Cookin' & Cussin'

Chicken & Dumplins

This is the PERFECT recipe to kickoff the holiday season. It’s humble, it’s warm, it’s easy, IT’S DELICIOUS, it’s another family recipe comin atcha!

This is one of my ABSOLUTE favorites to make on a chilly night in the winter. The dough takes some time to come together but it can be made ahead of time because then the rest of the process is easy – PLOP PLOP PLOP! (that’s the sound the dumplins make when you drop them into the pot!)

My mom used to make this recipe for Christmas Eve dinner every year. I don’t know what changed, but she now serves pork tenderloin & an apricot glaze….ANYWAY.

NO Yanks allowed ;)

First off, I need to address something….these are NOT Yankee Chicken & Dumplings. So let’s be clear with that. These are FLAT, DOUGHY dumplings that are simply dropped into seasoned water that poached the chicken.

Yankee Dumplings are usually made with canned biscuits (umm ok) and they get fluffy & fat, and they turn out almost like a wet biscuit (also, umm ok) so you won’t find any of that here!

So, with that being said, I’m sure many of you have seen / heard / had the pleasure of tasting this recipe before. I just googled “Southern Chicken & Dumplings” and the first thing that popped up was Cracker Barrel…..I mean, sure. I myself have not had the *pleasure* of experiencing this meal at Cracker Barrel & I probably haven’t eaten at a Cracker Barrel in 20 years, so….there’s also that.

BUT the picture depicting this dish from Cracker Barrel was pretty spot on for how my family’s recipe looked so I was like, yea otay SURE.

a little edit

I especially love this dish because it’s a 1-pot-wonder AND everything happens in steps. Nothing super fast or aggressive to worry about. No multi-action steps. Just some good, old-fashioned country cookin’.

I will say, after eating this comfort food my whole life, I decided to add cut up carrots to add a little bit of extra color & natural sweetness to this dish. I like seeing the dots of color with this comforting bowl of dumplings! I also have used Chicken Breasts OR Thighs. The flavor is not compromised & everything gets shredded and added back in anyway so there is no battle of white meat VS dark meat – both are delicious up in here!

I’ll also make an authors note that I have tweaked this recipe with 3 simple ingredients that I personally cannot live without – the adding of garlic powder, fresh rosemary, thyme & oregano & finely diced carrots are NOT in my Mamaw or Mom’s original recipe.

I just believe my tastes have changed & I enjoy simple zings of flavor in places I see fit. The dumplin itself is still the same so I don’t think there should be any qualms about it!

just put in some fat

SHORTENING – is another ingredient I wanted to discuss with everyone before making this recipe.

That is just how old-school this recipe is. My Mamaw still uses shortening to make her biscuits, which is fine, but I personally don’t keep shortening in the house nor do I even know how else to use it, so I don’t! BUTTER is the ultimate substitute for shortening. Slightly freezing a stick of butter for this recipe is the way to go!

Hopefully this recipe has rung a bell, struck a nerve (pffft, Yankees) or even piqued your interest! Like many Southern dishes, this one is also considered a Southern Delicacy so I’m tickled pink to share it with you during this holiday season! To warm your hearts AND your bellies – Let’s Get To It!

Ingredients

• 4 large chicken breasts OR 6 chicken large thighs – boneless & skinless, whatever you choose

• 1 cup finely diced celery

• 1 cup finely diced sweet Vidalia onion

• 1 cup finely diced carrot

• ½ cup whole black peppercorns

• 2 Bay Leaves

• 3 cups AP flour

• 1 stick unsalted butter, slightly frozen

• 2 TSP salt & pepper each, divided

• 1 TSP Garlic Powder

• 1 TSP EACH, Fresh Rosemary, Thyme & Oregano

• ½ cup ICE WATER – fill up a Pyrex with ½ cup water & throw some ice cubes in to chill it well

Instructions, 1

Firstly, you WILL need a food processor. I know I said this recipe is old-school, but that don’t mean we need to MAKE it old-school….you feel me?

You’ll have plenty of rolling to do with a rolling pin so just go ahead & get your food processor out, it will make this a WHOLE hell of a lot easier!

Firstly, in a large pot, sauté the onion, carrots & celery in 1 TBS of butter. Season with 1 TSP of Salt & Pepper.

Place your Chicken Breasts or Thighs directly into the pot with the softened veggies & fill with water – enough to cover your chicken – about 2 – 3 Quarts.

Drop in your ¼ cup of WHOLE peppercorns & 2 Bay Leaves.

Bring to a rolling boil to cook the chicken through – this may take about 30 - 45 minutes for the water boil & the chicken to cook thru.

