It’s Throw Back Thursday and that means that I get to revisit some old time dishes that may have gone out of style in today’s foodie world, but that are timeless classics that deserve a place on the table!
My Mom’s Chicken and Dumplings were one of my favorite dishes as a kid. Sundays were a special day in our family. My Dad was an early riser and loved to cook huge family breakfasts on the weekends, so I’d wake up to the smell of bacon and coffee. While he finished cooking the country potatoes I’d toss on my Sunday-go-to-Church dress and then rush to the kitchen to help him make the scrambled eggs.
After breakfast, my Mom would toss a big stewing hen into a pot of water to simmer while we all went to Church. I could hardly sit still during the sermon, just knowing that we were going to be eating her Chicken and Dumplings for Sunday dinner!
As soon as we got home, we’d dash to our rooms to change into our play clothes – yep, back in the good old days we didn’t dare let even the hem of our Sunday best touch a swing set – while Mom added potatoes, carrots and seasonings to the chicken in the pot. On Sundays, my Mom always invited someone from Church over for our big meal. Usually it was a kindly older single woman or a stodgy widower, but occasionally it was a new family in town with kids – whee!
When Mom called us all into the house, it meant that it was time to put the dumplings into the pot and set the table. I’d run to the kitchen and ask to help with the dumplings before my siblings could get there. Yep, now you know, even as a little kid I LOVED cooking and HATED setting the table!
The meal was served family style, with the chicken in a big bowl, swimming with gravy, and the vegetables and dumplings on a big platter. I still love serving it that way, but over the years I’ve had to adapt the dish to the way that chickens are sold in the US. It’s danged near impossible to find a fat stewing hen anymore! So now I make it with a combination of boneless skinless chicken breasts and thighs. The thighs are the trick to a flavorful gravy and the breasts are my nod to eating a bit healthier.
So here’s my updated, but still old fashioned, Chicken and Dumplings. Mom, you taught me well and I miss those old stewing hens!
First, let’s get all the ingredients together. I do apologize for not showing you the big meaty thighs in this picture, but trust me, they’re in there and they are the secret weapon to producing a rich flavorful gravy.
First things first, since we won’t be simmering a hen for 3 – 4 hours, the best alternative is to lightly flour the chicken pieces, then brown them lightly in a mixture of butter and oil. While they’re browning over medium heat, chop all the veggies.
When the chicken is browned, remove it from the pot and then toss the veggies in to saute for a few minutes. The onions should be softened, but not browned.
Time to put the chicken pieces back in the pot! Just lay them on top of the vegetable mixture, then add cold water just to the level of the chicken pieces. You don’t want them completely covered – yet.
See how nice and dark the juices are when you add the water? That’s the result of browning the floured chicken pieces – YUM! So now just cover the pot and walk away for at least an hour. Let the pot simmer on low while you go do something fun. When you come back to the stove, add enough cold water to completely cover the chicken, then turn the heat up and bring it to a boil. While the pot is boiling, it’s time to make my Mom’s HUGE dumplings for the Chicken and Dumplings.
That’s right, these are not tiny little balls of dough and they are not southern noodle-like dumplings. These are man-sized tender, pillowy dumplings! They will melt in your mouth and fill you up in a big hurry.
The most important thing I learned about making quick breads, and that includes dumplings, from my Mom is to never ever over stir the batter. If you want the lightest, fluffiest dumplings in town, use Crisco shortening for the fat and stir it just till the flour is all moistened. You want those lumps in there – trust me.
See how thick and lumpy it is? Here’s a close up:
Time to drop the dumplings into the pot! Use a large serving spoon or a 1/2 cup measuring cup to drop them onto the tops of the chicken pieces.
As soon as the last dumpling is in the pot, cover it and turn the heat to medium-low. Let them cook for 15 minutes and don’t lift the lid to peek – uh huh, I’m always tempted to peek, but do.. not… do it!
After 15 minutes, open up the pot and the dumplings should look like this.
Look at how much of the liquid they’ve absorbed! Time to scoop them out to a waiting platter and then add more water to the pot if the gravy is too thick. I usually have to add about 2 cups of water to the pot. Bring it back to a quick boil, then place the chicken pieces on a plate and pour the gravy and vegetables into a serving bowl. Dig in and enjoy my Mom’s chicken and dumplings – family style.
- 4 chicken breasts and 4 thighs
- 1 Onion - Chopped
- 5 Carrots - Sliced about ½ inch thick
- 5 Stalks of Celery- Chopped
- 1 tsp. dried Basil
- 1 tsp. powdered Garlic
- 1 tsp. Thyme
- 1 tsp. Salt
- Dash of pepper
- ½ Cup Flour - for coating the chicken pieces
- 8 Cups of Cold Water - will vary depending on the diameter of your pot.
- Lightly flour the chicken pieces.
- Add enough oil to a large pot to cover the bottom. Heat the oil till sizzling, then add the chicken, skin side down. Brown the chicken, over medium heat, on the first side, then turn to brown the other side.
- Remove the chicken from the pan, then add the chopped onion, celery and carrots. Cook over medium heat till the onions are soft, but not browned.
- When the onions are soft, stir in the spices and sprinkle in about 2 tbsp. of the remaining flour. Stir it around just to dissolve the flour. Now add the chicken pieces on top of the vegetables, then add enough water to nearly cover the chicken. Bring the water to a full boil.
- Once the broth is boiling, reduce the heat and cover the pan. Let the chicken simmer for at least 1 hour or up to 2 hours.
- 3 Cups Flour
- 1½ Tablespoons Baking Powder
- 1½ teaspoons Salt
- 6 Tablespoons Crisco or cold Butter
- 1 Cup Milk + 2 tablespoons
- Add the dry ingredients to a medium mixing bowl, then stir well to combine. Cut in the Crisco or Butter till the size of peas. The mixture will be crumbly and that's ok!
- Add the milk and stir just till combined. You should have a lumpy batter that's thicker than cake batter but not so thick that you can knead it like biscuit dough. Add a bit more milk or a bit more flour to get it to the consistency you need.
- Remove the top from the pot of chicken. Add enough water to completely cover the chicken.
- Turn up the heat to high and bring the broth in the pot to a full boil. Now drop in the dumpling dough in LARGE dollops on top of the chicken and vegetables. By large dollops I mean about ½ cup of dough per dumpling.
- Immediately put the lid on tightly, turn heat to medium-low and do NOT peak for 15 minutes.
- Check the dumplings for doneness after 15 minutes. If they still look a bit soft on top, cover and cook another 5 minutes.
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