Paprikash

A plate of pheasant paprikash with nokedli dumplings.

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5 from 13 votes

This is an easy, homey recipe that works great with pheasant, chicken and other meats.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1 30

Total Time2

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Hungarian

Servings: servings

Author: Hank Shaw

Equipment

1 spatzle maker (optional)

Ingredients

PAPRIKASH

1 whole pheasant, cut into serving pieces
3 tablespoons bacon fat lard, or butter
Salt
2 very large yellow onions, sliced root to tip
1/3 cup paprika, Hungarian if possible
2 bay leaves
2 jarred roasted red peppers, chopped
½ cup sour cream, at room temperature
1 tablespoon flour
¼ cup chopped parsley

DUMPLINGS

3 eggs, lightly beaten
A healthy pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups warm water
3 cups flour

Instructions

Heat the bacon fat over medium-high heat in a large Dutch oven or other heavy, lidded pot. Brown the pheasant pieces well, taking your time. Chances are you’ll need to do this in batches.
When the pheasant has been nicely browned, remove the meat. Add the onions to the pot and cook over medium heat until they brown at the edges, about 8 to 10 minutes. You might need to add another tablespoon of fat. Salt them as they cook.
Mix in the paprika, bay leaves, and roasted red peppers, followed by about 1 cup of water. Return the pheasant to the pot. You want the liquid to come up to the sides of the pheasant, but not submerge it. You’ll likely need another cup or two of water. Add some salt, cover the pot, and cook on low heat until the pheasant is tender, about 90 minutes to 2 hours.
While the paprikash is cooking, make the dumplings by mixing all the ingredients together. You want it the consistency of pancake batter—not a dough—so add enough water to get there. Bring to a boil a large pot of water, and salt it well. Put the batter into a spätzle hopper, a colander with wide holes, or a perforated pan and set this over the hot water. Let the batter drip through the holes, making little dumplings (if you’re using a colander or a perforated pan, a rubber spatula will help move the batter through the holes).
Let the dumplings boil on the surface for a minute or two, then scoop them out with a slotted spoon and put them on a baking sheet. Coat with some butter or oil so they don’t stick, and set aside.
When the pheasant is tender, whisk the sour cream and the flour in a bowl, and then add a little of the cooking liquid to this. Stir well and repeat several times, then pour the contents of the bowl into the pot and stir. (This process keeps the sour cream from curdling.)
Turn off the heat and add the chopped parsley. Serve the paprikash over the nokedli.

Notes

If you want to use other meats, try:

1 large chicken or blue grouse
4 partridges or 2 Cornish game hens or ruffed grouse
Turkey leg and thighs
4 to 8 quail
1 domestic rabbit or 2 cottontails

Nutrition