While that is happening, you can be working on your dough!

Dumpling Dough is Daunting….say that shit 3 times fast.

But seriously, all doughs can seem scary. This one should NOT because the bulk of the work is being made in the food processor – you just have to pay attention to how the dough is coming together & its consistency.

Cut your ½ cup (1 stick) into manageable pieces and set aside.

In a measuring cup with a spout, have ½ cup cold water measured out with a few ice cubes thrown in – this will help keep the water truly chilled.

In your food processor, empty the 3 cups of flour, cut up slightly frozen butter, and the other 1 TSP each of Salt & pepper.

Pulse on low to combine the flour, spices & butter. It should be a little grainy & lumpy looking – this is good! This is what we want!

Pulse AGAIN & AGAIN while dribbling in SMALL amounts of your ice-water (please don’t be dumb & don’t let any ice cubes fall in) – dribble in the entire ½ cup amount of water.

Your dough will REALLY start to take form & look like dough but will be slightly sticky.

Turn out your dough onto a floured surface – a large wooden cutting board works or your clean, dry, granite countertop!

Instructions, 2

You might need another ½ cup or so of AP flour to knead your dough and use a rolling pin to flatten it out into 1 large shape.

You won’t need to knead (NEED TO KNEAD OMG IM DYING) your dough too much – just shape it around & make sure it keeps its form.

Doesn’t have to be perfect shape either. Now take a rolling pin & a little extra flour and roll the entirety of your dough out into a large but manageable circle.

It doesn’t have to be perfect thickness either but you probably want your dumplin dough to be about ½ inch thick.

Now comes the fun part. Dumplin Cutting!

I personally like to use a pizza cutter. It’s quick, its easy & it does the straight lines for you! (although wonky dumplings are still tasty & look fun *wink*)

Trim all the edges to ensure you don’t have any dumplins with raggedy-ass ends.

Sprinkle another dusting of flour overtop your entire dumplin square before cutting.

Once you have a “perfect” square, after trimming, simply run your pizza cutter up & down, back & forth to achieve SQUARES of dumplins!

That’s it! How exciting! You’re almost done!

I personally like to sprinkle a little flour on a plate & stack my dumplins over top of one another (with a light dusting of flour inbetween each layer) so then I can drop them quick-quick into the pot!

Instructions, 3

SPEAKING OF WHICH – Shit is your water boiling? Is your Chicken done cooking?

Remove JUST the chicken and place on a cutting board to cool. The last step in this entire process is to shred the chicken & add it back into the pot, so you’re good!

Keep your large pot of water at a rolling boil – empty in the Garlic Powder & fresh herbs.

Stir well & as you stir, drop in the dumplings 1 at a time.

Give a few seconds inbetween each “dumplin drop” to ensure they don’t stick to each other because that’s just gonna be a gloppy mess of dumplings & aint nobody want that!

Keep a long wooden spoon in your pot, constantly (but gently) stirring to cook the dumplings & release that flour to thicken the stock!

Keep your pot on HIGH HEAT!

Drop, Drop Drop – Plop, Plop, Plop ! Keep dropping in your dumplins util there are none left – keep stirring.

How does your stock look? It should have thickened up MARVELOUSLY by now – a beautiful, thick & creamy soup consistency.

Give it a taste! Does it need more salt? More pepper?

Now is the time to shred your chicken — 2 forks should do it. Doesn’t have to be pretty or perfect, just shred that chicken & add it back into the pot!

You don’t need to let this cook much longer than 10 minutes after you have dropped your last dumplin in & put the shredded chicken back in – the boiling water makes them cook quick-quick!

Serve immediately! I personally enjoy lots of fresh cracked black pepper in my chicken & dumplins, but season however you wish – I just hope you feel the love in this family recipe!

it’s dumpLIN not dumpLING

Obviously, blame it all on my roots – I like to take the “g” off certain words. Didn’t ever hurt nobody & it sounds more fun to me!

This dish is SUPER near & dear to me. I remember being the “dumplin dropper” as a little girl – my mom would be the one holding the wooden spoon, constantly stirring & I would “plop” the dumplins in while she made a “hole” with her wooden spoon.

As an adult, I haven’t come across the problem of “making a hole” for my dumplins, but I think that’s due to the size of the pot & how quickly you drop your dumplins in!

These dumplins are simple, scratch & salt of the earth goodness. If you’re gluten free then shit, I feel real bad for you. I don’t have any alternative that I could promise to turn out correct or even taste the same. *reverent apologies*

Make this for someone you love, pair it with a grilled cheese & a glass of pinot noir – trust me, this can be impressive. Happy Holidays & much love!