What to use instead of smoked paprika
It depends entirely on what it's doing in the dish. Here's the job, what else does it, and what to skip.
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Smoke flavour without a fire
Pimenton is peppers dried slowly over oak, so the smoke is inside the flesh. It is the only way a stovetop dish tastes like something that came off a grill.
Chipotle powderRan out
use half as much
Real smoke plus real heat. Patatas bravas made with it comes out noticeably hot, so cut any other chilli in the recipe.
Sweet paprika plus liquid smokeRan out
1 tsp sweet paprika + 1/8 tsp liquid smoke per 1 tsp smoked paprika
Closer than it sounds. Liquid smoke is aggressive and an eighth of a teaspoon is the ceiling before the dish tastes of barbecue sauce.
Chipotle in adobo, mincedRan out
1/2 tsp minced chipotle per 1 tsp smoked paprika
Wet and acidic, so it will not work in a dry rub. It adds heat and a vinegar note along with the smoke.
Smoked saltRan out
1/4 tsp per 1 tsp smoked paprika, and take 1/4 tsp of salt out of the recipe
Smoke with no colour and none of the sweet pepper body. Keep the salt arithmetic straight or the dish goes over.
What doesn't work: Regular sweet paprika measured one for one. It gives the same red colour and no smoke whatsoever, which was the entire reason for reaching for pimenton; chorizo and potatoes made with sweet paprika tastes like plain potatoes that happen to be orange.
Sweet ground-pepper body and red colour in a rub or stew
Under the smoke, paprika is dried sweet pepper flesh. It supplies mild fruit and a great deal of colour for almost no heat, which is why recipes use it by the tablespoon.
Ancho powderRan out
1:1
Fruitier and slightly raisiny, darker red, with a whisper of heat behind it.
Guajillo powderRan out
1:1
Brighter and a little tart, and the colour it gives is thinner and more orange.
Tomato paste plus a pinch of cayenne, in a wet dishRan out
1 tsp paste + a pinch of cayenne per 1 tsp paprika
Colour and sweetness land in a stew. Useless in a dry rub, since it will not stick evenly to anything.
What doesn't work: Hot paprika swapped in as though it were the same product. It is a different grind of a different pepper carrying real capsaicin; a tablespoon of it in a fabada makes the whole pot inedible for anyone who was expecting sweet pimenton.
Paprika scorches at frying temperature in about ten seconds and turns bitter. Add it off the heat or straight into liquid.