German Chicken And Dumpling Recipes

GERMAN DUMPLINGS (SPAETZLE OR KNIFFLES) FOR SOUP OR SAUTE

Steps:

• Mix these together until sticky.
• Drop into bubbling soup or stew, broth or water. (see below for ideas).
• Dumplings will rise to the surface as they cook; remove from liquid with a slotted spoon (if sautéing in another pan); set aside in a bowl (keep warm).
• MAKE THE DUMPLINGS #1: This method results in very small, stringy-ish dumplings and is great for soups or stews. Spoon several tablespoons of batter into a colander, then with the back of the spoon--press the batter through the holes into the bubbling liquid.
• METHOD #2: This method forms larger dumpling pieces (dime & quarter size) and is great for soups or stews, too -- but especially good if you want to saute the dumplings afterwards (more on that in a minute). Using a teaspoon and butter knife, scoop up a spoonful of batter, then use the knife to cut off little dibs and dabs, using the knife to also push the dibs into the hot liquid. If the knife or spoon gets messy, just dip into the hot liquid.
• SERVING IDEAS: We love these in chicken-dumpling soup (use your regular chicken soup recipe -- skip the egg noodles and make these dumplings instead). OR scoop out the larger dumplings (Method #2), and saute in butter or olive oil along with kielbasa or other sausage and LOTS of onion ring slices. OR saute some fresh veggies, then add the dumplings -- heaven!
• VARIATIONS: Add several pinches of your favorite herbs along with the flour to enhance the soup, stew or saute dish.
• Chef's Note: Altho' this is kind of putzy, it is well worth the effort and SO different from regular pasta-noodles.

MOMMA'S BEST CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Melt butter in a stock pot over medium-high heat. Add celery, carrot, onion, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning; cook and stir until flavors combine, about 5 minutes. Push vegetable mixture to the sides and add chicken; cook until browned, 3 to 5 minutes per side.
• Pour enough water over the chicken to cover by 3 inches; bring to a boil. Stir, scraping the browned bits off of the bottom of the pot. Reduce heat; simmer until chicken is tender, about 1 hour. Transfer chicken and carrots to a serving plate with a large slotted spoon; let cool.
• Ladle 1/4 cup cooking liquid into a bowl; cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Mix in 2 tablespoons flour. Stir back into the pot.
• Place 2 cups flour in a large bowl; cut in shortening with 2 knives until mixture forms pea-sized bits. Mix in chilled chicken broth until dough is combined.
• Turn dough out onto a floured work surface. Knead 5 to 6 times; pat down to 1-inch thickness. Sprinkle lightly with flour; roll out to about 1/8-inch thickness. Cut dough into squares with a sharp knife.
• Drop squares, in batches, into simmering cooking liquid, moving squares to the side with each addition. Partially cover pot; simmer until dumplings are firm, about 12 minutes. Separate any dumplings that stick together. Remove from heat; keep covered.
• Bone chicken; cut into bite-sized pieces and return to the pot. Chop carrot; return to the pot. Cool chicken and dumplings, about 30 minutes, before serving.

LIZZIE'S CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• For the chicken: Put the hen, breast side down, in an 8-quart stockpot and add water to within 2-inches of the top of the pot; this will vary according to the size of your pot, but the hen should float clear of the bottom of the pot and be covered completely. Add the salt and pepper. Bring the water to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover the pot and cook for 2 hours, or until the chicken is tender and the drumstick joint twists easily. Allow the chicken and broth to cool slightly, and then remove the hen to a colander.
• Strain the broth into a very large bowl. Cover the broth and place in in the refrigerator. When the fat solidifies on the top of the broth, remove and discard it. Remove the chicken from the bones and cut or shred the meat by hand into small pieces. Set aside 2 cups of the broth and refrigerate or freeze the rest for another use. (Leftover broth may also be frozen in individual containers to be used another time.)
• For the dumplings: Heat 2 quarts of the defatted chicken broth in a 3-quart saucepan. While it heats, put the flour in a medium bowl. Dissolve 1 teaspoon salt in 3/4 cup water and stir the mixture into the flour to make a stiff dough. Turn the dough out onto a heavily floured surface and knead until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Heavily flour a rolling pin and roll out the dough very thin (you can also divide the dough into 4 portions and roll each portion separately, which will give you thinner dumplings). With a very sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into 2 by 4-inch strips.
• When the broth reaches a rolling boil, add some of the strips of dough. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pot and bring back to a boil. Continue to add the dough strips in batches, always raising the heat to bring the broth back to a rolling boil before dropping in more dough strips and reducing the heat to simmer before covering the pot again. Sprinkle in the salt and pepper to taste. Add the 2 cups of cooked chicken, heat and serve.

