Chicken and dumplings: A comforting combination
Some trend predictors say comfort foods will be the rage in 2010. That makes sense as the economic downturn continues.
Nothing says "It'll be OK" like a plate of wonderful, warm, filling comfort food.
A favorite dish in that category is chicken and dumplings.
My mother made chicken and dumplings occasionally, but it wasn't one of her favorite dishes. But I had relatives, especially on my father's side of the family, who could make the best chicken and dumplings ever.
At the Wiseman family reunions, there were always several pots of chicken and dumplings. My dad would go for one in particular. He, like most of the clan, knew which cook made the best. I remember that as I got older, I could claim a spot early enough to get the best, too.
There were no discussions about flat dumplings or fat dumplings, or whether they were rolled or dropped. It didn't matter. Homemade chicken and dumplings far outranked even the homemade fried chicken at our family gatherings.
Chicken and dumplings will always belong to the country cook who can make the recipe practically blindfolded.
We asked readers to send us their stories and recipes for chicken and dumplings. Some of the recipes came to us the same way they were handed down: handwritten, without a lot of instructions.
Mildred Belcher of Harrodsburg said her recipe was very simple.
"Cook chicken until tender. Reserve ¾ cup broth. For dumplings, mix 2 cups plain flour, ¾ cup broth and 1 teaspoon salt. Roll out on floured surface. I use waxed paper. Cut out strips and place in broth in pan. Boil for 10 minutes."
Louise Quarles of Frankfort said, "Chicken and dumplings is my specialty. When we have a church dinner, I usually bring a big pot. I buy a chicken and cook (it) in a pressure cooker an hour. ... Cool and debone it. Cool broth, and skim fat. Then put broth and chicken together. Let come to a boil. Take self-rising flour, and add enough milk to make dough. Roll out and cut in pieces, and drop into broth. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, and you have chicken and dumplings. No problem."
When Virginia Long was a child in the 1940s in Lexington, her family raised chickens in a coop and pen in the back yard.
"They were mostly for the eggs," Long said, "but we occasionally had fried chicken, and Mother always served chicken and dumplings on special occasions. She made her dumplings with homemade biscuit dough, but I use Bisquick or a similar mix."
Her recipe: "Simmer a large chicken in enough water to cover. Cut it apart some to fit well in a Dutch oven. I add three or four bouillon cubes to the water instead of salt, a heaping teaspoon of sage and some celery sprigs. When tender, strain the broth and separate the chicken pieces from the skin and bone.
Make dumplings according to Bisquick package directions, using about three cups of the mix. Roll out on a floured board to ½ -inch thickness, then cut into pieces an inch or so in size. Toss with flour in a covered bowl to coat.
Drop the dumplings in boiling broth, reduce the heat, and cook 5 to 10 minutes. Thicken with a little flour, if desired. Add chicken, and sprinkle with black pepper."
James Spragens of Lebanon said he got a chicken out to thaw as soon as he saw the request for recipes. "The recipe we use in my family comes from an old, and lamentably departed, friend of the family named Delia Williams. She has been gone almost 20 years, but I miss her still.
"Her recipe is not uncommon, but her directions are unique. I love how she calls for 'Crisco the size of a hen's egg' and 'enough buttermilk to make a stiff dough.'
"These are old-fashioned directions based on the assumption that the follower already has a certain level of cooking knowledge and relies on that more than firm proportions.
"Another thing: Any chicken and dumplings recipe is only as good as the broth, and Dea (as I called her) always made her own, with no help from a bouillon cube."
Delia Williams' chicken and dumplings
1¾ cup all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
Crisco the size of a hen's egg
Enough buttermilk to make a stiff dough
Start by boiling slowly one chicken with all the seasonings you like in your broth — onion, carrot, celery, thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper. There should be at least 6 quarts of broth left, but you can do more for a thinner, more 'brothy' result. Remove chicken and take the meat off the bone when cool enough to handle. Pull it apart or chop it to the size you prefer. Taste the broth and add salt and pepper to suit. If it is not flavorful, bring it to a boil to reduce.
Combine dry ingredients, reserving some of the flour to roll out the dough, and cut in Crisco with a pastry blender, as when making biscuits. Add buttermilk and combine with a fork or your hands until you get a stiff dough that is manageable. Roll out with a rolling pin until dough is about 1⁄8 to ¼ inch thick. Cut out squares about 1½ to 2 inches and drop into boiling water. Do not over-stir, just sort of fold from the bottom up so that dough is not sticking. Dumplings will be finished in about 10 minutes. Check the heat to avoid scorching, which can happen quickly. Add the chicken to the pot and serve.
