Chicken in Paprika Sauce

One of the most delicious Czech dishes is this authentic Chicken in a Paprika Sauce recipe. Goulash is originally from Hungary, but Czechs make their own spins on this meal and take it as their own. This recipe features tender chicken in an unforgettably rich, flavorful, and creamy paprika-infused sauce!  It’s pure heaven!

This is my family favorite for as long as I can remember. It is a variation of the typical goulash, with added more paprika! I guess you could call it Chicken Paprikash in different families. When you say “Authentic” dish in the Czech Republic, you always will get a different spin from family to family, but the core is the same.

Which is the Best Paprika to Use?

The name of this dish, “Paprika Sauce,” of course, comes from the most important ingredient in the dish: Dried paprika spice.  Many recipes in the Czech Republic use paprika. It is such a staple in our cuisine. If you can find true Hungarian paprika, you would be a winner. Hungarian paprika has a vibrant flavor and an exceptionally vibrant red color.

Paprika is made from ground sweet pepper pods which create the iconic bright red powder. But depending on the variety of paprika, the color can range from a bright orange-red to a deep blood red, and the flavor can be anything from sweet and mild to bitter and hot. 

Sweet Paprika

Typically labeled – paprika. This spice adds vibrant color to any dish. Sprinkled paprika over appetizers to add color or used as a flavoring for meat rubs. My kids love to sprinkle over deviled eggs, for example. This is the type of paprika I use in this recipe. It has a sweet pepper flavor without any heat. If a recipe doesn’t specify the type of paprika, I recommend using this kind.

Hot Paprika

Hot paprika is the Hungarian variety of paprika. This spice is made from extra-spicy red peppers. Hot paprika is, of course, hot. Like cayenne or other ground chiles, a little goes a long way with this stuff. In Eastern European cuisine, we use paprika as a primary flavoring method instead of simply adding color to a dish.

This paprika is most commonly found in classic dishes like Goulash, a stew made from red meat. Onions, potatoes, and vegetables, and the creamy Paprikash, a similar stews. Since my kids cannot take much heat in a dish, I stay with sweet paprika most of the time.

Smoked Paprika

Smoked Paprika is made by drying and smoking the red peppers over an oak fire. This process gives the red powder a rich, smoky flavor. You can have both sweet or hot pepper varieties. Smoked paprika is often called pimenton or smoked Spanish paprika.

The best way to use Smoked Paprika is to grill outdoors or use it to add smoky flavor to dishes without actually smoking them.

Let’s get cooking!

What Are the “Essential” Ingredients in Traditional Chicken Paprikas?

To make this recipe, use ingredients you probably have on hand already. Chicken, onions, garlic, water or broth, lots of paprika, salt, pepper, and cream.  Sometimes you can add crash tomatoes or bell peppers, but we like it smooth and without extra vegetables.

When you say “Kure na Paprice”, everyone will know what are you cooking in Czech!!!

What meat to use for Chicken in paprika sauce?

In Czech cuisine, every sauce starts with frying diced onion to golden brown to bring a flavor to our sauces and color, but not this one. I change the steps a bit and start with browning meat first. Ever since I moved to the USA, I learned to brown meat first keep the meat juicier.

I prefer to use dark meat. Chicken tights are flavorful and juicy. You are welcome to use bone-in and with skin-on. I personally use skinless and boneless as I’m not particularly eager to pick bones during eating. You can also use chicken breast, but note that meat might be a bit dry after cooking.

First prep meat of your choice. Trim unwanted fat and season with salt and pepper on both sides.

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Heat the butter in a heavy pot and brown the chicken on all sides if you wish for more crispy chicken; brown chicken in batches to make sure not to overawed chicken in a pot. If you are using skin-on chicken, brown the skin side first. When your chicken is browned on all sides, transfer to a plate and set aside.

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How to make the tastier base for a sauce

Use the same pot from chicken. The small bits of meat will make it tasty. Add oil to a pot and diced onion. Fry onion till it is starting to turn a golden color. If the bottom of the pot is getting burnt pieces from previous meat, add 1 tbsp of water. That will help loos the stuck pieces, while water will evaporate and onion can continue to fry.

