PDA

View Full Version : Chicken and Dumplings?


Anon001
08-28-2010, 03:52 PM
I haven't had chicken and dumplings in ages and sorta had a hankering for it.

Since there has been "talk" lately about people learning to cook and other related topics, I thought I would share what I did for supper tonight.

I didn't like any recipes I had in my books for chicken and dumplings,so this is what I did....

I opened ....

one quart jar of home canned chicken,
two quarts of chicken stock,
one quart of corn,
one pint of celery.

I added the quart of chicken, only one quart of stock, the quart of corn, and the pint of celery. I brought it to a boil and then let it start to simmer. I mixed about 1 to 1-1/2 cups flour with some of the chicken stock and added to the pot to help thicken a little.

I then made up a "biscuit" type dough, with around 3 cups flour, about 1tbsp baking powder (maybe less. I dont' measure), salt, and pepper. I mixed it up good. Then I added about a handful of lard and mixed it with my hands until all the flour possible was worked into the lard. Then I opened the second quart of chicken stock and used it for the liquid instead of water or milk. This gives the dumplings a good flavor. the stock I didn't need I added to the pot. I knead the dough. I make it drier than regular biscuits so that it wouldn't "melt" into the rest of the pot.

Once I had the dough kneaded until it was smooth, I pulled off chunks, made balls, flattened them to about 1/4" thick and about as big as a silver dollar, or so and then dropped them into the pot. I ran out of room before I ran out of dough. lol I put the lid on the pot to let it simmer until the dumplings were cooked.

In the meantime, I pulled out a skillet (cast iron is all I have) and made mini biscuits (smaller and flatter) and added just enough lard to coat the skillet. Then I preheated it. I then added the "biscuits" and let them cook very slowly, uncovered.

Wow.. it was good. Now I will be eating chicken and dumplings for about the next 6 meals. lol... That's okay. I like leftovers.

One reason I did the "biscuits" on the stove top instead of in the oven is so they don't dry out and get too crumbly. Remember, I made my dumpling dough a little drier than regular biscuit dough. I don't know why, but they don't tend to get as crumbly on the stove top as they would in the oven.

It is a simple recipe that would possibly be good for beginners. The nice thing is that even if you mess up chicken and dumplings, it is still good.

Paul

BonnyLake
08-28-2010, 06:37 PM
Hey Paul,
I have never made anything with dumplings on top. It seems I have missed an entire category of good-eats. I didn't see where you put any noodles into that pot? Can you add them to the leftovers or do they gum up the broth with too much thickening?

It's starting to cool down here so it's almost time for slow-cooking again, I've missed my stews and soups that I love to smell half the day.

tomato204
08-29-2010, 06:50 AM
Blasphemer! Chicken and dumplings doesn't have any noodles. :)

esh
08-29-2010, 08:54 AM
Blasphemer! Chicken and dumplings doesn't have any noodles. :)
Southern Chicken n dumplin's is much different than western style, but they are all good!:D

rAcErRicK
08-29-2010, 09:20 AM
Blasphemer! Chicken and dumplings doesn't have any noodles. :)

:lol:Now that's funny ! Agreed !

momma_to_seven_chi
08-29-2010, 10:04 AM
I've never cooked biscuits on top of the stove. Do you have to flip them to prevent scorching on bottom?

Do you make your own lard?

BonnyLake
08-29-2010, 07:17 PM
Blasphemer! Chicken and dumplings doesn't have any noodles. :)

I better go hide :eek:

I had no idea, except someone once fed me "what they called" chicken & dumplings. It was homemade chicken noodle soup with bisquick dropped on top. Now you say that wasn't the real deal?

See, old doggettes can still "need" to learn new tricks :girl_wacko:

Cavediver
08-30-2010, 04:30 AM
Thanks for the recipe Paul. I need to try this one some time soon.

My wife and I tried to make chicken and dumplings once upon a time. We rolled the dough to half-dollar size balls and dropped them in. We wound up with chicken and baseballs :rolleyes:

I'm almost ashamed to say that I went with frozen dumpling noodles after that experiment...