Karen B. Allen of Lexington shares her Granny Christie's recipe.
"I am sure it is a recipe passed down from her mother. She cooked this often during World War II for her large family, as it was inexpensive to make and stretched to feed many people. As I was growing up and raising my family, this was our favorite meal for special occasions. When I learned to make it, I had to translate the recipe into measurements, as my mom made it from memory and didn't measure any ingredients. My son, Paul Allen, in 2008 fixed this for the Christmas holiday while he was on duty in a remote area of Afghanistan. He had about 40 members of his Army Special Forces unit, as well as another (United Nations) unit, and they all loved this taste of home."
Chicken and dumplings
1 3-pound chicken
2 stalks diced celery
2 teaspoons salt, divided
3 cups plain flour
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 hard boiled eggs (optional)
Black pepper
Boil chicken in 2 quarts water with diced celery and 1 teaspoon salt. When it's done, remove chicken and set aside. Strain broth and save. When chicken has cooled, remove skin and dice meat.
In a large bowl, combine flour and 1 teaspoon salt. Cut in shortening with fingers until mixture is fine. Beat egg into milk in a small bowl. Make a well in flour mixture and pour in milk mixture. Mix well with a fork.
Turn dough out onto floured counter top and knead lightly. Divide dough in half. Using plenty of flour, roll dough out to ½ inch thick and cut into strips 1 inch by 2 inches. Turn dough several times as you are rolling, adding flour on both sides so the dough doesn't stick to the counter.
Let dumpling strips dry on wire cake racks for several hours (cover with a tea towel). Add dumplings to boiling chicken broth, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add cut up chicken and chopped boiled eggs. Add black pepper and salt to taste.
Karen Springate of Lexington said her family refers to the dish as "chicken and pastry."
"My recipe is a hand-me-down from my late mother, my paternal aunts and, probably, my paternal grandmother," Springate said. "They called it chicken and pastry, and it was by far my late father's favorite dish. A native of North Carolina, my father met and married my mother (a native Texan) in Dallas, where I was born. (We would move to Kentucky when I was in my teens.)
"Great cook as she was, this was one dish my mother couldn't get right until she got the recipe from my aunts in North Carolina," Springate said. "It is very simple. The primary difference is that the 'dumplings' are rolled out flat, instead of formed into a ball. This prevents a 'doughy' pastry, which of course was the primary complaint of my family regarding any other 'chicken and dumplings' recipe.
"Every time I have fixed it for family or friends, in all the places I've lived, it has been an instant hit. The following was dictated by my mother to me on the telephone, when I lived out of state."
Chicken and pastry
1 whole fryer chicken, innards removed
A large pot of water (a Dutch oven-size pan); just don't cover the chicken completely with the water
Slightly less than 1 tablespoon salt, or to taste
Pastry:
1½ cups flour
Slightly less than 1 teaspoon salt
Cold water
Cook chicken in salted water until tender — this works very nicely in a slow cooker: about 4 hours on high, 6 to 8 on low — until the meat easily falls off the bones. Remove all bones and skin, and set meat aside to cool, saving the liquid the chicken was cooked in.
While it cools, make the pastry.
Add just enough water to flour and salt so it will roll out as thin as or thinner than pie pastry. Score strips 2 inches wide, of varying lengths less than 6 inches. Pull the strips apart. Put chicken back in the pot and add the pastry while the broth is bubbling. Cook pastry and chicken until tender, about 20 minutes. Season lightly with pepper. Dish into bowls. If you want to limit fat consumption, skim off the fat when it cools. "This dish is excellent heated over," Springate said.
"When I married about 49 years ago, I asked my grandmother for her recipe for chicken and dumplings," recalled Betty McClain of Louisville. "My mother and grandmother always made the recipe without exact measurements, so I had to watch her make the dumplings to measure the ingredients.
"The original recipe belonged to my great-grandmother. The first time I made the recipe, the dumplings turned out like mashed potatoes because I did not let the dumplings set and dry in between, like in the recipe. I was an impatient young woman and did not think that was necessary, but I found out to the contrary. This recipe has always been a family favorite."
Chicken and dumplings
Bake hen in 350-degree oven (2 to 3 hours depending on size of hen) in baking pan with a couple cups water. Reserve broth to make 4 cups or more broth. Add water to broth if necessary.