ABSOLUTELY PERFECT CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Chop onion and celery and add them to your chicken broth in a large wide pot. Bring to boil and let simmer about 20 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
• While veggies are simmering: mix flour, salt and baking soda in a medium sized bowl. In separate small bowl, combine eggs and milk. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir til mixed. (Batter will resemble a thick paste.)
• Once veggies are tender, add chicken to the broth and get the mixture back up to a nice boil. (At this point, I always add water to replace any of the liquid that evaporated during the simmering of the veggies.)
• Using two spoons, gently add "dollops" of the dumpling dough all around the chicken and broth. (Be very careful not to burn yourself from splashing the boiling liquid.) Once you've added all of the dumpling dough all around the pan, put on the lid and turn the heat down to low. Let simmer about five minutes until the dumplings are fully cooked.
• Ladle it up and enjoy!

GERMAN SOUP " KNOEPHLE" & DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• 1. Cook all first 5 ingredients together till tender, in the broth. Mix next 4 ingredients to form a stiff dough. Form dough into a long cigar shape.Cut parts of the dough with scissors into the boiling soup. Cook for 10 minutes till done. Heat 1-1/2 cups of half and half and add to the soup. Serve HOT.

GRANDMOTHER'S CHICKEN 'N' DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Place the chicken, carrots, celery and onion in a large Dutch oven or stockpot. Add water, vinegar and salt (adding more water, if necessary, to cover chicken). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until meat nearly falls from the bones. Remove chicken from broth; allow to cool. Strain broth, discarding vegetables and seasonings. , Remove meat from bones; discard skin and bones. Cut meat into bite-sized pieces; set aside and keep warm. Set aside 1 cup broth; cool to lukewarm., To make dumplings, combine flour and salt. Make a well in flour; add egg. Gradually stir 1/4 cup reserved broth into egg, picking up flour as you go. Continue until flour is used up, adding additional broth as needed, and dough is consistency of pie dough. Pour any remaining reserved broth back into stockpot. , Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead in additional flour to make a stiff dough. Let dough rest for 15 minutes. On a floured surface, roll out dough into a 17-in. square. Cut into 1-in. square pieces. Dust with additional flour; let dry for 30-60 minutes. , Bring broth to a boil (you should have about 4 quarts). Drop dumplings into boiling broth. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until a until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean (do not lift the cover while simmering), about 10 minutes. Uncover; add reserved chicken. Stir in pepper.

GRANDMA'S OLD WORLD GERMAN CHICKEN SOUP & DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Slice hard rolls thinly and place in a large bowl; set aside to dry overnight.
• Add the water to the chicken, season to taste and cook slowly for several hours.
• An hour or so before serving time, make soup balls as follows:
• Soak bread in warm milk. Bread should be moist, but not soggy.
• If using, fry onion and bacon in butter until onion is tender (If not using skip to step 7).
• Stir onion and bacon into moist bread.
• Add parsley flakes, eggs, salt and pepper to bread.
• Stir to combine all ingredients.
• Shape into large dumplings.
• Drop into boiling soup.
• Simmer uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until dumplings rise to surface.

CHICKEN AND DUMPLING SOUP

Steps:

• For the soup stock: Combine the chicken, peppercorns, bay leaves, garlic, thyme, carrot chunks, celery chunks, quartered onion, parsnip chunks, 3 sprigs dill and 3 sprigs parsley in a large pot. Add cold water to cover by 2 inches (about 5 quarts). Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered, until the chicken is very tender, for at least 1 1/2 hours (or up to 2 hours if you have the time. The longer the better!) Add more water, as needed, skimming off scum (there won't be much) and, if desired, some fat.
• Carefully strain the stock, discarding everything except for the chicken. (You should have 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 quarts of stock.) Set the chicken aside to cool briefly while you put together the rest of the soup. Return the strained stock to the pot and bring it to a simmer. Add the sliced carrot, sliced celery, chopped onion, sliced parsnip, chopped dill, chopped parsley and the salt. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare the dumplings: In a small saucepan, bring the butter and 3/4 cup water to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the flour. Let cool for a few minutes so it's not so hot that it will cook the eggs, then whisk in the salt, sugar, nutmeg and the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated into a slightly lumpy thick batter. (It'll take a little work to whisk in the eggs.)
• Drop heaping teaspoons of the dumpling mixture into the simmering soup, then cover and cook until the vegetables are tender and the dumplings are cooked through; begin checking for doneness at 15 minutes.
• Pull the chicken meat off the bones and chop into bite-sized pieces. Season it with salt, then add it to the soup along with the ground black pepper. Taste and add more salt as needed. This is important: The amount of salt in a chicken soup can mean the difference between unappetizing chicken tea and the elixir of bubble love that it should be. So don't skip this step, and don't rush it, either. Taste your soup, and if it doesn't make you smile reflexively, add more salt, about a 1/2 teaspoon of it, and give it a few good stirs so it can dissolve. Taste and repeat, as needed, until it tastes good.
• Serve, garnishing with fresh parsley.