Anon001
08-30-2010, 12:46 PM
I'm almost ashamed to say that I went with frozen dumpling noodles after that experiment...

oh my! That's just wrong. lol

I do make my own lard when I butcher a hog, but it is never enough and I end up having to buy lard.

Yes, when you cook them on top of the stove, you do need to turn them once. The key is a low heat. Also, I only cook them this way, when they are dry enough that I know baking would make them crumble too easily.... such as leftover dumplings dough, or left over pie crust, etc.

I just drop them on top and some sink and some don't. One thing you don't want to do.... don't make them all and them drop them in at the same time or you'll have one big gummy mess. I pinch off a bit of dough, shape the dumpling, drop it in. Then I do the next one. I drop them all over, wherever there's an open spot. lol... Eventually, they will be double stacked, but that's okay as long as you don't drop them all in at one time.

Noodles!? sheesh! LOL I hope you didn't get struck by lightnin' lol

mozarkian
08-31-2010, 10:46 AM
Paul, re: Lard--if you take your pigs to the butcher, check with them about getting the unwanted lard left from their other customers. Our butcher tells us that at least half the people don't want the lard from their pig and they are happy to save it for us when we leave word that we need some - and its cheap! (Since we seem to have recently gone "hog wild" --getting 2 feeder pigs turned into a sow and 5 pigs and then into 3 more that were being starved in a divorce situation....we seem to have plenty at the moment and beyond.)

And agreed -- noodles are a punishable crime in a pot of dumplings!

momma_to_seven_chi
08-31-2010, 12:50 PM
And agreed -- noodles are a punishable crime in a pot of dumplings!

My favorite dumplings are the ones made from the noodle dough, but cut into larger squares. I like that chewy texture.

TEX
08-31-2010, 02:06 PM
Dumplings are made with lard - no eggs and noodles are made with eggs and no lard.

My grandmother used the same recipie for her dumplings as her pie crust - it was really good stuff.

I on the other hand make noodles, taught by my ex father in law who had been a ranch cook in his younger days and then he and his wife owned a restraunt.

Anon001
09-01-2010, 11:47 AM
Paul, re: Lard--if you take your pigs to the butcher, check with them about getting the unwanted lard left from their other customers. Our butcher tells us that at least half the people don't want the lard from their pig and they are happy to save it for us when we leave word that we need some - and its cheap!

Actually, I do the butchering at home. I've had enough experience with lockers to know to stay away from them with my own meat. lol However, that is where I buy some of the lard I need. I can buy it rendered or not. It depends on my mood at the time. If I'm really lazy, I'll just get it at WalMart when I'm there. lol

Paul

Artemis
09-16-2010, 04:31 AM
Mother used to make chicken and dumplings; I think she cooked the dumplings in the pot along with the chicken, adding them in somewhere close to the end of the cooking time. I know the dough was raw when she put that in there.

This is one of the two recipes of hers I wish I had; the other is her raspberry cobbler. I have an abundance of wild raspberries growing in my back yard, but I hate to waste them on a marginal (or too-sweet) recipe. (So I just eat them direct off the vine.)

bghuskins
10-21-2010, 04:05 PM
My wife and I are what would be described as lurkers on the forums. We currently live in germany but are in the process of moving back to America.

We are very happy for the advise Anon001!

I will attempt to make this saturday and post the results. :)

Faye
10-22-2010, 08:27 AM
I cook my chicken and take it off the bones and return it to broth. I like to use carrots and celery but some of my family does not. Old timers in the south made biscuits in a large bowl or dough bowl of flour and did not roll it out but rather pinched off enough for each biscuit. That is how I make my dumplings except I roll them out thin and cut them with a sharp knife or pizza cutter. My Grandmother taught me to make biscuits and that is how I make them when I make them which is not as often anymore. My DD stirs a can of cream of chicken soup into her broth.

bookwormom
10-22-2010, 09:38 AM
Actually, I do the butchering at home. I've had enough experience with lockers to know to stay away from them with my own meat.

you have to tell us about that. what do they do?

If you use three cups of flour for a single guy, well, that is what you get, lots of leftovers. Enjoy.