Chicken and Dumplings

"My mom made a similar recipe for this comforting dish, and I still remember the wonderful aroma of chicken and dumplings cooking throughout the house. She didn't make it often, but when she did, what a treat. I especially loved the light, tender dumplings, which is still my most favorite part of this dish. (In a pinch, Bisquick dumplings are also very good). For those of you, like my good friend Cindy, who like a more Southern style of dumpling (heavier, chewier), the recipe is at the bottom. This recipe is from Steph's Country Kitchen Goodness. This is my favorite website for recipes."
 
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photo by DianaEatingRichly photo by DianaEatingRichly
photo by DianaEatingRichly
photo by Hautemealz photo by Hautemealz
photo by Pam-I-Am photo by Pam-I-Am
photo by hindsc photo by hindsc
photo by Melody M. photo by Melody M.
Ready In:
3hrs
Ingredients:
15
Serves:
4-6
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ingredients

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directions

  • Combine chicken, celery, carrots, onion, chicken broth, parsley, chicken bouillon granules, salt and pepper in a large pan or dutch oven; add enough water to cover chicken.
  • Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 2 hours or until chicken is done.
  • Remove chicken and let stand until cool enough to handle.
  • Remove skin from chicken and tear meat away from bones.
  • Return meat to soup; discard skin and bones.
  • Add more salt and pepper to taste, if desired.
  • Return soup to a simmer.
  • In a mixing bowl, combine dumpling ingredients and mix well to form a stiff dough.
  • Drop by tablespoonfuls into simmering soup.
  • Cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Serve immediately.
  • Yield: 4 to 6 servings.
  • *SOUTHERN STYLE DUMPLINGS (heavier and chewier) 2 cups flour, 1 cup chicken broth, 2 tsp baking powder, 2 beaten eggs. Combine flour, broth, baking powder and eggs; mix well to form a stiff batter. Drop by tablespoonfuls into simmering soup. Cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Questions & Replies

  1. What size dutch oven did you use? I have a 10 inch one. Not sure if that is large enough.
     
  2. Is skin removed from the chicken to reduce fat in the soup?
     
  3. How much water do I add? It doesn't say how much.
     
  4. Do you boil the chicken whole or do you cut it up before you boil it?
     
  5. can you cook it in the oven?
     
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Reviews

  1. When looking at a new recipe on a website or blog, I always like to scroll through the comments to see what people thought of the dish, and check for any adjustments they may have made, that sound good to me. Almost always, there is at least one post telling the blogger how terrible the dish was, and how some step in the process didn't work "at ALL!" These comments are invariably followed by a lengthy, pompous, diatribe on "the right way" to make this recipe. These comments make me twitch. Chef's note: Before you tell a food blogger what they did wrong, or the "right way" to make their dish, read through the rest of the comments (yes, yes, I know this is counter-intuitive, as it's really only the sound of your own voice that you're interested in, but humor me...) If most of the comments follow a theme of "GREAT RECIPE!" or "MY FAMILY LOVED IT!"...perhaps think twice before sharing your infinite wisdom on what the blogger did wrong, and consider...just consider...that if everyone else liked it, or didn't have the same problem that you had...the idiot in the equation is probably the guy holding your favorite spoon. Just a crazy thought. -Chef Perry BTW...this recipe was fantastic. Thank you!
     
    • Review photo by Hautemealz
  2. Very good, very fast recipe that the family loved. The only thing I changed was that I used two sets of veggies. The first set of veggies I boiled with the chicken for flavor as the recipe stated. I discarded them after that( way to mushy for my taste). The second set of veggies I added right before adding the dumplings, and finshed the recipe the same. This step made the veggies firmer instead of mushy.
     
  3. I had made a chicken stew to use for several preparations, one of which was to make Chicken and Dumplings, so I only used the dumpling part of this recipe. The dumplings were light and had a delicious ('perfect' in my book) texture and flavor. I used melted unsalted butter instead of oil, and used a scant teaspoon of salt. I also cooked them close to 30 minutes. Just wonderful. DH was very suspicious - his experience had always been with heavy, gooey dumplings - but he loved this. The secret to a light dumpling is to never lift the lid until they're done (just like cooking rice). Thanks for a great recipe for an old standard.
     
  4. Although this dish is normally considered "comfort food" this simple recipe is worthy of a dinner party. I followed instructions tit for tat except that I used 3-1/2 lbs. of boneless, skinless thighs (my favorite in soupy chicken dishes because the rich chicken flavor does not get washed out). Your recipe rocks, Ms. Vezina! Thank you for sharing and know that this is now my default Chicken 'n dumplings recipe. Booyah!!!
     
