Chicken and dumplings is a well known comfort food found in many households and small eateries all along the Southern United States. Even though the idea of putting dumplings into soup had been around for nearly 2000 years, the idea was not truly embraced in the US until the 1800's. In an effort to try and stretch the number of people who could be fed by one chicken, dumplings were added to pots of chicken stew.
A great one pot meal, thick and savory, not only is chicken and dumplings the perfect comfort food it's easy on the budget too.
There are 2 types of dumplings that can be used, the rolled dumpling or the drop dumpling. Rolled dumplings are very similar to large broad noodles only thicker. Drop dumplings are (as the name implies) simply stirred and dropped into the boiling broth creating light fluffy clouds of boiled bread. Each type of noodle has it's die hard fan base.
The following recipe is for drop dumplings. Many grocers in the South carry frozen rolled dumplings that can simply be taken from the freezer to the soup pot. These can be easily substituted for the drop dumplings in the following recipe. Instead of adding drop dumplings, simply follow the cooking directions on the dumpling package.
There are two major components to Chicken and dumplings, the stew and the dumplings. Chicken stew can be made up to one day ahead and refrigerated then warmed on the stove before the addition of the dumplings. Be sure to plan ahead and give yourself enough time for the stew to cool down before skinning and boning the chicken.
Chicken and Dumplings :
Chicken Stew :
Ingredients :
- 1 large stewing chicken cut up or 2# chicken breasts (boneless, skinless chicken can be used but the resulting flavor will not be as rich)
- 4 stalks celery (cut into 3 or 4 pieces each)
- 2 carrots (peeled and sliced)
- 1 med onion (cut into quarters)
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 cup flour
Method :
- Rinse chicken pieces
- Place chicken in a Dutch oven or large soup pot and add just enough water to cover chicken (about 6 cups)
- Add in celery, carrots, onion, salt and pepper
- Bring to a boil; cover and cook on low for about 1 1/2 hours
- When chicken is tender, remove from heat and turn off stove
- Using a kitchen strainer placed over a large mixing bowl or pan, drain broth from chicken and vegetables (do not discard broth, this is the broth for your stew)
- Pour broth back into Dutch oven
- Put sliced carrots from strainer back into broth
- Remove chicken from strainer, pull off skin and bones when cool enough to handle
- Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and place back in broth
- Discard skin, bones and anything left in strainer
- In a small bowl, add just enough of the hot broth to 1/2 cup flour to make a paste
- Stir flour paste into broth until incorporated
- Bring stew to a boil over med-high heat
- Add dumplings and reduce heat to simmer. Cook uncovered for 10 min. Cover and cook 10 min longer
- Season to taste with salt and pepper
Dumplings :
Ingredients:
- 1 cup flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup milk
Method :
- Pour milk into med bowl
- Add all dry ingredients and stir just until evenly moist
- Drop by tablespoon onto chicken stew
- Cook following directions above
If stored in the refrigerator overnight, dumplings will not turn soggy if removed from stew and stored in a separate container.
Jackie Milligan - My name is Jackie and I am a foodie. As a small child, my mother inspired me with the love of good fresh food made from scratch. I ...
