S
Scapaflow
Guest
[I post this on occasion hoping that someone will try it. I prepared it for the extended family for
2003 Christmas and my professional-chef bro-in-law said it was the best meal he's had in a year. My
Dad came to the states via Austria during the 1956 revolution.]
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Chicken Paprika
This is a recipe for Chicken Paprika, a recipe my father brought over from hungary. It is simply
marvelous. (It bears no relationship to Cacciatore. Resist adding peppers, onion, etc.)
(This recipe produces 6 or more servings.)
Sauce Ingredients: 1 whole chicken + 6 chicken thighs 1 pint sour cream ( Don't use no-fat or low-
fat versions, as this is not a meal for dieters, but an occasional, sinful treat.)
1/2-1 pint whole milk (No skim or low-fat) 2 heaping Tbsp Paprika (Again, the best you can
find. I use "Budapest's Best"--Sweet Delicate Hungarian Paprika.) 1 heaping tsp salt, salt to
taste Water 1 Tbsp chicken base (paste type, the best you can find. Bouillon cubes work, but
are not as good.)
Noodle Ingredients: 1 level cup unsifted, unbleached white flour 1 level tsp salt 1 egg water
Sauce procedure:
2) Cut whole chicken into it's constituent parts (breasts, thigh, back, etc.) and remove skin.
3) Trim fat deposits and rinse all chicken thoroughly
4) This step is critical. Cut all chicken pieces in half, including thighs. I use a cleaver . This
exposes the crucial bone marrow. The more marrow you expose, the better the sauce. I chop the
wings into 4 or five pieces. Do not add giblets and neck.
5) In large pot, combine chicken, salt, Paprika, chicken base, and enough water to just cover the
chicken pieces. Cook, partially covered, at such temperature that a simmer to very gentle boil
is achieved. You want just a bit of bubbling. Do so until the chicken is thoroughly cooked and
easily removed from the bone--About 1.5 hrs. (I cook the chicken until it is on the verge of
falling off the bone. This extracts maximum flavor from the chicken.)
6) Strain mixture to separate broth and chicken. Place chicken into a warm serving dish. Return
broth to pot and place on medium heat.
7) In a mixing bowl, combine enough milk to sour cream to render a mixture that is pourable. The
consistency is roughly that of very thick pancake batter and requires a sour cream / milk
ratio of about
7:1. If you use a pint of sour cream, you'll use about 1/2 pint milk, maybe a bit more.
8) Vigorously mix sour cream and milk mixture into broth. I use a whisk for this. Carefully bring
the sauce to a boil and remove immediately from heat (see note at end). Failure to remove
promptly will result in very messy boiling over! Set burner to it's lowest setting and return
pot to the burner to keep sauce hot. The sauce is basically finished at this point. You may wish
to fine tune by adding more salt, sour cream, Paprika, and/or chicken base. I sometimes add a
1/2 cup or so of heavy cream for added richness. You may also want to skim most of the liquid
fat from the sauce surface, though I do not. The sauce may separate in which case I use hand
blender to re-incorporate.
Noodles procedure:
9) Combine flour, salt, and eggs in a hemispherical bowl large enough to accommodate mixing.
10) Add about 1/2 cup water and proceed to blend ingredients with a fork until well blended. The
consistency you're striving for is such that the dough is clearly wet, adheres to the bowl, and
is loose enough to slowly spread out when a dollop is applied to the cutting board. Add enough
water to achieve this. I've never measured how much water I use, but think it's about 1/2 cup
plus some. Actually, the consistency is not critical. I'm guessing you've made noodles (or
dumplings) like this, and that additional, excruciating explanation is not necessary.
11) Set a dutch oven (good size pot) 2/3 full of water to boil.
12) At this point, obviously the dough goes into the water. I place a good size dollop on a small
cutting board and use a gently curved, sharp knife to cut perhaps 3/4" size blobs which are then
vigorously swept off the board into the boiling water. They are done when they float to the
surface. A perforated spoon is used to remove the noodles from the water which are placed in a
warm serving bowl. I cut perhaps 3-4 dozen noodles, let them cook (very quick), remove, and
proceed to add the next 3-4 dozen until all of the dough is consumed. If it looks like boiling
over is about to occur, add some cold water.
At this point you should have a pot of wonderful sauce, a bowl full of chicken pieces, and a bowl
of noodles. For serving, place a good serving of noodles and half (maybe less) as much chicken into
a flat bowl. Apply enough sauce to almost cover noodles and chicken. You may want to salt to taste.
My wife likes pepper on it. I do not. In any case, Viola!
That's it. I really want you to try this, as everyone on both sides of our family loves it. My
instructions are laborious because attention paid to various details will produce a superb dish,
while an average effort with average ingredients produce a result that is only very good.
Dave
--------------
Note: You may want to only add a portion of the sour cream / milk at a time, testing as you go for
taste. We tend to like a lot of sour cream flavor, but you may desire less. In any case, the
resultant should be rich and satisfying, but not overwhelmed with sour cream. Also, there may
be some question about bringing the sauce to a boil. It is not necessary, but imparts more
complexity to the sauce. Most premium sour cream brands will not separate, but if some
separation occurs, no matter--use a hand blender or whisk. Finally, I hope the apparent
complexity of this dish doesn't scare you off. It's one of those dishes that is made with the
gut, and is therefore difficult to quantify in a way that permits precise description in
recipe form. I sometimes use half and half instead of whole milk for added richness.
