Thursday, October 6, 2011

Chicken with smoked paprika

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This chicken recipe has three ingredients and a huge payoff. It may be one of the easiest and most delicious dinners you'll ever put on the table. The smoked paprika will make you wonder whether you wrapped the chicken in bacon by mistake.

I've served this chicken recipe to my kids, my boss, my boss's kids, my niece and nephew, and most of my friends at one dinner party or another. I get almost as many raves about it as I do for my truffle dishes. Three ingredients. You won't be sorry. And if you still need convincing, ask Girl + Fire or Shockingly Delicious - they're amazing cooks and food bloggers in their own right, and they tell me this has become one of their go-to dinners.



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Chicken with smoked paprika
This chicken recipe has three ingredients, takes less than two minutes to prepare and delivers huge flavor. Smoked paprika is available at gourmet stores and, in my area, at Costco.
Ingredients
  • 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 1/3 Tbsp garlic salt (or substitute 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp garlic powder and 1 tsp dried parsley)
  • 2 Tbsp smoked paprika
Instructions
Preheat the broiler on high. Set a rack in the oven 4 inches below the flame. (If you put the rack right under the flame, the chicken will burn on the outside before it's cooked through.)Line a baking sheet with foil and lay the chicken thighs out flat. Sprinkle each side generously with the garlic salt and smoked paprika; if the amounts above don't seem like enough, use more. Do not skimp on the garlic salt, even if you're salt-phobic - it's necessary and still will have far less sodium than any chicken dish you will ever eat in a restaurant.Broil the chicken about 7 minutes on each side, until the thighs are cooked through and have developed a nice crust. Serve immediately.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 8-10 servings

20 comments:

Dorothy at Shockinglydelicious said...

Oh yeah, me likey!

Mari Nuñez said...

This looks appetizing!! I am sure it tastes delicious, I just hope I find the smoke paprika. Great recipe, Erika :)

Erika Kerekes said...

Mari, smoked paprika should be pretty easy to find - Whole Foods has it, as does Costco in my area. Any high-end grocery store should have it, too.

Cat and DOG Chat With Caren said...

OMG I ADORE smoked Paprika!! I am addicted to it so I will HAVE to try this chicken!!

I wonder, can you bake the chicken instead of broiling?

Erika Kerekes said...

Caren - you can bake it, but it won't get the same crispy-ish outside. Still delicious though.

Cat and DOG Chat With Caren said...

thanks Erika! I will for sure make it your way first and then I will probably try and bake it too!

This sounds fabulous!

Tori @ The Shiksa in the Kitchen said...

Smoked paprika is the best! No, wait, this recipe is the best!! Can't believe how easy this is, and knowing you, I'm guessing it tastes as good as it looks. Trying this one next week. Thanks for the recipe!

Anonymous said...

My husband hates dark meat.. Ok to use skinless breasts?

Erika Kerekes said...

Anonymous - if using skinless breasts, I would do a few things:

1) Cut them in half horizontally, to make thinner filets, and maybe pound them a little to even them out into cutlets

2) Rub the chicken on both sides with a little olive oil before adding the garlic salt and smoked paprika

3) Broil (but it will take less time)

The key there is not letting the white meat dry out under the broiler (hence the oil).

Hope that helps. Let me know how it turns out!

Tori @ The Shiksa in the Kitchen said...

I had to report back on this terrific and incredibly easy recipe! I made it tonight. Subbed thighs on the bone, skin on. Baked it in the oven at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. The result was a tender, juicy, flavorful chicken with crispy dark red skin. The flavor soaked through and gave the meat a wonderful bacon-y taste (one thing I've missed since converting to Judaism!). And to top it off, it was beyond easy. Thank you, thank you!

Erika Kerekes said...

Ah, yes, the taste of bacon - that's a great reason to make this recipe! Glad you liked it, Tori, and thanks for the update.

Cat and DOG Chat With Caren said...

@The Shiksa, thanks for the update! I think I am going to make these this weekend when I have my step daughter and her fiancee over for dinner. I am going to make them the original way first, then I probably will try your changes to the recipe. This one intrigues the daylights out of me! Love this recipe and I LOVE smoked paprika!

Faythe said...

I found out about your recipe yesterday through Tori at the Shiksa in the Kitchen. Since I was not up to being in the kitchen, I needed a chicken dish that was quick and full of flavor. This recipe seemed to fit the bill, so I made this for dinner last night. It is outstanding! First, it is so simple and quick to prepare. Within no time at all, I had an amazing chicken dish to serve along side some steamed rice. The Mister and I loved it so much, I wish I'd made more. I'll be making this one again and again. I'll be giving a formal recommendation on my blog next week. Thanks so much!

Erika Kerekes said...

Faythe - thank you for finding me and I'm so glad you liked the recipe. I call it my "accidental genius" chicken because it was a very lucky and completely unintentional discovery. I always make extras for the kids' lunchboxes - leftovers make an amazing chicken salad....

Faythe said...

I have some additional ideas on using your recipe, and look forward to trying them. I made this recipe twice in a few days. We love it that much.

Erika Kerekes said...

Faythe - ideas? Variations? Can't wait to hear about them.... :)

Faythe said...

I made my first variation today, fish fillets. Served it with creamy mashed potatoes. Yum. It's on my blog. :)

Cheryl Kohan said...

My first visit to your blog as I was looking for a recipe for chicken with smoked paprika! I'm going to try the chicken breasts since that's what I have on hand. I know how important it is to not let the breasts dry out so will be extra vigilant! I also think that this would nicely lend itself to a variation or two! Thanks!!

Anonymous said...

This recipe sounds scrummy, can't wait to try it out! Anybody have any ideas about what to serve it with?

Erika Kerekes said...

Anon - I serve it with either rice or roasted potatoes. And sometimes with sauteed spinach or other greens. The smoked paprika flavor is strong, so you don't want anything that really competes or has a very different flavor profile.

Hope that helps. Let me know if you like it!

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