Food Friday: Chicken and Dumplings Duel

by Tracey G

Kris and I were wanting to do another "how do you make your (fill in the blank)?" post, and actually this one came up pretty easily. And even better was the fact that we do the different dumplings - a win-win because I've been wanting a noodle-style dumpling recipe for years and have never found one I really like so I'm pretty excited about this one!!

Mine came together from a few sources, I can't even remember anymore where all I pulled from. My "dumplings" happen to be my favorite biscuit recipe - so it can be chicken and biscuits if you don't want to cook them on top of the chicken "stew" part, lol. But it's a very easy recipe, I use as many shortcuts as I can, so it's not a super-time consuming endeavor, lol. Now this is pretty true comfort food - not a low-cal version by any means, lol. I have been known to scale the butter amount back - depends on my mood I suppose, lol.

I have used a few sources of chicken - I've cooked up a few boneless skinless chicken breasts when I've had them to use, I've used a couple large cans of canned chicken and as in this version pictured, I bought a deli rotisserie chicken to use. I usually buy a large 32 ounce carton of broth/stock and one 14 oz can and that usually works out just right for the "5 cups of stock" the recipe calls for. I do mine on the stove and finish it in the oven, but I imagine you could do the whole thing on top of the stove from start to finish.

Here's the recipe - and it would also make a great pot pie filling as well, just use pastry and finish it that way!

Chicken and Dumplings (or Biscuits)

Cooked Chicken: 3 cooked chicken breasts, chopped; or meat from one rotisserie chicken, or 2 large cans of canned chicken

1 pkg frozen peas and carrots or mixed vegetables works well too (can also use canned vegetables as well!)

5 c chicken stock

2 chicken bouillon  cubes, or 2 tsp granulated/powdered bouillon

12 tbsp butter (1 1/2 sticks)

2 c chopped onion, about 2 onions

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 c flour

1/4 c heavy cream

1/4 tsp pepper

Dumpling dough (recipe to follow)

1) Preheat oven to 400°F

2) In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions, over medium-low     

heat, until translucent. Add the garlic, cook and stir a couple minutes more.

3) Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock and the  bouillon. Simmer over low heat, stirring until thick.

4)  Add 1/2 tsp pepper, heavy cream, chicken and vegetables.

5) While this is coming up to a simmer, make the biscuits. Once the filling is simmering steady, drop the dumplings onto the hot chicken mixture by tablespoons. Cover the pot and bake for about 30 minutes or until the tops of the dumplings are dry - then remove the lid to cook a while longer to lightly brown the tops if desired. Let stand a few minutes and then serve.

Dumpling/Biscuit Dough: 

(this is the original amount recipe, for my Dutch oven, I usually  make a double batch, then just bake off the rest of the dough that might not make it on top of the chicken mixture, if baking them by themselves, drop by tablespoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet and bake off at 450°F for 10-12 minutes.)

2 c flour

1 tbsp baking powder

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp cream of tartar (I've made it without before when I didn't have any around and it was fine)

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c shortening or butter

1 c milk

In a large bowl stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar and salt. Cut in shortening or butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center; add milk all at once. Stir just until dough clings together. 


from Kris B.

Despite the fact that chicken and dumplings is a regional favorite in Delaware, where my parents grew up, it was not a meal that showed up on our dinner table when I was a child.  I only came to appreciate the soothing nature this comfort food as an adult.  

And here is an important question related to that discovery.  Which came first, the chicken or the dumpling?  For me, it was the dumpling.

I began my love affair with dumplings by eating lima beans and dumplings in chicken broth.  The only dumplings I knew were slippery dumplings because that is what my grandmother made.  Lima beans and dumplings were a summertime favorite.  I made my way to chicken and dumplings when I wanted a wintertime vehicle for those delicious dumplings.  I polled various family members (not my mother) and began experimenting with various recipes and combinations thereof.  Really, they weren’t that different from one another.  

I was surprised to see chicken and dumplings show up on restaurant menus in Texas.  In a moment of weakness one day, I decided to order them while eating out though I knew deep in my heart they couldn't possibly be as good as the homemade kind.  When my meal arrived, I was a little surprised to see my bowl topped with biscuits.  Little did I know that in addition to slippery dumplings, there were also something called fluffy dumplings.  They looked like biscuits.  I like biscuits, but in my mind, what I was looking at was not chicken and dumplings!.  It seemed strange to find them on top of my chicken.  Over time I have relaxed my definition of chicken and dumplings and have an appreciation for the fluffy dumplings because, well, biscuits are good.  Admittedly though, I still prefer slippery dumplings.

I got a good chuckle when Tracey and I started talking about this post and she said that she made her chicken and dumplings with "fluffy" dumplings.   And, since I was late getting my act together this weekend, I chuckled even more when I read her post as I was adding this to the bottom.  Though we do talk a lot about what to make and so on, we don’t know exactly what each other is going to write in the narrative.  At least she says up front that she is making biscuits.  Lol!!!

INGREDIENTS

1 whole chicken

4 stalks of celery, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 teaspoons poultry seasoning

1 TBS chicken bouillon granules 

Salt and pepper to taste

For the dumplings:

2 cups of flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3 TBS shortening

^enough hot broth to make the dough feel “right”

To a large stew pot or dutch oven, add the celery, onion and chicken.  Cover the chicken with water.  Add the poultry season, bouillon, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce heat.  Cook until the chicken is falling off the bone.  A good rule of thumb is twenty minutes for every pound of chicken.  Once the chicken is done, remove it from the broth and set the chicken aside.  Remove one cup of broth to be used in the dumplings.

To make the dumplings, in a bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt.  Cut in the shortening using two knives or a pastry cutter.  Then, “add enough of the reserved broth to make the dough feel right.”  (This is the way the recipe was given to me.)  What that means is that the dough will feel slightly sticky but can be handled and rolled.  On a floured board, roll out the dough to 1/16” thickness.  Then cut dumplings into 2” squares.

Bring the remaining broth to a boil.  (If you want more broth, more water can be added.)  Drop the dumplings into the broth one at a time until all are added.  Cook them for fifteen minutes in the boiling broth. 

In the meantime, de-bone the chicken and cut it into bite sized pieces.  Once the dumplings are thoroughly cooked, add the chicken back to the broth.  Gently combine.

Enjoy!

This is another of those recipes that tastes much better than it photographs.  LOL!