wilkes

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Chicken an Dumplings
Chicken Preparation
1 4 lb broiler or roasting chicken
2 quarts water or chicken broth
1 teaspoon bouillon powder
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
1 onion, whole
1 bay leaf (optional)
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
pinch of black pepper
1/2 lb baby carrots
2-3 stalks celery, whole, plus leaves
Wash chicken, inside and out. Place in a large enough pot to
cover with about 2 quarts of water or chicken broth and
bouillon powder (a bouillon cube or soup base may be substituted.
Add celery, a bay leaf (optional), parsley, pepper, onion and
garlic. Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce heat immediately
to low; simmer for 60-90 minutes until chicken is very tender.
Remove chicken from the broth and set on a dish to cool. Add the
baby carrots to the broth and cook carrots on medium until tender
(about 15-20 minutes). Remove carrots using a slotted spoon and
set aside.
Continue to simmer the broth over low heat while preparing the
dumplings.
When chicken becomes cool enough to handle, cut into bite size
pieces, removing bones and skin. Set de-boned chicken aside.
Dumplings
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons cold butter
1 cup buttermilk
In a medium bowl, combine flour and salt; cut in shortening
using a pastry blender or a large fork (pastry makers mix in
the shortening using their hands - if you want to try, dip your
hands in ice cold water for a minute, then dry your hands first;
it's important not to melt the butter!)
Add cold buttermilk, a few spoons at a time, mixing the dough
from the outside in with fork until a dough forms
(do not overmix - about 2 minutes total).
Roll dough out on a work surface which has been lightly
sprinkled with with flour to prevent sticking.
Roll dough out thinly, about 1/8" thick, then slice into strips,
each about 2 inches in length.
Gently drop the dumplings into the simmering chicken broth. Stir
them gently to prevent sticking. Add chicken, pepper and butter
and simmer for another 10 minutes or so before serving.
Serve with the carrots on the side and sprinkle the chicken and
dumplings with a bit of chopped parsley, if desired.
Variations: Add 1/4 teaspoon each of rubbed sage and/or onion
powder to chicken broth for added flavor. Sometimes we serve
this with sliced mushrooms, too. Simple add them to the broth
during the last 10 minutes.
Chicken & Dumplings
3 large or 4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 Tbsp. butter
1 can condensed celery soup
2 cups Bisquick
2/3 cup milk
Melt butter in Dutch Oven.
Brown chicken breasts on both sides.
Add enough water to condensed soup to make
1 quart of broth (it will dissolve
more readily if heated in the microwave for about 3 minutes.
Pour over chicken and bring to a boil.
Mix Bisquick and milk, drop batter by spoonfuls into broth.
Cover and cook 20 minutes.
This produces a very
soft dumpling that is permeated with the flavor of the broth.
If you prefer bread-like dumplings,
cook uncovered for the first 10 minutes.
Chicken and Dumplings
1 3-pound chicken
4 cups water
2 cups chicken broth
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 medium onion, cut into quarters
1 stalk of celery, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Evaporated milk
Dumplings
2 cups flour
3 tablespoons shortening
1 cup buttermilk
Place the chicken in a Dutch oven or other large pot, and add the
water, broth, carrot, onion, celery and salt. Bring to a boil, cover
and lower heat. Simmer for 60 to 70 minutes, or until tender and
chicken is done. Remove chicken and allow it to cool enough to
handle. Remove the carrot, onion and celery pieces from the broth and
discard. Reserve the broth.
Bone the chicken, discarding all skin, bones and cartilage, and tear
meat into bite-size pieces. Set aside. (You can do this part the day
before, if you like. Just refrigerate the boned chicken -- well
covered so it doesn't dry out -- and broth.)
For the dumplings, combine the flour,
cut in the shortening with a pastry blender or two knives until
mixture is consistency of coarse meal. Add the buttermilk, stirring
just until dry ingredients are moistened. Turn dough out onto a
floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times -- no more.
For drop dumplings, drop by small spoonfulls into slow boiling broth.
For rolled dumplings, roll the dough to a 1/4-inch thickness, and cut
into strips, no larger than about 2 x 2 inches. (The dumplings will
plump up when they are cooked.)
If you have prepared the chicken in advance and refrigerated it,
return it and the broth to your big pot and bring it to a boil. Then,
with a very large slotted spoon or ladle, dip the boned chicken out
of the broth, cover it and keep it warm. With the chicken broth at a
low rolling boil, add evaporated milk.
Drop in the dumplings, one or two at a time, and
reduce the heat to medium. Stir from time to time to make sure
dumplings do not stick together. Cook dumplings 10 minutes. The flour
in the dumplings will thicken the broth, and it is absolutely not
necessary to thicken it further.
Return the boned chicken to the mixture and simmer until heated
through. Add the freshly ground black pepper and remove from heat.
Makes 4 or 5 servings, depending upon appetites. I've seen two hungry
men put away this entire recipe.
Note: If you are cooking a whole chicken, it is fairly easy to remove
as much of the skin as possible to avoid a lot of fat. Also, unless
you use a really deep, narrow pot, the chicken isn't likely to be
covered by the cooking liquid. So turn your chicken upsidedown; that
is, cook it with the breast side down, to prevent drying.
Dumpling dough is very similar to biscuit dough and, like biscuit
dough, the less it is handled, the lighter and more tender the
result. Milk can replace buttermilk for less calories.

Does anyone have a recipe for chicken and dumplings?