Chicken and Dumplings

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Southern cuisine is an experience loaded with memories, culture, and history. One of my earliest culinary memories is standing on a stool in my great grandmother’s kitchen helping roll out dough for chicken and dumplings. I remember standing on my tiptoes, struggling to keep my balance, as I pressed a flour-dusted mason jar into the dough, all while listening to my great-grandmother share stories of her life during the Great Depression.

I still remember the aromas that flowed through her kitchen when she cooked for family gatherings. You couldn’t walk into Louise Lawrence’s house without her offering to feed you something that she could whip up quickly or reheat from the fridge. These experiences and memories live with me today, as I pave my culinary path. 🥣

Chicken and dumplings can be as complex or as simple as you’d like them to be. Some folks bust open a can of biscuits and some make homemade dumplings. Truly there’s no right or wrong way to make this dish. Now as an elevated southern chef, I do have my preferences when it comes to preparing this classic southern comfort dish, so I’ve written up a foolproof semi-easy recipe to make a big ole’ pot of comfort for yourself and your loved ones to experience. 🤍

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🥘 Ingredients

For the Broth

• 6-7 lbs bone-in leg quarters

• Salt & pepper to taste

• 2 large yellow onions (halved)

• 5 stalks of celery (halved)

• 4 large carrots (halved)

• 3 large bay leaves

• 1 teaspoon thyme

• 5 cloves garlic

• ½ cup milk

• ¼ cup butter

• All-purpose flour for thickening

• Water to cover

• 5 boiled eggs (peeled and diced) 

For the Dumplings

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

• 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder

• ¼ cup cold shortening or cold butter

• ¼ cup chilled chicken broth

• Salt to taste

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👩‍🍳 Directions

1. In a large stock pot, add chicken and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium and simmer for 45 minutes. Skim the fat off the top.

2. Add vegetables, garlic, butter, and herbs to the pot and continue to simmer for an hour.

3. Remove the chicken and set aside to cool. Strain the vegetables and herbs from the broth, returning the broth back to the stock pot. Remove ¼ cup of broth and chill it for the dumplings.

4. Lower the temperature to medium-low heat, add in your milk, and slowly whisk in enough flour to thicken the broth to your desired consistency.

5. In a large bowl, combine all-purpose flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix in the cold butter with your hands. The mixture will be crumbly but well-mixed.

6. Slowly add in the chilled broth until the mixture forms a dough.

7. Flour a clean flat surface and roll out your dough to your desired thickness. Cut strips of dough.

8. Bring your broth to a simmer and individually add the dumplings to the stock pot.

9. Gently mix the dumplings into the broth. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the dumplings are done, occasionally stirring gently.

10. While the dumplings are simmering, pull the chicken meat from the bones and shred it.

11. Stir the chicken and boiled eggs into the dumplings. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with a batch of fried cornbread or chicken cracklings! 🍞🐔

By Chelsea Gieselmann