I’m Guy Fieri, host of Food Network’s Diners , Drive-Ins, and Dives, and we’re here in The Great American Southwest in Gilbert, Arizona at the home of The Great White Shank, purveyor of GoodboysNation.com! I hear he’s got one heckuva recipe for Chicken Paprikash, and we’re here to find out just how good it is. Shank, it’s great to see you, welcome to the show!

Great to see you as well, Guy.

I hear you’ve got one kick-ass of a recipe for Chicken Paprikash that keeps people coming back for more. Tell us all about it!

Well Guy, here’s what you’ll need:

8 chicken pieces, preferably thighs
2-4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
2 medium onions, chopped
2 stalks of celery, finely minced
1 red bell pepper, finely minced
2 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups of chicken stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup sour cream

Guy, I’m going to melt some unsalted butter in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. When the butter is hot I’m gonna salt and pepper the thighs lightly, then brown them skin-side down about 4-5 minutes. Then, I’m gonna flip them over and and let them cook another 2-3 minutes.

Mmmm… you’re really gonna lock in the flavor and those juices with that browning…

Correct.

What’s next, Great White Shank?

After they’re browned on both sides I’m going to remove the chicken from the pan and set them aside for a moment on a plate. After doing that, I’m going to add to the pan the minced garlic – I’m using four small cloves, use as much as you like, after all, with garlic you can’t go wrong! – and let that go a little translucent before adding the onion, celery, and red bell pepper. I’ll stir that occasionally to scrape up all the browned bits from the chicken until everything is lightly browned, about 7 minutes.

There’s some righteous amelioration of flavor and texture going on there, Great White Shank….

You betcha, Guy. Now I’m going to add two tablespoons of Hungarian sweet paprika, a pinch of cayenne pepper (don’t go more than that unless you want it hot), some black pepper, and then the chicken stock and white wine…

Whoa, dude, that’s your Pinot Grigio going in there!

Don’t worry Guy, there’s plenty more where that came from. Now I’m going to scrape the bottom of the pan one final time, then nestle the chicken pieces back in the mixture. I’ll spoon the mixture over the chicken to make sure everything falls in love…

Falls in love?

Yep…then cover, reduce the heat to simmer, and let the chicken cook for an hour until the pieces are nice and tender.

Boy, that is going to have some flavor. You can already tell just from the aroma filling the kitchen. OK, so what happens next?

When the chicken is done I’m going to remove the pieces to a tinfoil-covered baking sheet and put them on the middle rack of the oven on a low broil until the skin gets crispy brown. On the stove top, I’m going to push the heat back up and slowly stir in 1/2 cup of sour cream with a little salt to taste. If you want a thicker sauce, stir in a little flour/water mixture like you would to make any gravy. When the chicken is nice and crispy brown, remove from the oven and place them on a bed of extra-broad noodles that have been tossed with a little butter, chopped parsley, and if you like, a little parmesan cheese. Now cover with the sauce mixture and you’re ready to go. Serve with a nice chilled Reisling or the Pinot Grigio – any nice white wine will do.

(Tasting) Mmmmm… the chicken is moist and tender. The soft red color of the sauce is fantastic – you can really see the results of the paprika and red bell pepper workin’ together there. I’m tasting all the veggies and that paprika is really rockin’. The pinch of cayenne gives it just a little spiciness to tickle the tongue. Nice work, Great White Shank – this dish really rocks!

Thanks Guy, I’m glad you liked it.

OK, well that’s it for this edition of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Next week we’ll be traveling to a little town called Prospect, Kentucky where I hear there’s one heck of a duck dish from a cook who’s been trying unsuccessfully to get The Great White Shank to eat grits for years. I can to see what we find and taste. See y’all next time!