Having lived in the home of Chicken Paprikash, it has become one of my ultimate comfort foods. I’m sure my Hungarian friends have their grandma’s recipe or some special tricks that make this even better, but for now – here’s the simple American’s version.
Ingredients:
3-4 Pieces of chicken, what type is up to you, but in the mother country they typically use a dark meat that will fare well in a stew. I like to use both. I’d say 2 drumsticks (because that’s what I like) and 2 small to medium sized breasts will do well with this recipe.
1 Cup sour cream
1 Cup chicken broth
2 medium-large sweet onions – I didn’t have a white onion so I used a red onion which is similar but not the same
3-4 Tbsp sweet paprika, start with 3 and add more if you need to
4-5 Tbsp butter
Salt and fresh black pepper to taste
1. Clean, brine, and pat your chicken dry. If you haven’t brined chicken before, use my recipe.
2. Melt 3 Tbps of butter in a non-stick large frying pan. Make sure the butter evenly coats the pan. Now add your chicken breasts and turn the heat to medium high. You want your chicken to get golden on the outside like in the photo below. After about 2-3 minutes flip your chicken to the other side. Cook and then remove. Remember, your goal is to get a golden brown color on the outside, but you are not aiming to cook the whole piece thru, you’ll do that later.
3. After flash frying the chicken, remove it from the pan and turn down your heat off. It’s ok if some of the chicken sticks to the pan or browned bits are left behind, this will help to flavor your food. Place your chicken breasts on a cutting board and cut the chicken into thick slices.
3. Now that you have allowed you pan to cool down, put 2-3 Tbsp of butter in the pan and melt. Put all of your onion in the pan and cook on low heat. Add your paprika, salt, and fresh ground pepper.
4. You want your onions to sauté and not brown/burn. You want them to become translucent and caramelize.
5. After cooking them for about 5-7 minutes, throw in your cup of chicken broth.
6. Depending on the type of noodle or side you plan to serve this with, you may want to begin to boil water now…
7. Add your dark chicken and cook on low heat. About 5 minutes after adding your dark chicken, add your white meat. Since your white meat is already sliced up, it won’t take as much a time as your drumsticks and because it is white meat it will also dry out faster than your dark meat. Cook these two on low heat for 10-15 minutes flipping them halfway thru. I would check your chicken at minute 10 to see what temperature the middle of your meat is. You should aim for 165. Also, you can take a piece of the chicken out and cut it to check the color. I typically don’t use a thermometer, but if you aren’t used to cooking chicken I would highly recommend it. Salmonella is not to be fooled with.
8. Once your chicken is cooked, mix in your sour cream. I would start with half a cup and add to taste. I like to serve with fresh gnocchi or spaeztles, but if I don’t have either then egg noodles do the trick nicely. Plate it hot and I’d recommend in a bowl!
Lastly, a shout out to our awesome cook Endré who cooked this and a number of other delicious treats for our family. Don’t forget to sprinkle the top with a dash of sweet paprika and serve with a nagy sör!!
Words from wise Hungarians welcome! 🙂
enumnums 
This reminds me of what Steve used to make us at Graceland sometimes. Now i feel like I can try it myself at home 🙂 Yum!!
Yes! And let me know if it measures up!! 🙂