Yep, it’s that festive time once again. Pull out your rubber chickens, your leftover plastic Easter eggs, and let fly—er, walk—with those inane “crossing the road” jokes…it’s National Chicken Month!
Courtesy of Chicken Talon. Our apologies to whoever did the original cartoon.
All joking aside, chicken remains one of the most popular and cost-effective proteins around. According to the USDA, the price-per-pound for chicken has actually dropped since 1980. What other food can you say that about? Between 1970 and 2004, chicken consumption in the United States more than doubled, from 27.4 pounds per person to 59.2 pounds. And when a 59-pound chicken wants to cross the road, you’d better let it.
To celebrate the tasty wonderfulness that is chicken, I asked Dave DeWitt’s wife Mary Jane Wilan to share her all-time favorite chicken recipe. Dave may be the Pope of Peppers, but where cooking is concerned, Mary Jane rules the roost. Here’s her take on a classic recipe that features paprika, another much-loved kitchen staple in the U. S. You can read more about paprika on the Fiery Foods & BBQ SuperSite here.
Chicken Paprika & Dumplings
3 Tablespoons (or more) vegetable oil
1 chicken, cut up
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup to 1 cup chicken stock
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 Tablespoons hot paprika) If not available, add regular paprika and 1 teaspoon cayenne)
pinch of thyme
1/2 cup sour cream
Thickening: 1 cup milk and 2 Tablespoons flour in a covered jar; shake hard before pouring into the sauce.
Try a little Spanish smoked paprika for a deeper flavor in this Chicken Paprika.
Heat the oil in a large sauté pan; add the chicken and sauté on each side about 2 minutes, lightly add salt and pepper.
Remove the chicken to a bowl.
Add the onions to the pan and and sauté about 1 minute; add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.
Add the chicken back to the pan and add chicken stock, tomato paste, wine, paprika, and thyme. It should barely cover the chicken. If it doesn’t, add more wine or stock.
Cover and simmer 1/2 hour; turn chicken and simmer 1/2 hour more. Remove chicken to a warm platter.
Add the thickening to the pan slowly (you can even put it though a small strainer to avoid lumps) and stir constantly.
Turn down the heat to a low simmer and stir in the sour cream. Do not let it boil. If the mixture gets too thick, add more milk.
Return the chicken to the pan, cover and remove from the heat.
Put the cooked dumplings (recipe to follow) in the sauce to soak up the flavor.
Dumplings
1 egg
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup tepid water
In a medium bowl, stir the egg until it breaks up. Add the next 3 ingredients and stir. Add the water to make a paste.
Drop by spoonfuls into salted, boiling water and cook until the dumplings rise to the top.
Drain in a colander and then add to the chicken and sauce.
Serves 4
Lois Manno
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