
- Sear the chicken, seasoned side down, and season the top side while searing. When golden brown, flip. Work in batches of 4 thighs for best results. Remove seared pieces to a side plate.
- Lower the heat to medium and in the fat rendered by the chicken saute the sliced onion until softened, about 3 mins. Add the minced garlic, stir and saute another 1 minute. Add the flour and paprika, stir and cook for about 1 minute.
- Work in the chicken broth a little bit at a time, stirring it in.
- Add back the chicken thighs and lower the heat to low. Cover with lid and simmer for 15 minutes until the chicken thighs are very tender.
- Remove the chicken thighs to a plate. Turn off the heat. To the container with 1 cup of sour cream add a few ladlefulls of the paprika sauce. Stir to temper. Add back the mixture to the pan and stir to combine. Stir in half the parsley.
- Either add back the chicken to the pan OR plate cooked, buttered egg noodles on a platter, arrange chicken thighs over and smother with the sauce. Serve garnished with the remaining parsley.
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