Whistlestop Cafe Chicken And Dumplings Recipes

CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• For the chicken: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Remove the neck and giblets from the cavity of the chicken and discard. Rinse the chicken under cold water, inside and out. Pat dry thoroughly with paper towels. Season the body and cavity of the chicken generously with salt and pepper.
• In a small bowl, mash together the butter, lemon juice, and chopped herbs. Rub the herbed butter all over the chicken, as well as under the skin. Put the lemon halves, onion, garlic, and whole herbs inside the chicken cavity, for added flavor. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Place the chicken, breast side up, in a roasting pan fitted with a rack. Roast for 1 hour until the meat is no longer pink. When cool enough to handle, shred the meat, discarding the skin and set aside. Reserve the bones for chicken stock.
• For the stock: Coat a large stockpot with olive oil and place over medium heat. Add the vegetables and saute for 3 minutes. Add the reserved chicken bones, water, and herbs; simmer for 1 hour. Strain the stock to remove the solids and set aside.
• For the dumplings: sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and milk together; pour the liquid in the dry ingredients and gently fold. Mix just until the dough comes together, the batter should be thick and cake-like.
• For the sauce: In a Dutch oven, melt butter and heat oil over medium heat. Add carrot, celery, garlic, and bay leaves. Saute until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour to make a roux. Continue to stir and cook for 2 minutes to coat the flour and remove the starchy taste. Slowly pour in the chicken stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition.
• Let sauce simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes. Stir in heavy cream.
• Fold the reserved shredded chicken into the sauce and bring up to a simmer. Using 2 spoons, carefully drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dumpling batter into the hot mixture. The dumplings should cover the top of the sauce, but should not be touching or crowded. Let the dumplings poach for 10 to 15 minutes until they are firm and puffy. Season with freshly cracked black pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.

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.

CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS FROM SCRATCH

Steps:

• Heat milk and butter for dumplings in a small saucepan over medium heat until butter melts, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Combine flour, baking powder, parsley, and salt in a bowl. Stir in club soda and milk mixture until dough forms a ball, making sure not to overmix. Cover dumpling dough and let stand for 30 minutes.
• Combine chicken stock and cream of chicken soup in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Add chicken, potatoes, onion, celery, carrot, bell pepper, peas, lemon, and thyme. Poach until chicken is no longer pink in the centers and vegetables are tender, about 12 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate to cool; transfer vegetables to a bowl, leaving stock in the pan. Discard thyme and lemon.
• Boil remaining stock over medium-high heat until reduced by 1/3, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Meanwhile, pour cream into a small saucepan and heat over medium-high heat. Cook until reduced by about 1/2, 7 to 10 minutes. Whisk into reduced stock. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Chop cooled chicken into bite-sized pieces.
• Melt butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir into stock mixture and add chicken and cooked vegetables.
• Bring soup to a simmer over medium heat, adding more stock if necessary. Drop dumpling dough by teaspoons into the mixture. Cover and let simmer for 7 to 8 minutes. Serve hot garnished with parsley and green onion.

WHISTLESTOP CAFE CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Place the chicken in a large, 2 1/2 quart saucepan. Add 6 cups water, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until very tener. Remove from broth and let cool. Reserve the broth.
• When chicken has cooled off, remove the meat from the bones and dice.
• Next, add milk and margarine to the broth. Bring to a simmer.
• TO MAKE THE DUMPLINGS: Cut the shortening into the flour, using a pastry blender, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 1/2 cup water and stir with a fork, just until dough leaves side of bowl. For rolled dumplings roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 4 x 1/2-inch strips or 2-inch squares. For dropped dumplings, pat dough to 1/2-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Pinch off dough to 1 1/2-inch pieces.
• Gradually drop dumplings, one at a time, into boiling broth mixture. Cover, reduce heat and boil gently for 15 minutes, or until dumplings are cooked. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Stir in chicken and heat through.

PERFECT CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Boil the chicken in the water and bouillon cubes.
• You can use any combination of chicken parts, just be sure to use chicken with the skin on.
• When the chicken is done, remove it from the broth and chop the meat into bite sized pieces.
• Take 1 cup of the broth and add the egg and enough flour to make a stiff dough.
• Roll the dough out on a floured surface and cut into strips about 1x2inches.
• (dough should be about 1/8th of an inch thick).
• Drop the strips into the remaining broth (it should be boiling first).
• Simmer them for 30 minutes.
• Add the chicken pieces during the last 5 minutes.
• Add salt and pepper if needed.