To make dumplings, put 2 cups flour in bowl and hollow like a nest. Add 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1 heaping tablespoon shortening (solid, not liquid). Put one beaten egg into small bowl, add 1/2 cup milk, and beat the two. Pour into flour mixture and mix well. Roll out on floured board fairly thin, and let set 10 minutes before cutting. Cut in strips about 1 inch wide, then let set 10 more minutes. Cut noodles so they are not too long, and drop into boiling broth. Reduce heat to low and simmer 20 to 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste while cooking.
Betty Sublette of Lexington passed along her late mother's recipe. "She made the best chicken and dumplings. She got the recipe from a friend's mother from my childhood," Sublette said.
Mama's chicken and dumplings
Chicken:
1 whole chicken
Water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 stalks of celery
1/2 stick butter
Dumplings:
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons bacon grease ("I use half Crisco and half bacon grease.")
1 teaspoon salt
Whole milk (enough to make a dough like for biscuits)
Place chicken in large pot on top of stove in water to almost top of chicken. Add salt, celery and butter. Bring to boil. Cover and simmer about 11/2 hours, or until done. Remove chicken and debone. Set aside. Save chicken broth in pot.
To make dumplings, mix flour, bacon grease and salt in a large bowl. Add milk. Roll dough on floured surface until thin, like pastry. Cut in 1-inch squares. Bring broth to boil. Drop dumplings in; cook uncovered 10 minutes. Cover and simmer on low heat 45 minutes to 1 hour. Serve over chicken.
"My husband and I married in 1976 and moved to Evansville, Ind. I was working at Sears, and a lady named Kathleen Fowler gave me this recipe," said Carolyn Rice of Lexington. "She told me that it had been in her family for a very long time. My family and I have enjoyed it since." Rice said she makes a double batch of dumpling dough for a whole chicken.
Chicken and dumplings
1 whole chicken
Salt
Dumplings:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Dash of salt
1 cup hot chicken broth
Place whole chicken in a Dutch oven. Cover with water. Add salt. Boil until done. Debone and cut meat into 1-inch pieces. Reserve broth.
To make dumplings, place dry ingredients in bowl. Make a hole in middle and cut in hot broth with a knife. Flour cutting board and rolling pin so they will not be sticky. Roll dough thin, in small batches, and cut dough into dumpling pieces about the size of a stick of gum. Bring reserved broth to a boil. Drop dumplings into broth, one piece at a time. Keep them separated with knife. Add chicken. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep dumplings from sticking to bottom of pan. The flour that you use to roll the dough will thicken broth as you add dumplings.
Jan Falwell, a member of Gluten Free Lexington Celiac Disease Foundation (www.glutenfreelex.org) support group, shares this recipe for chicken and dumplings that is suitable for someone with celiac disease. "My personal GF blend consists of brown rice flour, white rice flour, potato starch flour and cornstarch, but most basic GF blends should work well, depending on your preferences," she said.
Scrumptious gluten-free chicken and dumplings
3 cups Gluten Free flour blend
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons dry yeast (not fast-rise)
1⁄3 cup slightly melted margarine
2 eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon vinegar
2 teaspoons honey, agave or sugar
In a large bowl, mix together flour blend, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt. Set aside. Add 1 teaspoon sugar to the warm water, then stir in yeast. Set aside to proof for several minutes. Melt margarine, then add eggs, vinegar and agave, honey or sugar. Pour in risen yeast mixture and whisk in dry ingredients until mixed well.
Drop by teaspoonfuls into boiling stock (from boiled chicken, onion and spices) until a full layer is dropped into pot. Turn dumplings until they hold shape well. Remove, and continue until dough is gone (about 50-60 dumplings per batch, depending on size). Stock will thicken with each batch. When complete, return all dumplings to pot and add diced chicken. Simmer until ready to serve.
Karen E. Marsee of Lancaster said she makes dumplings that are "very flat, square and very thin. If we have chicken and dumplings at our house, it means a special occasion, such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter or a special request. The celebration with dumplings at our house came from my mother, who lived to be 97 and who raised 11 children. She was a remarkable woman. Of course, she used no recipe when she made them, and I watched her many, many times.
"After I married, I decided to try my own luck at making them. This is what I came up with after many tries. I always bake my chicken in a large casserole or roaster pan with a small amount of water. I usually bake the chicken at 350 degrees for about 2 hours. This makes the broth extra rich, and of course, the meat is falling off the bones."
Dumplings
2 cups Bisquick
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup water
In a large bowl, mix ingredients until a dough forms. Divide dough in half. Roll out each half on a floured surface until very thin (1⁄8 inch or less). Cut into squares and drop into boiling broth.