  5. What I love about recipes like this is that it allows for the passionate cook to come out and play. And for the beginner cook, it is simple and straight forward. This recipe has virtually endless variations on what can be done with it. In my Dumplings I tossed in some Italian herbs and pepper. My 'Soup', loaded it up with all kinds of veggies, what ever is in season. Wonderful Chicken and Dumpling. This is a great recipe as is or made with the flavours you like. Either way, it is a keeper!
     
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Tweaks

  1. Ok, so: This is my first time posting on ANY site like this, but I felt strongly enough about the results of this recipe to actually sign up and post here. PLEASE READ THIS before you complete this recipe. I'm a southerner. I know what chicken and dumplings should look / taste like. I did not try to make the "regular" dumplings for this recipe, but the "southern style" dumplings were a catastrophe. They were impossible to mold and ended up as a goopy mess on top of this delicious chicken soup recipe. Here are the *correct* ingredient proportions if you want "southern style" dumplings with this recipe: Ingredients: 3 cups all purpose flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 egg 3/4 cup chicken broth salt and / or pepper to taste Mix these ingredients together, and you'll get actual dough - something you can mold with your hands. Mold the dough into teaspoon-sized dumplings, setting each dumpling aside on a plate until you're finished. When you've made as many dumplings as this recipe will allow, add them one at a time to the chicken soup, cover, and simmer for an additional 20/25 minutes. You'll have your southern chicken and dumplings. PS: If you want to make this a truly rich dish, try this (my guests nearly passed out - so good!) 1) When you're prepping your veggies, separate the celery and carrots from the onion 2) To the onion, add a few cloves of garlic and a whole shallot, minced. 3) To the carrots and celery, add about 2 Tbsps of fresh thyme, minced. Now, time to start cooking: 1) Put 1 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter into your dutch oven. Melt it, and then add the onion, garlic, and shallot. Cook for five minutes or until translucent. 2) Add 4 Tbsps sherry to the mix. Cook for two minutes. 3) Add your celery / carrot / bouillon mixture (withhold the chicken broth). Cook for three minutes. 4) Now, add the chicken broth and the chicken / water. Continue with the recipe as outlined. You'll end up with a much richer chicken / dumplings with a flavor that people want to place but just can't. Trust me - worth the effort! When you're finished, you'll have the southern-style dumplings you originally wanted. PS: Sorry for the sloppy formatting. I assumed I could have paragraphs, etc. but I can't.
     
  2. I had made a chicken stew to use for several preparations, one of which was to make Chicken and Dumplings, so I only used the dumpling part of this recipe. The dumplings were light and had a delicious ('perfect' in my book) texture and flavor. I used melted unsalted butter instead of oil, and used a scant teaspoon of salt. I also cooked them close to 30 minutes. Just wonderful. DH was very suspicious - his experience had always been with heavy, gooey dumplings - but he loved this. The secret to a light dumpling is to never lift the lid until they're done (just like cooking rice). Thanks for a great recipe for an old standard.
     
  3. I added potatoes and corn as per my own mothers version
     
  4. It turned out really good I tried to make it lite so I used chicken breast and canned chicken broth I want to know how many calories are in the southwestern biscuits have in them. So good.
     
  5. 1.) Chicken broth: I make my own & it always adds so much more flavor & richness to any chicken-broth-based soup, I boiled the whole chicken (not cut up) the day before in a large soup/stock pot, heat it and timed it- leave at a roiling boil for 20 minutes, then let it cool for about an hour in the pot, removed and deboned, stored the meat for the next day in the fridge, returned the bones to the pot in the same water (topping it off) to be on low heat all the rest of the day and through the night. Never regret making my own stock, doing so you can often forego the bouillon cubes & have a more organic soup base. This also gave me double the broth, you can either freeze some for another day or use it all for a much more brothy-soup (this is what I did). I save the chicken to add after the soup is finished, since it's already cooked and don't want to have it over-cooked or rubbery meat. 2.) Instead of the listed veggies I make a standard mirepoix, sautéed and add it to the broth after removing the bones the next morning. After boiling to the point of -near tenderness, I added the dumplings - which were some of the best I've tried! Thanks so much. I found they are much like southern biscuits, the more you manipulate them or handle them, the firmer/denser they got, so don't overmix them! Lastly, I used fresh chopped parsley & doubled it because I like the brightness it gives to the soup. Overall an excellent, delicious chicken n dumplings! Thanks so much.
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

I live in NH I am a stay at home mom. I love cooking, baking, watching movies and sports, baseball & football.
 
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