Chicken & Dumplings

After having been in Germany for a week, and eating out every night, I was ready for some home cooking. I scoured recipes to see what I wanted, and finally landed on making chicken and dumplings. I found a good recipe on Pinterest, and went to work on it. First of all, I’ve never made chicken and dumplings before, but they were always a favorite during childhood. So I was psyched to see if I could recreate. I’ll share the recipe and pics, naturally.

Chicken:
I large fryer chicken (4-5 lbs), neck and gizzards removed. (I just used chicken breasts here…I don’t know where to find a whole chicken. Just at the store? I don’t know)
1 Large onion, peeled and cut in half
3 Carrots, cut into large pieces
3 Stalks of celery, cut into large pieces
Kosher salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Dumplings:
3 cups cake flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
4 1/2 Tbsp shortening
1 Cup milk

Place the chicken, onions, carrots, and celery in a large stock pot and cover with water

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat so water maintains a gentle simmer. Cook chicken for 1 hour or until cooked through (about 165 degrees). About 30 minutes after you start cooking chicken, get started on the dumplings, or you can wait until the chicken is fully cooked.

Once chicken is done, remove from broth and let cool. Remove chicken from the bone, and shred into medium-sized pieces, discarding bone and skin.

Pour the chicken broth through a fine mesh sieve (I’ll be honest, I used a clean, thin dish towel) lined with cheese cloth, discarding vegetables. Reserve 6 cups of the broth for the dumplings. Refrigerate or freeze the rest to use in another recipe.

Mix flour, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl. Cut shortening into flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles small peas.

Add milk – 1/4 cup at a time, you may not need the full cup (I did) – and stir until a ball of dough just begins to form, being careful not to over mix. Roll out the dough onto floured surface that you don’t mind cutting on. Roll about 1/4 inch thick. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut dough into rectangles about 1 inch by 3 inches long. Place strips on wax paper and allow to harden up a bit, about 30 minutes.

In a large pot or dutch oven over medium-low heat, bring broth to a gentle simmer and drop in dumplings. Cover and allow to cook for 6-7 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add chicken. Allow to cook until thickened, about 15-20 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper.

This was actually really delicious – I recommend to everyone! Make sure to leave plenty of time, though – because it does take a while.