To make broth, drain the broth from the baked chicken, add a 26-ounce can of chicken stock (Swanson cooking stock) and bring to a boil. Drop the dumplings into the hot broth, and cook on medium heat until they become a little translucent. Be careful not to overcrowd the dumplings in the pan.
If you have dumplings left over, spread them out on plastic wrap on a cookie sheet and place them in the freezer until they are frozen, then place them in a plastic freezer bag and return them to the freezer to use later.
Carol Borkowski of Lexington has tasted many recipes for chicken and dumplings, but the best is from Anita Fitzgibbon, a friend who lives in Louisville. She shares the recipe as Fitzgibbon wrote it:
"I use about 3-pound fryers. Add onion and celery (tops also) for flavor. The water is hard to judge. If you use a deep pan, you can almost cover chicken with water; if you use a roaster, have about 3 to 4 inches around the chicken. Put onion, celery and carrots in the water with the chicken. Also, 4 peppercorns. Cook until chicken is tender, approximately 1 to 11/2 hours, simmering. Remove chicken and debone.
"You need a generous amount of boiling broth to drop the dumplings in, so you might taste your broth before bringing it to a boil again. At this time, you can add more water and 4 chicken bouillon cubes to give you lots of rich broth. Make your dumplings and drop them into the boiling broth until they are all in there, cooking.
"Dumplings: It's like making a 'bad' pie dough: 3 cups flour to 2⁄3 cup shortening. Roll out with extra flour under the dough and cut into rows and again crosswise. They will puff up as they cook.
Nancy Coburn of Lawrenceburg "adjusted a recipe that is a favorite of ours to lighten it up slightly. It is still delicious, especially when the weather is cold. It warms over well if you have any leftovers."
Chicken and dumplings
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 large chicken drumsticks, skin removed
2 large chicken thighs, skin removed
4 cups water
2 packets sodium free instant chicken broth granules (Herb Ox)
2 tablespoons butter
11/2 teaspoons light salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Dumplings:
11/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon light salt
3 tablespoons shortening
3/4 cup skim milk
Place chicken pieces in a large pot, add water, broth granules, butter, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce heat to a simmer. Cook, covered, until very tender, about 40 to 50 minutes. Remove chicken pieces from broth, and let cool until they can be handled. Strain broth and return it to pot. Remove meat from drumsticks and thighs and chop, being careful not to include any small pieces of bone. Chop chicken breast. Add meat to broth and bring back to boiling.
To make dumplings: In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients with a fork. Cut in shortening, then add milk and stir, just until blended.
Drop dumpling mixture by tablespoonfuls into the boiling broth. Adjust heat and cook dumplings slowly for 10 minutes, uncovered. Place lid on pot and cook 10 more minutes covered. Do not remove the lid during this cooking, or dumplings will be tough.
Dara Bass of Frankfort developed this recipe "over the years."
Chicken and dumplings
Soup:
2 to 3 whole chicken breasts (with bone and skin)
Olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
3 to 4 potatoes, peeled and diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
½ small onion, diced
2 to 3 bay leaves (optional)
Dumplings:
1 cup plain flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons butter
¼ cup milk
Brush chicken breasts with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until juices run clear. Cool, then discard skin and pull meat into shreds. Add bones to 1 quart boiling water and add potatoes, carrots, celery, onion and bay leaves.
Gently boil for 20 to 30 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat and discard bones. Add shredded chicken, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper (more if you like) to stock. Return to heat, and bring to a simmer while preparing dumplings.
Sift flour, baking powder and salt together into medium mixing bowl. Add parsley (optional). Cut butter into flour mixture with pastry cutter or two knives. Add milk slowly while stirring. Roll dough onto floured board or surface, handling it as little as possible. Cut into squares or strips with floured knife, and drop into gently boiling soup. (You can use a small biscuit cutter or similar cutter.)
Cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes until dumplings are done. Remove bay leaves before serving. This is best after refrigerating and reheating.
Linda Huff of Lexington said, "I always loved chicken and dumplings and never made it until a few years ago. I remember my Mom making them when I was a child, and I was always in the kitchen with her. Of course, she didn't use a recipe. When I cook chicken to make salad or casseroles, I always add onion, celery and herbs, so I thought that would add a flavor to this. I had tried different recipes for the dumplings and found this recipe for the dumplings on the White Lily flour (package) and liked it."
