Chicken paprikás, a family favorite.

One of my favorite meals growing up was my Grandma Jean's chicken paprikás. She made it at least several times a year for us while I was growing up. Recently my wife Sara and I have been going to her house once a week to visit and make her dinner. This week it was our turn to make this dish for her.

Finished Paprikás

The Prep

The stock, dumplings, and chicken brine, were completed the day before visiting Grandma.

Chicken Stock

This recipe is from scratch, including the stock.

Vegetals as part of the stock base.

After breaking down the chicken into skin-on legs, wings and breasts, I browned the chicken scraps by roasting them in the oven before adding them to simmer in the stockpot.

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Liquid chicken gold.

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Brining the chicken pieces

One key to extra moist and flavorful chicken is a 6 hour brine.

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The dumplings

Because they are time-consuming, I also made the dumplings the day before.

The wet and dry of the dumplings

Use the "well" technique.

How to start the dumplings

We have always made them larger than german spaetzle, and slightly larger than tradition Nokedli.

Forming the dumplings Bowl of dumplings Sara with the finished goods.

Bringing it all together

On the day of the dinner we fried and simmered the chicken and prepared the most important part, the sauce.

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Render a whole pound of bacon fat, keep the crispy bacon for a topping.

Rendering the fat out of the bacon.

Bread the chicken with a mixture of flour, paprika, and salt to taste.

Bread the chicken

Brown the chicken to add flavor, no need to cook thoroughly.

Brown the chicken Fry the chicken in the bacon grease

Now simmer the onions in the remaining grease just until translucent.

Onions simmering then soften the onions in the remaining bacon grease

Layer the onions in with the chicken.

Layer in chicken with onions.

Now add with chicken stock concentrate.

Add the chicken stock

Simmer long enough to finish cooking the chicken and completely disintegrate the onions.

bubbling away

The finished product. To finish the sauce, add paprika and sour cream to taste. You can also thicken with flour if needed.

The finished product

We all enjoyed it.

We all enjoyed it.