There is no recipe more worthy of having than a chicken and dumplings recipe. It is one of, if not the most, satisfying comfort foods there is. It is a bowlful of southern charm. And when a spoonful of the smooth and murky chicken sauce carrying flavorful chicken meat and dumplings that are soft and dense meets your palate a real chicken nirvana is reached. Usually this is followed by a mouth full of sighs and a cacophony of Mmmmmmmms from around the table. On nights where comfort food is a must, a dish of chicken and dumplings is truly transcendent, turning chicken into dish that can lift a weight off the cold and tired in that southern sort of way with charm that warms you through and through. It is relief in bowl. It is a genuine Hey Y’all that you are glad to hear. It is down right delicious and, thankfully, downright easy. My mouth is watering as I write this and I just ate a bowl of chicken and dumplings. Just the thought of them makes me hungry again.
The Chicken Flavor
The Dumplings
The dumplings have their roots in southern biscuit dough that is worked (kneaded) just a little bit more. I would never kneed a biscuit dough and I would never touch a biscuit dough with a rolling pin because I want to be delicate so as not to make a tough biscuit. I would do these things to a dumpling dough however as it needs to be a little bit more firm so it stays together during cooking like a bunch of southern belles on a beach vacation (you haven’t seen that B movie Shag?). I love a classic dumpling that looks like a big noodle. Drop dumplings are good, but I enjoy the long thick dumplings kore as they remind me of the chicken and dumplings of my youth. The dumplings will add thickness to the dish by lending some flour. This is fantastic. A dish of chicken and dumplings is not meant to be creamy thick, but you can adjust the amount of stock to achieve the thickness you like. The liquid needs just a little body. If you do reduce the stock amount, just make sure there is still enough liquid to fully cook the dumplings. Another option would be to thicken it further with the addition of a starch slurry. This is up to you. When I make my chicken and dumplings recipe I usually leave it at the thickness that the dumplings give.
Vegetables, in a Chicken and Dumplings Recipe?
Chicken and Dumplings Recipe
- 1 Recipe of Chicken Stock – Chicken Meat Reserved
- 1 lb of reserved, cooked chicken from stock making
- 8 cups of chicken stock
- 3 carrots
- 2 celery stalks
- 1 medium sweet onion
- salt and pepper
- 1-1/2 cups of all purpose flour
- 1-1/2 tsp of baking powder
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- 6 tbsp of cold butter
- 2/3 cup of milk
- Prepare a clean surface for rolling the dumpling dough.
- In the bowl of a food processor, add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Pulse to mix. If you do not have a food processor, mix the ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Dice the butter into small cubes and add it to the food processor or the mixing bowl. Pulse the processor until the butter is cut into the flour and the flour looks like course sand – 6-8 pulses or as needed. In lieu of a food processor, cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter or using your fingers until the flour looks like course sand.
- Place the flour butter mixture into a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Drizzle in the milk while stirring with a fork.
- When the dough just comes together pour it out onto a clean work surface. Gently knead the dough until it comes together about 30-40 seconds. It does not take much. Use extra flour as needed if the dough is sticky.
- Shape the dough into a disc. Roll the dough with a rolling pin into a rectangle about 10×15 that is about 1/4 inch thick.
- Using a pizza cutter or knife cut the dumplings buy making 4 even slices horizontally and 6 horizontally (this assume about 6 dumplings per person. You can adjust to personal preference).
- Peel and slice the carrots on the bias into planks.
- Slice the celery on the bias.
- Dice the onion into large pieces.
- Dice the chicken into bite size pieces.
- In a large pot, ideally with a heavy lid, add 8 cups of stock, the chicken, and the vegetables. Bring the stock to a simmer.
- When the stock begins to gently simmer, carefully add the dumplings around the pot and< place the lid on.
- Simmer gently for 15-20 minutes until the dumplings are soft and cooked through. Should the pot bubble over during cooking, crack the lid and keep simmering
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve immediately in warm bowls.
- The stock can be made in advance and both the stock and the reserved chicken will stay good about 3 days in the fridge.
- Use a large pot. A skillet can be used, but it should have a lid. When a lid is used, less of the cooking liquid is lost. This is not such a big deal except if care is not taken when seasoning as it could become to salty. The biggest risk is that the skillet could overflow when the dumplings are added. A large pot helps avoid this. Another reason to have a lid is so that the dumplings cook in the liquid and in steam created by having the pot or pan covered.
- TIP: Want to cheat? There are many ways to cheat, including buying the stock. You can cheat with the dumplings, too by buying refrigerated biscuit dough (you know the kind in the cans). Separate the biscuits and cut them into even piece – little dough balls. Put them in to the simmering stock just as you would the homemade dumplings. Simmer them until they are cooked through. They may not thicken like the homemade dumplings so a starch slurry may be in order (1 tbsp corn starch or flour to 1 cup of liquid. To make the slurry, mix the starch with equal amounts of water e.g 1 tbsp starch 1 tbsp water). You may need to thicken a little at a time so you don’t over thicken.
Chicken and dumplings are such a great dish! It is worth the time and effort every time. To make it a weekday meal, make the stock ahead on the weekend. With the stock made ahead, it becomes a one pot dinner that is fast and easy to make! I hope you enjoy!
Keep Eating! Keep Innovating!
How do you make your chicken and dumplings? Any tips to share? Let us know in the comments or on Facebook.
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