She prepares the chicken for the dumplings by adding a quarter cup each of chopped celery and onion to enough water to cook chicken breasts or a whole chicken. "I also add some fresh thyme." When the chicken is cooked and cooled, remove the skin and bones, then cut into small pieces.
"I use broth from the cooked chicken, then add a can or two of broth to the desired amount, about six cups. With adding canned broth, I don't add salt. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter or margarine in a Dutch oven. Combine with 1/4 cup flour, then add broth and ½ teaspoon of poultry seasoning. Bring to a boil. Add dumplings. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer 15 minutes, or until cooked through. Add ½ cup of milk and cooked chicken. Heat for five minutes."
Dumplings
2 cups White Lily self-rising flour
¼ cup Crisco shortening, chilled
½ cup cold chicken broth
Place flour in a large bowl and cut Crisco into flour with a knife. Add just enough chicken broth until dough leaves sides of bowl. Put dough on a floured surface and lightly knead a couple of times to form a ball. Roll out thin, and cut into small pieces.
Anita Hisle of Russell Springs said making chicken and dumplings is not a simple task. "This is a recipe my Mom used for many years. We grew up on this comfort-food dish, and I find it one of the most difficult to get right, although I try, as it is a favorite of my husband's."
Chicken and dumplings
1 (3- to 4-pound) whole chicken
1 carrot, cut into pieces
1 stalk celery, cut into pieces
1 medium onion, quartered
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
3 cups self-rising flour
½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
1⁄3 cup shortening
2 tablespoons salted cold butter
1 cup 2 percent milk
Wash chicken and pat dry. Place carrot, celery and onion inside chicken. Mix thyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper, and rub it over entire chicken. Place chicken in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 1 hour. Remove chicken and reserve broth. Discard vegetables.
Cool chicken, then skin and bone it. Shred chicken into bite-size pieces. Skim fat from broth (if you need more broth, add 2 cups chicken broth) and return to a low simmer as you make the dumplings.
Combine flour and poultry seasoning in a bowl. Cut in shortening and butter with a pastry blender until crumbly. Stir in milk. Form dough into a ball and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll to 1⁄8-inch thickness, cut into 1-inch pieces.
Drop dumplings, a few at a time, into simmering broth, stirring gently. Cover and simmer, stirring often, 25 to 30 minutes.
Rebecca Redd said her recipe "is at least three generations old. I am a graduate student at Western Kentucky University, originally from Hazard, but I currently live in Bowling Green. This recipe was given to me by my grandmother, Mrs. Jean Wooton of Buckhorn.
"I love making chicken and dumplings for family and friends. Especially those who have never had them. Crazy, right?
"Growing up in Eastern Kentucky, we had C&Ds at all church functions and at least two times a month at home, so it's always fun to share my favorite food with newbies."
Chicken and dumplings
1 roaster hen, cut up
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 onion
Salt (1 teaspoon per quart water)
½ teaspoon pepper
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon parsley
Self-rising flour
Clean chicken, but do not cut off fat. Put chicken in pot with enough water to cover the chicken (you may add chicken stock if you have it). Add celery, onion, salt, pepper, bay leaves and parsley. Bring to a boil on medium heat. Cover and simmer on low heat for 11/2 to 2 hours, or until chicken is cooked. Take chicken out of the pot and remove all bones and fat from chicken. Remove bay leaves and as much celery and onion as you like from the broth.
To make dumplings: Mix enough flour and broth from cooked chicken until a dough is formed. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls into broth, and simmer about 15 minutes or until dumplings are formed. Do not stir.
If you like flat dumplings, roll out dough and cut into long strips. Pull off and drop pieces of the strips one by one into the broth, and let simmer until dumplings are formed. Add chicken to dumplings and broth.
Lou Anne Harris of Versailles said, "This is the best chicken and dumplings I have ever made."
Easy chicken and dumplings
4 chicken thighs or 6 chicken legs with skin
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Salt to taste
Put chicken in a pot and cover with water. Heat to a boil and let simmer ½ hour or until cooked through. Take the chicken out of the water, cool and remove skin. Cut chicken off the bone and cut meat into small pieces, then add it to the chicken stock. Add 1 can chicken broth.
"For the biscuits, I use canned biscuits. I try to get the biscuits with the least amount of fat and butter added to them. The store brands are usually best for this."
Flatten each biscuit on the floured board and cut into small pieces. Put the small biscuit pieces into the boiling broth. Let simmer for 10 minutes, not stirring very much. To remove some of the fat, let cool, and skim off excess fat that floats to the top.
This story was originally published January 28, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Chicken and dumplings: A comforting combination."