Skip to content

CHICKEN PAPRIKASH

Serves: 4 Total Time: 2 hours (45 min active) Source: Paprikáš - 4 pieces, skinless & boneless

SHOPPING LIST

Meat

  • 2 chicken thighs - about 300-400g total (kuřecí stehna) - skinless
  • 2 chicken drumsticks - about 200-300g total (kuřecí paličky) - skinless

Produce

  • 2 medium onions (cibule)
  • 2 bell peppers - preferably red or mix of red/yellow (paprika - zelenina)
  • 3-4 cloves garlic (česnek)
  • 1 medium tomato - optional (rajče)

Dairy

  • 200ml sour cream (zakysaná smetana)

Pantry

  • Sweet paprika - 2-3 tablespoons (sladká paprika)
  • Chicken bouillon cube - 1 cube (bujón)
  • Tomato paste - 1 tablespoon (rajčatový protlak)
  • Bay leaves - 1-2 (bobkový list)
  • Cooking oil
  • Salt (note: recipe uses table salt, not kosher)
  • Black pepper (černý pepř)

To Serve

  • Rice (rýže)

INSTRUCTIONS

PREP (15 minutes):

  • Pat 2 chicken thighs (kuřecí stehna) and 2 drumsticks (kuřecí paličky) completely dry with paper towels. Wet chicken won't brown properly.
  • Season all 4 pieces generously on all sides with salt and black pepper (černý pepř). Go light on salt since bouillon cube is salty - about 1/4 teaspoon per piece. You can add more later.
  • Dice 2 medium onions (cibule) into medium pieces, about 1cm cubes. No need to be precise.
  • Slice 2 bell peppers (paprika - zelenina) into strips about 1cm wide. Cut out the stem, remove all seeds and white ribs inside. The ribs are bitter.
  • Mince 3-4 cloves garlic (česnek). Peel and chop finely, or use a garlic press.
  • Optional: If using tomato, dice 1 medium tomato (rajče) into small pieces, about 1cm cubes.
  • Important setup: Measure out 2 tablespoons (30ml/about 15g) sweet paprika (sladká paprika) and 1 tablespoon (15ml) tomato paste (rajčatový protlak) into small bowls. Keep them right next to the stove. Paprika burns very quickly, so you need to add it fast and off-heat.
  • Dissolve 1 chicken bouillon cube (bujón) in 500ml (2 cups) hot water. Stir until completely dissolved. Set aside.

BROWNING SKINLESS CHICKEN (15 minutes):

  • Heat your Dutch oven (litinový hrnec) over medium-high heat for 2 minutes until hot.
  • Add 3 tablespoons (45ml) cooking oil - more than usual since you don't have skin fat. Swirl to coat the bottom.
  • When oil shimmers and moves easily (about 1 minute), add all 4 chicken pieces. Space them out - don't let them touch or they'll steam instead of brown.
  • Skinless chicken sticks more than skin-on. Let them sit undisturbed for 4-5 minutes. You'll hear sizzling. The meat should turn golden brown. If it sticks when you try to lift it, give it another minute - it will release when a crust forms.
  • Flip each piece using tongs and brown the other side for 3-4 minutes. You want some color but don't worry about deep browning since there's no skin.
  • Remove all 4 pieces to a plate. The meat inside will still be raw and pink - this is correct. It will finish cooking during braising.

BUILDING THE SAUCE (10 minutes):

  • Start preheating your oven to 160°C (325°F) now.
  • Look at the oil in your Dutch oven. Pour out most of it, but leave about 1 tablespoon (15ml) coating the bottom. Leave all the brown bits - that's concentrated flavor.
  • Lower heat to medium.
  • Add 2 diced onions (cibule). Stir them around to coat with the remaining fat.
  • Cook, stirring every minute or so, for 5-6 minutes. Onions should soften and start turning golden at the edges. Use your spoon to scrape up the brown bits stuck to the bottom - they'll dissolve into the onions.
  • Add 2 sliced bell peppers (paprika). Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes until they start to soften slightly. They'll still have some crunch.
  • Add 3-4 cloves minced garlic (česnek). Stir constantly for 30 seconds until you can smell it. Don't let it brown or it gets bitter.
  • CRITICAL STEP: Remove the pot completely from the heat - pick it up off the burner. Add 2 tablespoons (30ml/15g) sweet paprika (sladká paprika). Stir vigorously for 15-20 seconds. The residual heat will toast the paprika. It should smell sweet and smoky, not burnt or acrid. If it smells burnt, you've ruined the batch - paprika burns in seconds on direct heat.
  • Put pot back on medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon (15ml) tomato paste (rajčatový protlak). Stir and cook for 1 minute. The paste will darken slightly and lose its raw taste.
  • Optional: Add diced tomato (rajče) now if using. Stir for 1 minute.