The onion needs to be crunchy in some pieces. That’s how you achieve great flavor in this sauce, among more tips below.

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Lower heat t from medium to low heat. Add paprika and roast for a minute while stirring. Watch your paprika closely, as you do not want to BURN paprika. It can happen very quickly. Burnt paprika becomes bitter if scorched.

After paprika gets nicely aroma, add chicken with all the juice from a plate. Coat with onion and paprika base.

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Should you use stock or water in the base?

I use the stock for all my cooking, again something I learned here in the USA. Stock delivers a richer flavor and sometimes color to my cooking. In Czech, I would always use water for all cooking. It is not as common to use stock in the Czech home kitchen. I cannot speak for the professionals in restaurants as I am not one.

That means I highly recommend using stock to make your base for Paprika sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Be careful with salt. If you use sodium Stock, it is Ok to salt your source. Remember, the chicken already got some salt on it. You can always add more salt at the end, but you cannot reverse a salty meal.

Tip: Have two big zip-lock bags in the freezer and keep filling them with scraps. One for meat, fat trimmings, and bones, and the other for vegetable peels and scraps. When you fill them up, use a huge pot to make homemade stock. I Add all together into my Instant Pot and make my own stock to store in the freezer. I fill ziplock bags and make about 1 1/2 cups and freeze some in an icecube tray when needing only a little bit of stock.

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Turn your heat back to medium, stir well together to mix all flavors. Put the lid on a pot and let simmer for 30+ minutes. Internal meat temperature should reach 170 F in poultry.

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How to make a roux

While the sauce is simmering, get ready roux for later use.

Add 3 Tbsp of fresh butter to the pan. Heat the butter in the pan on medium heat until it melts and starts to bubble up.

Slowly whisk in 2 Tbsp of Gluten-Free flour. Stir until smooth. Continue to stir, allowing the flour mixture to cook, several minutes. Do not burn your roux. The roux is finished when highly brown, not burnt.

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Once the meat is cook, I pull it out from a sauce and set aside on a plate. Time to finish my Paprika sauce!

Finishing this sauce is super fast and easy. I add roux to the source next and stir. This sauce Should be as smooth as possible. I use my immersion blender for this step, and my sauce always comes out smooth and silky. My kids do not like onion, so they do not even know that onion is present in the sauce. Win-Win!!!

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The last step is to add cream or half&half. Lower the heat to low heat again, as high heat would make a cream mess up the sauce. When the cream is cooked on high, the fats tend to separate and cause sauces to curdle; low and slow is the safest option. It would be best if you never let a dairy-based sauce boil.

If you think you need to season sauce more, feel free to add more salt. This is why I said at the begging, not to oversalt this dish and add more later if needed.

Add meat back to a sauce with the delicious juice and let simmer for a minute or two on low heat to warm up the meat.

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How to serve Chicken in Paprika Sauce

Chicken in Paprika Sauce is traditionally served with Bread dumplings in the Czech Republic. I love to substitute bread dumplings for bacon dumplings as they are much easier to make and faster. Did I say how delicious as well?

Good side dish is also any Gluten-Free pasta or rice.

Who inspired me?

Suppose you wonder who inspired this delicious recipe. You can find it in one of my Czech cookbooks, “Velká kuchařka Čech a Moravy – Roman Vaněk.” This cookbook is something like a Czech cooking bible. It is full of Traditional Czech recipes. Every recipe I had made so far turned out perfect and delicious.

I hope you did enjoy this Gluten-Free recipe. If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, please. Thank you so much!

Other easy recipes to try

• Czech Schnitzel – Pork Rizek Everybody’s favorite in the Czech Republic and of course in my family!
• Easy to make Bacon Dumplings The perfect Gluten-Free side dish to go with Stuffed Peppers.
• Creamy Marsala Chicken Soup Do you have a craving for a different creamy meal? If you love Chicken Marsala, this soup is perfect for you!!!!

Until next time…!

DOBROU CHUT!

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