Mom’s Paprika Chicken…FOR REAL

A few weeks ago I shared with you the story of the Paprika Chicken. (One of my funniest stories ever!) This week I am sharing how I make it now. (FYI – Because I am domestically-impaired, as I was learning to cook I needed everything spelled out for me in detail. I promise to always try to do that for you as well.)

Ingredients:

3-6 Chicken breasts

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

Paprika

Chicken broth

You will need:

9 x 13 pan or baking dish (smaller if you are only doing a few pieces)

Aluminum foil

Cooking Spray or oil

Meat Thermometer

This really is super simple – especially if you have paprika that is not really little insects. (Read story here) My mom baked six chicken breasts almost every Sunday afternoon. Then she and dad used them for their lunches all the next week. (Of course this was after I went to college and they didn’t have to feed me lunch every day. Actually, in High School, they didn’t feed me lunch, I CHARGED IT! Seriously – it’s true. I’d walk up to the drive-in window where the line was long with friends waiting to order. The owner would see me and say, “Oh, there’s Claudine, pass this to her.” No waiting in line, no cash, no worries, but I digress. No wonder I was spoiled.) This recipe is so basic that it can be a starting point for a host of other things: salads, pasta, etc.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Use butter to coat the inside of the baking dish. (You could use olive oil or cooking spray but I use butter because it tastes better. Just plop a small amount in the pan and use your fingers or a piece of paper towel to spread it around.)

Open the package. Wash the chicken if you want. You don’t have to, but I often do if I think it looks bloody. (I know…gross. But blood on your meat is a fact of life.) Lay it in the baking dish with the breast (meaty) side down and dry it off with paper towels. Make sure you dry it all. It needs to be really dry before you add spices.

Salt and pepper the chicken. I could tell you an amount here, but it is totally subjective. Some people love lots of salt and pepper, some don’t like any. I usually do four twists of the shaker over each piece. But you need to do what you like.

Turn the pieces over, breast side up, and repeat. Then, add garlic powder and your paprika. Again, I don’t measure on this recipe. (Confession: mom did not use garlic powder — I think a little garlic never hurt anybody.) My mom always said the paprika was just to make it pretty. It does add flavor, but not a lot; however, it will add a nice color to the chicken once it bakes. I typically sprinkle it on pretty heavy. I have used both regular paprika and smoked paprika. Regular paprika has a mild, almost neutral flavor and is lighter and more traditional. It is what my mom used. In these photos I am using smoked paprika. It has a bit more umph and is…well, smokey.

Open the box of chicken broth, unless you are one of those people who make your own. (Then you don’t need this blog because you already can cook.) Pour ¼ cup of chicken broth – that means just a touch, into the baking dish. Be sure to not pour it on the chicken – all your spices will fall off.  Cut the butter into small pieces and drop in the broth. Don’t put the broth or the butter on the chicken pieces; you want them to crisp up.

Cover tightly with foil (or the dish lid) and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 170. (Mom always cooked it an hour.  I don’t think she even had a meat thermometer.) The broth and butter combined with the tight lid cause the chicken to steam. It will end up moist and tender.

Note:  At this point, my mom would take the foil off, switch the oven to broil, and allow the top of the chicken to brown and crisp up. (Watch close, it just takes a couple of minutes.) I can never seem to get it to do that, so I usually skip that step.  But you can try it if you want.  I think the chicken is good without the broiler part.

Remove it from the oven and let it sit for about five minutes.  Enjoy!

See wasn’t that easy?

Serving suggestions: Cut it on the diagonal and use with a prepackaged salad, sliced tomatoes, and croutons.  Or, serve with baked potatoes and a frozen vegetable.  Here I added a fresh cucumber & tomato salad with a sprinkle of goat cheese.  Yum!

What is your favorite simple way to cook chicken?

Footnote:  Things I’m learning after a few weeks of blogging.

1. Food photos do not look good on a black countertop. (I had to figure out where and how to do these better.) Still learning.
2. Do not put the meal in the oven and then go do something else…you might forget and burn your blog. (Which is why I didn’t post this as my #3 blog which was what it was supposed to be.)
3. People do not respond to photos of paprika, but throw flour on your face and they’ll read it every time.