BRAISING FOR FALL-APART TENDER (75-90 minutes):

  • Pour in 500ml (2 cups) prepared bouillon. Stir well, scraping the entire bottom of the pot with your spoon. All the stuck bits should dissolve into the liquid - this adds huge flavor.
  • Add 1-2 bay leaves (bobkový list). Just drop them in.
  • Nestle all 4 chicken pieces into the sauce. The liquid should come about halfway up the chicken pieces - not covering them completely. If liquid covers the chicken, ladle some out and save it in case you need it later.
  • Bring to a gentle simmer on the stovetop. You'll see small bubbles breaking the surface around the edges - not a rolling boil.
  • Cover pot with lid and transfer to preheated oven at 160°C (325°F).
  • Set timer for 75 minutes. This lower temperature gives collagen time to break down into gelatin, which makes the meat fall-apart tender.
  • At 75 minutes, carefully remove pot from oven (the handle will be extremely hot - use thick oven mitts or a folded towel). Uncover and check one piece: Use a fork to gently press into a drumstick. The meat should be so tender it's almost falling off the bone. Try wiggling the bone - if it moves freely from the meat, it's done. If meat still feels firm, cover and return to oven for another 15 minutes.

DEBONING (10 minutes):

  • Once chicken is fall-apart tender, remove Dutch oven from oven (handle is still extremely hot).
  • Very gently transfer all 4 chicken pieces to a cutting board or plate using a large spoon - support them from underneath because they're so tender they might fall apart.
  • Let chicken pieces cool for 2-3 minutes so you can handle them without burning yourself.
  • Working with one piece at a time: Use your fingers or a fork to gently pull the bones out. They should slide free with almost no resistance. The thigh has one main bone, the drumstick has one long bone. Discard all bones.
  • The meat will naturally break into chunks as you debone - this is fine. You'll have rough pieces of boneless chicken.
  • Set deboned meat aside on the plate.

BLENDING THE SAUCE (5 minutes):

  • Fish out and discard the bay leaves (bobkový list) from the sauce.
  • Using an immersion blender (ponorný mixér) directly in the Dutch oven, blend the sauce until completely smooth. This takes about 1-2 minutes. Move the blender around to get all the vegetable chunks. The sauce should be uniformly smooth with no visible pieces of onion or pepper.
  • Don't have an immersion blender? Carefully transfer the hot sauce in batches to a regular blender. Fill blender only halfway (hot liquid expands). Hold the lid down with a towel and blend on medium speed until smooth. Return blended sauce to the pot.
  • Place pot back on stovetop over medium heat. Let sauce simmer for 1-2 minutes. It should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon - run your finger through it and the line should hold. If too thin, simmer another 2-3 minutes.
  • Taste the sauce. Add salt if needed - start with 1/4 teaspoon, stir, taste again. The bouillon might have made it salty enough already.

FINISHING (3 minutes):

  • Remove pot from heat completely. Wait 30 seconds for bubbling to stop.
  • Stir in 200ml (about 3/4 cup) sour cream (zakysaná smetana). Mix thoroughly until sauce is uniformly creamy with no white streaks. The sauce should now be smooth, thick, and pale orange-pink in color.
  • Don't put it back on heat after adding sour cream or the cream will split and look curdled.
  • Gently add all the deboned chicken pieces back into the creamy sauce. Stir very gently to coat the meat. The chicken will be in chunks, not whole pieces - this is correct and traditional.

SERVING:

  • Cook rice (rýže) according to package directions - you'll need about 300g uncooked rice for 4 people.
  • Serve each person a mound of rice with boneless chicken chunks and plenty of smooth, creamy sauce ladled over everything.
  • The sauce is the star - it should be velvety smooth, creamy, and deeply flavored with paprika.

NOTES

Timing: Total active cooking time is about 45 minutes. Total time including braising is about 2 hours. Most of that is hands-off oven time.

Skinless adjustment: Without skin, you get less fat and less browning flavor, but the braising and paprika sauce more than make up for it. The extra oil compensates.

Temperature: 160°C (325°F) is lower than standard braising because you want maximum tenderness. Higher heat will cook the chicken faster but won't give you the fall-apart texture needed for easy deboning.

Blending: Traditional Hungarian paprikash is often smooth like this. The blended vegetables thicken the sauce naturally without needing flour or cornstarch.

Portion reality: 4 pieces for 4 people means 1 piece worth of meat each. Adults get a thigh or drumstick's worth, kids get the same. This is light on meat, so serve generous rice portions. Or start with soup as a first course.

Make-ahead: This dish is even better the next day. The flavors meld and deepen overnight. Store chicken and sauce together in the fridge. Reheat gently on stovetop over low heat with a splash of water if needed. Don't boil or the sour cream will split.

Leftovers: Keeps 3-4 days in fridge. The sauce will thicken as it cools - this is normal from the gelatin in the chicken. Just thin with a bit of water when reheating.

For kids: The smooth sauce without visible vegetables might be more appealing to picky eaters. Let them try it over rice. The chicken chunks are very mild and tender.

Equipment note: If you don't have an immersion blender, a regular blender works but requires more care with hot liquids. You could also use a food processor, but transfer in batches and be careful of splashing.