Chicken and Dumplings

Today is a good day for chicken and dumplings. It’s cold and rainy….and it’s Monday. Comfort food is on the horizon for tonight.

There are just a few little tricks for making chicken and dumplings from scratch:

* Use a big, fat hen. This will give more flavor to the dish. I boil the whole hen on medium/low for a couple of hours and then let it sit in the broth. It will fall off the bone at that point.

* Let the dumplings cook in the broth until they have a slick look and feel. This is one of the things that frustrated me until I realized what I was doing wrong. If they’re not cooked long enough, they will be fat, doughy and chewy.

* Use plain flour and water for the dumplings. That’s it!

Step 1

Cook the hen in boiling, salted water. When it has finished cooking, remove from pot and place in a large dish. Let cool and start on the dumplings.

Step 2

I really don’t measure the flour, but approximately 4 cups for our family. Make a well in the center of the flour. This is where you will pour your water to start making the dough.

Step 3

I add one cup of water at a time. Turn the bowl slowly as you incorporate the flour into the water. Add more water as needed.

Step 4

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Keep plenty of extra flour on hand for your rolling pin. Roll the dough as thin as possible. Cut into strips. I cut these once more across. Take a thin spatula or knife to gently lift the dumplings off the surface and place them in the boiling broth.

Step 5

They take a long time to cook. I haven’t really timed it, but let them cook until they take on a shiny, slick texture. If they taste gummy or doughy, they are not done. I also add a little chicken bouillon to make it have a little deeper chicken flavor.

When the dumplings are cooked, add in the deboned chicken.

Enjoy!

2 Replies to “Chicken and Dumplings”

Clemmie Jo says:

March 11, 2013 at 2:41 pm

Yum! Reminds me of my Grandma's recipe! xoxo

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Dicky Bird says:

March 11, 2013 at 3:46 pm

That looks so good! Funny to see how different regions of our country make the same dish. I've seen dumplings made like that on food network. I knew it was the sountern way to do it. I'm gonna give it a try next time. Thanks for sharing! Blessings from Wisconsin – where today is a potato soup kinda day.

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