Hometown Chicken Dumplings Recipes

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.

HOMESTYLE CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Rinse and clean out chicken and place in a large pot. Add 6 cups water and 2 cups chicken broth. Sprinkle the top evenly with salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and let cook for 1 to 1-1/2 hours until chicken is cooked all the way through and tender when poked with a fork. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside to cool. Once cool, remove chicken from the bone, discarding bones and skin.
• Leave the broth in the pot on medium heat and add 2 cups milk and 2 cups chicken broth. Bring to a simmer. In a jar with a lid, make a roux by combining 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour with 2 cups water. Shake well then whisk into the liquid in the pot. This will thicken the soup.
• To make the dumplings, place the self-rising flour in a large bowl. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender or by pulling two knives in opposite directions through the flour and shortening. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and 1/2 cup whole milk. Stir with a spoon or mix with your hands until well combined. Turn half of the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll to 1/8-inch thickness and cut into strips that are 1-inch wide by 3-inches long. Put strips on a pan and repeat process with remaining dough. Drop dumplings into the simmering liquid. Gently press down on dumplings with a large spoon so they are submerged in the liquid, but do not stir. Cover and allow to cook for 10-15 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in chicken. Allow to cook until thickened, about another 10-15 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper.

THE BEST CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• In a shallow bowl, mix 1/2 cup flour, salt and pepper. Add chicken, 1 piece at a time, and toss to coat; shake off excess. In a 6-qt. stockpot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Brown chicken in batches on all sides; remove from pan., Add onion, carrots and celery to same pan; cook and stir 6-8 minutes or until onion is tender. Add garlic; cook and stir 1 minute longer. Stir in 1/4 cup flour until blended. Gradually add stock, stirring constantly. Stir in wine, sugar, bay leaves and peppercorns. Return chicken to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 20-25 minutes or until chicken juices run clear., For dumplings, in a bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, whisk milk and melted butter until blended. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moistened (do not overmix). Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet; set aside., Remove chicken from stockpot; cool slightly. Discard bay leaves and skim fat from soup. Remove skin and bones from chicken and discard. Using 2 forks, coarsely shred meat into 1- to 1-1/2-in. pieces; return to soup. Cook, covered, on high until mixture reaches a simmer., Drop dumplings on top of simmering soup, a few at a time. Reduce heat to low; cook, covered, 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center of dumplings comes out clean (do not lift cover while simmering). Gently stir in cream, parsley and thyme. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

OLD FASHIONED HOMEMADE CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• CHICKEN AND BROTH: Place chicken breast or whole chicken with skin in a Dutch oven and cover with water.
• Add a stick of butter and chicken bouillon. Cook over medium heat until chicken is tender, about 45 minutes for chicken breasts or 1 hr 15 minutes for the 3 lb chicken. Remove chicken from the broth and let chicken cool. Do not get rid of the broth. Remove skin and bones and discard. Shred chicken or chop into bite-size pieces. I don't put mine back into the broth until after the dumplings have cooked.
• FOR DUMPLINGS: In a small mixing bowl, add eggs to the melted butter. Whisk.
• Take half of a shell and add milk to it six times... pour into the egg mixture.
• Add in salt and pepper.
• Add 3 cups of flour; mixing in the flour a little at a time.
• You want the dough to be rather sticky.
• Add a couple of drops of yellow food coloring to give it a rich looking blend.
• Heap about 2 cups of flour onto a wooden board or counter.
• Using a tablespoon, add about a cup of the mixture to the center of the flour.
• Start incorporating the flour and the dough until you can roll it out and it doesn't stick.
• Roll very thin.
• Using a pizza cutter, cut strips of the dough.
• Add to the broth. Make sure it is boiling rapidly and that you have plenty of broth to keep your dumplings from scorching.
• Turn down to low while you make the next batch. It's easier to roll out using small batches than trying to roll it all out at one time.
• After you have added the last dumpling, add the chicken back to the Dutch oven and stir very gently.
• Remove from heat and place a lid on the pot.
• Let sit for 10 minutes or so before serving.