2003 Christmas and my professional-chef bro-in-law said it was the best meal he's had in a year. My
Dad came to the states via Austria during the 1956 revolution.]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chicken Paprika
This is a recipe for Chicken Paprika, a recipe my father brought over from hungary. It is simply
marvelous. (It bears no relationship to Cacciatore. Resist adding peppers, onion, etc.)
(This recipe produces 6 or more servings.)
Sauce Ingredients: 1 whole chicken + 6 chicken thighs 1 pint sour cream ( Don't use no-fat or low-
fat versions, as this is not a meal for dieters, but an occasional, sinful treat.)
1/2-1 pint whole milk (No skim or low-fat) 2 heaping Tbsp Paprika (Again, the best you can
find. I use "Budapest's Best"--Sweet Delicate Hungarian Paprika.) 1 heaping tsp salt, salt to
taste Water 1 Tbsp chicken base (paste type, the best you can find. Bouillon cubes work, but
are not as good.)
Noodle Ingredients: 1 level cup unsifted, unbleached white flour 1 level tsp salt 1 egg water
Sauce procedure:
2) Cut whole chicken into it's constituent parts (breasts, thigh, back, etc.) and remove skin.
3) Trim fat deposits and rinse all chicken thoroughly
4) This step is critical. Cut all chicken pieces in half, including thighs. I use a cleaver . This
exposes the crucial bone marrow. The more marrow you expose, the better the sauce. I chop the
wings into 4 or five pieces. Do not add giblets and neck.
5) In large pot, combine chicken, salt, Paprika, chicken base, and enough water to just cover the
chicken pieces. Cook, partially covered, at such temperature that a simmer to very gentle boil
is achieved. You want just a bit of bubbling. Do so until the chicken is thoroughly cooked and
easily removed from the bone--About 1.5 hrs. (I cook the chicken until it is on the verge of
falling off the bone. This extracts maximum flavor from the chicken.)
6) Strain mixture to separate broth and chicken. Place chicken into a warm serving dish. Return
broth to pot and place on medium heat.
7) In a mixing bowl, combine enough milk to sour cream to render a mixture that is pourable. The
consistency is roughly that of very thick pancake batter and requires a sour cream / milk
ratio of about
7:1. If you use a pint of sour cream, you'll use about 1/2 pint milk, maybe a bit more.
8) Vigorously mix sour cream and milk mixture into broth. I use a whisk for this. Carefully bring
the sauce to a boil and remove immediately from heat (see note at end). Failure to remove
promptly will result in very messy boiling over! Set burner to it's lowest setting and return
pot to the burner to keep sauce hot. The sauce is basically finished at this point. You may wish
to fine tune by adding more salt, sour cream, Paprika, and/or chicken base. I sometimes add a
1/2 cup or so of heavy cream for added richness. You may also want to skim most of the liquid
fat from the sauce surface, though I do not. The sauce may separate in which case I use hand
blender to re-incorporate.
Noodles procedure:
9) Combine flour, salt, and eggs in a hemispherical bowl large enough to accommodate mixing.
10) Add about 1/2 cup water and proceed to blend ingredients with a fork until well blended. The
consistency you're striving for is such that the dough is clearly wet, adheres to the bowl, and
is loose enough to slowly spread out when a dollop is applied to the cutting board. Add enough
water to achieve this. I've never measured how much water I use, but think it's about 1/2 cup
plus some. Actually, the consistency is not critical. I'm guessing you've made noodles (or
dumplings) like this, and that additional, excruciating explanation is not necessary.
11) Set a dutch oven (good size pot) 2/3 full of water to boil.
12) At this point, obviously the dough goes into the water. I place a good size dollop on a small
cutting board and use a gently curved, sharp knife to cut perhaps 3/4" size blobs which are then
vigorously swept off the board into the boiling water. They are done when they float to the
surface. A perforated spoon is used to remove the noodles from the water which are placed in a
warm serving bowl. I cut perhaps 3-4 dozen noodles, let them cook (very quick), remove, and
proceed to add the next 3-4 dozen until all of the dough is consumed. If it looks like boiling
over is about to occur, add some cold water.
At this point you should have a pot of wonderful sauce, a bowl full of chicken pieces, and a bowl
of noodles. For serving, place a good serving of noodles and half (maybe less) as much chicken into
a flat bowl. Apply enough sauce to almost cover noodles and chicken. You may want to salt to taste.
My wife likes pepper on it. I do not. In any case, Viola!
That's it. I really want you to try this, as everyone on both sides of our family loves it. My
instructions are laborious because attention paid to various details will produce a superb dish,
while an average effort with average ingredients produce a result that is only very good.
Dave
--------------
Note: You may want to only add a portion of the sour cream / milk at a time, testing as you go for
taste. We tend to like a lot of sour cream flavor, but you may desire less. In any case, the
resultant should be rich and satisfying, but not overwhelmed with sour cream. Also, there may
be some question about bringing the sauce to a boil. It is not necessary, but imparts more
complexity to the sauce. Most premium sour cream brands will not separate, but if some
separation occurs, no matter--use a hand blender or whisk. Finally, I hope the apparent
complexity of this dish doesn't scare you off. It's one of those dishes that is made with the
gut, and is therefore difficult to quantify in a way that permits precise description in
recipe form. I sometimes use half and half instead of whole milk for added richness.
