Chicken Paprikash

Updated April 25, 2024

Chicken Paprikash
Michael Kraus for The New York Times
Total Time
1 hour
Cook Time
1 hour
Rating
5(7,311)
Comments
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Spices lose their flavor over time but few as quickly as paprika, which starts out tasting of pepper and sunshine but deteriorates in but a few months to sawdust and bitterness. For this recipe, get some new at the market: sweet or hot Hungarian paprika is best, but the generic article isn’t terrible and the smoky Spanish varieties known as pimentón de La Vera would not be out of place either, lending a deep, woodsy aroma reminiscent of cooking over an open fire. It’s a dish that pairs beautifully with butter-slicked egg noodles.

Featured in: The Fresher the Spice, the Better the Chicken Paprikash

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Ingredients

Yield:Serves 4-6
  • 3 to 4pounds chicken thighs and drumsticks, or whole chicken legs
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1tablespoon neutral oil, like canola
  • 3tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1large yellow or Spanish onion, peeled and diced
  • 3cloves garlic, peeled and minced
  • 3tablespoons Hungarian paprika, sweet or hot, or a combination
  • 3tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1cup canned crushed tomatoes or 1 large ripe tomato, chopped
  • 1cup chicken broth, homemade or, if not, low-sodium
  • 1pound egg noodles
  • ¾cup sour cream
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

1069 calories; 62 grams fat; 20 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 24 grams monounsaturated fat; 12 grams polyunsaturated fat; 68 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 58 grams protein; 1139 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 400. Season the chicken aggressively with salt and pepper. Heat the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large, heavy, oven-safe sauté pan or Dutch oven set over high flame, until the butter is foaming. Sear the chicken in batches, skin-side down, until it is golden and crisp, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Then turn the chicken over, and repeat on the other side, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Remove chicken to a plate to rest.

  2. Step 2

    Pour off all but 3 tablespoons of the accumulated fat in the pot. Return the pot to the stove, over medium heat, and add the onion. Cook, stirring frequently with a spoon to scrape off any browned bits of chicken skin, until the onion has softened and gone translucent, approximately 5 minutes. Add the garlic, and stir again, cooking it until it has softened, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Add the paprika and the flour, and stir well to combine, then cook until the mixture is fragrant and the taste of the flour has been cooked out, approximately 4 to 5 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Add tomatoes and broth, whisk until smooth and then nestle the chicken back in the pan, skin-side up. Slide the pan or pot into the oven, and cook until the chicken has cooked through and the sauce has thickened slightly, approximately 25 to 30 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Meanwhile, set a large pot of heavily salted water to boil over high heat. Cook noodles in the water until they are almost completely tender, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Drain the noodles, and toss them in a bowl with the remaining butter, then toss again to coat.

  5. Step 5

    Place the chicken on top of the noodles, then add the sour cream to the sauce, stir to combine and ladle it over the whole.

Ratings

5 out of 5
7,311 user ratings
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Comments

Hi! Hungarian-Czech American here. I've tried every recipe out there. Some comments:
--CRITICAL: heat onions til transparent, then REMOVE pan from heat. Add paprika and mush into paste. Why? Paprika is fat soluble and if hits side of pan and burns, turns bitter. Besides fresh paprika this is the most important step. Only then add chicken (which I do raw, unseasoned).
--Tomato or not tomato? serious question. As far as i am concerned if include tomato or tomato paste it is not authentic :-)

Why are spices sold in large quantities if they are going to be tasteless so quickly?

The traditional starch is actually "nokedli"/spaetzli. Egg/flour based dough but is actually really a treat to make from scratch and not difficult.

The start of this dish (onions + paprika) is the standard start to many Hungarian stews (gulyas, porkolt). From there, you take different directions depending on the meat and what else you add. Easy to remember 1T paprika and 1 onion per pound of meat.

Finally - these work great in slow cooker and also freeze beautifully. SUPER easy.

I’ve made my Polish Nana’s version of this forever. We don’t add tomato and use more onions and paprika. It’s decadent and so yummy.

I found this to be quite bland, which was surprising. Next time I would use hot paprika.

The flour turned this into a gelatinous turn-off

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