Chicken Wings Paprikash

Chicken Paprikash is a traditional Hungarian recipe that I ate often on a recent trip to Budapest. Served with tiny noodles, it’s comforting and delicious. I brought Paprika back with me, and developed my version of Chicken Paprikash that uses chicken wings. You can serve it with a large loaf of bread and plenty of napkins. Dunk the bread in the sauce and eat the wings with your hands. Hello, napkins! Another way to enjoy this easy dish is to serve it alongside the most flavorful stone-ground grits with the sauce generously ladled over the top. Put the wings on the side. To say that this dish is “finger-licking” is quite an understatement!

Can I use other chicken parts? I'm glad you asked. Yes, you can, but you'll probably have to adjust cooking time. Personally, I love the wings, but for a family dinner, I'd buy a whole chicken and cut the legs from the thighs, the back in two and the breasts into three pieces each (wings with a bit of breast and the rest of the breast cut in half straight across). Ready for the recipe?

Hungarians serve Chicken Paprikash with nokedli, small spaetzle-like dumplings. You can serve Chicken Paprikash over egg noodles if you prefer, or try making the dumplings, which involves preparing a light dough that you push through the large holes of a grater straight into boiling salted water. 

If you're not into dairy, skip the sour cream. While it is traditional in Hungary, Jewish Hungarians who migrated to the United States did not use it, so it's not unusual to see recipes without the sour cream.

To save time, serve the wings and sauce with a big crunchy loaf of bread for dipping into the sauce, or find the best stone-ground grits you can source, and pour the sauce over everything. You'll make a mess, but you will be so, SO happy. Here's the recipe.

Secret Weapons

Creamy, luscious, satisfying.

This is where I buy my grits. Marsh Hen Mill in Edisto Island.

This is where I get my authentic sweet Hungarian paprika.