Chicken and Dumplings - (photos)

Chicken and Dumplings - a repost of my old recipe



This is classic southern comfort food and the wife is an expert at making it the way her granny and my granny cooked it so many years ago.

My wife tells me this will make 12 servings (those would be 12 big/big servings)

Need:

- A chicken hen, cut up or chicken parts of your choice
- Self rising flour
- butter
- Chicken bouillon cube or Better than Bouillon mix
- (Optional) Chicken broth in can - to use when cooking the chicken
- 2 or 3 stalks of Celery
- 1 large Onion
- 2 whole carrots, peeled or scrubbed clean
- Water
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper
- Unsalted Butter

Start with a suitable pot, a 6 pound hen (cut up), three sticks of celery, a medium/large onion (halved) and two carrots (scrubbed):



Everything goes into the pot, plus a half Tablespoon of kosher salt, the same amount of black pepper and three quarts of water. The veggies are added to give flavor to the broth and will be removed later, replaced with chopped celery and onion.



Use a hen or chicken with bones, because the bones help the stock develop the flavor you want. You can cook the chicken in canned broth if you like, but if you use a whole hen, you probably won’t need canned broth to make a rich flavorful stock.

A six pound hen will need to be cooked at a low boil with a lid for at least two or three hours to get tender. By this time, the stock/broth will be nice. That is what you want because this dish demands a good chicken stock/broth.



A chicken bouillon cube can be added to the pot if you like to help provide a little more salt and flavor to the broth after removing the vegetables and chicken parts and tasting for flavor and saltiness. Bouillon cubes and Better Than Bouillon base can both be really salty, so be careful to not add too much salt if you plan on using them. Taste the stock toward the end and add salt if needed.



The chicken stock/broth needs to be strained after removing the chicken parts. After straining, add 1/2 of an onion and two stalks of celery (chopped) and cook them in the broth until they are soft. While the chicken is cooling and the vegetables are cooking in the broth (which is kept hot until the dish is finished) you will make the dumplings.



There are two rules about making flour dough you need to remember - pie crust is made with cold water. Dumplings are made with hot broth - as hot as you can stand. You'll need 5 cups of self rising flour, 1/3 cup of shortening and 3 cups of hot chicken broth to make your dumplings.



First, add the shortening to the flour and mix well - until crumbly. Using your fingers to do this is fine.



Then add 3 cups of strained hot broth and mix until incorporated.



This makes a damp dough. A little flour can be added if needed, to dry the dough up a little and make it easier to handle.



The dough is turned out onto a floured surface. The wife does this on a full sheet pan to keep everything under control and the flour mess to a minimum.




You can work your dough all at one time, or divide it into portions to make it easier to work. After turning the dough out onto a floured surface, shape it and allow it to rest for a few minutes. Then shape it into a loaf so you can roll it out.



Hopefully the vegetables will be soft by now and the chicken cooled enough to pull from the bones.



You will also need to mix your broth thickener, which is 3 Tablespoons of self rising flour and 3 Tablespoons of butter. This is called a Beurre manié and it should be a sauce thickening trick you store away in memory. After making your Beurre manié, set it aside to be used later.







Back to the dumplings. Roll them out 1/8 inch thick and cut into 2 inch X 3 inch strips or whatever you like.



When the vegetables are soft and the broth is at a full boil, begin adding the dumplings to the hot boiling stock.





You do not stir the dumplings!!!! Use a spoon to gently push them under the broth surface, but do not stir them as they are easily broken apart until they get done.



They will quickly swell and get thicker as you add them. The broth will also begin to cloud up and thicken.



When all have been added, turn heat as low as possible (or off) and cover the pot. Allow the heat to complete the cooking for 5-10 minutes.



After about 5 minutes taste one. You'll know if they are done or if the second five minute rest is needed to complete the cooking. At this point too much heat will burn (scorch) the dumplings, so be careful. If the stock is hot, you might consider turning off the heat and just allowing the cooking to finish up in the hot stock. Stirring is still a no-no and too much heat will cause them to stick and burn.



When the dumplings are done, check the liquid for thickness. This is a personal preference. Some like the broth thin and some like it thick. The broth is always thick and creamy at our house. To get it that way, we add 1 cup of milk and the butter and flour (Beurre manié) thickener we made earlier.





Very gently stir it in and watch the dish meld into a creamy thick saucy delight.

You are now ready to add the chicken and gently fold it in until it is incorporated.





I like lots of black pepper and add a teaspoon or two more of fresh ground black pepper at the very end:





When we have chicken and dumplings, I usually just eat chicken and dumplings, but you can serve vegetables with them if you like. Some will serve them on a plate, I like mine in a bowl.



Time to enjoy this classic southern dish.



REHEATING: Dumplings do not freeze very well. You will be disappointed if you try to freeze them.

Any leftover dumplings will suck up all of the available liquid while stored in the refrigerator. They will keep a couple of days under refrigeration. To reheat, add some water, milk or canned chicken broth and microwave until they get warm enough to eat.

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