Chicken & Dumplings

Submitted by Beamer42 on September 17, 2012 - 1:34pm
Chicken & Dumplings

Summary

Yield
SourceBack to the Cutting Board
Prep Time1 1/2 hours
CategoryPoultry
CuisineAmerican

Description

The right kind of chicken and dumplings are the kind that Brandon’s grandmother makes. They are the kind you get at Cracker Barrel. They are true southern style, and they don’t actually have dumplings, it’s more like slabs of tender and delicious biscuit dough. You could think of them as really big, thick noodles. There are no silly things like vegetables in here, it’s just chicken, chicken stock and dumplings. Period. You can eat your green beans and fried okra on side like the real Southerners do. Every single time we go to Cracker Barrel, that’s what Brandon gets. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. And you know that’s going to be hard to live up to because I’m sure Cracker Barrel makes those things with lard and crack cocaine like everything else they serve. (I kid, I love Cracker Barrel, lard and all!)

Ingredients

  • 1 large fryer chicken 4-5 lbs.
  • 1 onion peeled and cut into quarters
  • 3 carrots cut into large pieces
  • 3 stalks of celery cut into large pieces
  • 1 box of Mary B's Dumplings - from Walmart

Instructions

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). 

Once chicken is done, remove from the broth and let cool.

Remove chicken from the bone (this shouldn’t be hard, it should be falling off pretty easily at this point) and shred into medium-sized pieces, discarding bones and skin.

Pour the chicken broth through a fine mesh sieve lined with cheese cloth (I improvised and used a coffee filter), discarding vegetables.

Reserve 6 cups of the broth for the dumplings.

Refrigerate or freeze the rest to use in for another recipe. It’s much more flavorful than the chicken broth you buy at the grocery store.

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, approximately 15-20 minutes, or longer.

Season generously with salt and pepper.

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