Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken and Dumplings

Heart warming and filling, chicken and dumplings have many varieties. It seems like every grandma from a Southern US state has their own recipe, I prefer the drop dumpling variety in a chicken stew. Combining buttermilk in a classic biscuit recipe, I drop the raw batter into the simmering liquid and cover the pot with a tight fitting lid. The biscuits then steam like a bao bun. The dumplings rise and are light and fluffy on the inside with a rich, soup infused layer on the outside.

Chicken Stew

2 Pounds Chicken Breasts- Boneless and Skinless

1 Tablespoon Canola Oil

2 Cups Celery- Roughly Chopped

2 Cups Carrots- Cut into ¼ inch rounds

1 Tablespoon Garlic- Minced

1 Cup Onion-Small Dice (Yellow or White variety of onion)

1 Bay Leaf

½ teaspoon Black Pepper

¼ Cup Butter

¼ Cup All Purpose Flour

6 Cups Chicken Stock* room temperature

Salt to taste

Chop the chicken breasts into 1 inch cubes. Lightly salt.

Preheat a large soup pot until you can feel heat radiating from the surface when you hold your hand 6 inches from the bottom.

Add the canola oil and spread it around the bottom of the pot. The oil should smoke very slightly.

Add the chicken breast. You should hear loud sizzling in your pot. If your chicken starts to release liquid, your pot is over crowded.** Let sit until it doesn’t stick. Move the pieces around for a couple of seconds then remove from the pot. Reserve for later.

Add the celery and carrots. Reduce the heat of the pot until you hear a slight sizzle. You do not want to hear popping sounds. Lightly salt.

Cook until the carrots start to brighten in color.

Add the onions and garlic.

Cook until the onions start to become golden in color.

Add the butter and coat the vegetable mixture.

When the butter is melted add the flour. You do not want to hear any loud sizzling in your pot. The cooking sound should be a very soft sizzle.

Cook the mixture until the flour turns golden brown and has a toasted smell. The flour mixture- called roux*** will loosen up as it cooks. The longer you cook the roux the darker it will become. The final color of your stew will be the color of your roux.

Add your chicken stock and reserved chicken.

Stir until combined. 

Add the bay leaf and pepper.

Simmer until thick and bubbly and the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are done to your liking. If you like very soft vegetables, wait to add the chicken or it will dry out. Taste. Does it need more salt? Add it now. Does it seem too thick? Add more stock. The stew does not need to be overly thick to cook the dumplings. The stew should coat the back of a metal spoon. Keep in mind that the dumpling will absorb about 1 cup of liquid.

Dumplings

2 Cups All Purpose Flour

½ Cup Unsalted Butter (cold)

1 Tablespoon Baking Powder

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Cup Buttermilk

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.

Using your hands, mix the butter with the flour. Continue mixing until the flour resembles small grains and holds together slightly when squeezed.

Stir in the buttermilk. The mixture will be slightly sticky.

Dumplings are added in the final stage of cooking right before serving. 

Using a spoon or ice cream scoop, drop a golf ball size amount of dumpling dough, right into the simmering chicken stew. You do not want to see a rolling boil in the pot, bubbles should be lightly breaking the surface. The dumplings will double in size.

Cover with a tight fitting lid. Do not turn off the heat.

Allow to steam for 8 to 10 minutes. Check after 8 minutes, your dumplings are done when you break one open and it is fluffy on the inside.

Serve

*Unless you are using homecooked chicken stock, all purchased products vary greatly in sodium level. Check the label before adding to the pot. This will determine how much salt you will add and prevent over salting.

1/4 teaspoon of table salt like Morton = 590 mg

1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt = 480 mg

1/4 teaspoon of Crystal Sea Salt = 580 mg

Sodium Levels of Salt per 1/4 teaspoon

** Overcrowding lowers the temperate of your pot and you will start to steam your chicken and it will not brown properly. The result is dry and nasty chicken that tastes like cardboard. And no, those juices will not keep your chicken moist. You need to keep the juice in the chicken. You can not add it back in. If you see your chicken starting to juice, remove some of the chicken and raise the heat. Keep an eye on your pot. You want your chicken to brown slightly, but not juice out. Depending on your pot size, you may need to do this in batches.

***Roux- A cooked mixture of equal parts flour and fat, by weight, used as a thickener of sauces.