Authentic From-Scratch Chicken and Dumplings
Comfort food at it's finest! Fluffy dumplings rest atop a delicious chicken stew made with moist fresh chicken, carrots, celery, onions and freshly made chicken broth. While there are many steps to making authentic from-scratch chicken and dumplings, please don't be intimidated. The steps are simple, as are the ingredients. This is an "all day cooking" dish, but the actual hands on time averages around 30 minutes. Perfect for a cozy day at home. I use my 6 quart enameled cast iron pot for this recipe, and it is perfect for the job.
This is the kind of dish that will transform a regular Saturday or Sunday into a memorable, cozy day.
Chicken and dumplings is really just a stew without potatoes or any other starches in the stew portion. Instead, it’s topped with raw biscuit dough and the dough is allowed to steam and puff up into perfect little orbs of soft, pillowy pastry.
Plan to spend 5-7 hours in total on this recipe. While this is definitely a “slow cooking” dish, the hands-on work for this recipe totals only about thirty minutes. It’s the stewing and the simmering that take a long time, and that’s exactly why this dish is so good. Plus, it will make your house smell cozy, comforting and safe.
I’ve broken this recipe into steps.
Step 1: Stewing the whole chicken.
Step 2: Finishing the broth.
Step 3: Making the Chicken Stew.
Step 4: Making the dumplings.
Step 5: Steaming the Dumplings on the Chicken Stew
Authentic From-Scratch Chicken and Dumplings
Comfort food at it's finest! Fluffy dumplings rest atop a delicious chicken stew made with moist fresh chicken, carrots, celery, onions and freshly made chicken broth. While there are many steps to making authentic from-scratch chicken and dumplings, please don't be intimidated. The steps are simple, as are the ingredients. This is an "all day cooking" dish, but the actual hands on time averages around 30 minutes. Perfect for a cozy day at home. I use my 6 quart enameled cast iron pot for this recipe, and it is perfect for the job.
Ingredients
Step One: Stewing the Chicken
- 1 whole chicken
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 onion peeled and chopped into fourths
- 2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
- 2 carrots peeled and roughly chopped
- 12 cups water or enough to cover the chicken
Step Two: Finishing the Broth
- The bones of the stewed chicken plus any skin, cartilage, connective tissue
- water to replenish the stewing pot
- 1 onion peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 stalks celery roughly chopped
- 1 carrot peeled and roughly chopped
Step Three: Making the Chicken Stew
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 onions peeled and chopped
- 4 carrots peeled and chopped into rounds
- 4 stalks celery sliced
- chicken meat from the stewed chicken Make sure there are no tiny bones hidden in the meat. Dice meat.
- Fresh Broth
Step Four: Making the Dumplings
- 3 cups self-rising flour
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 1 1/2 cup buttermilk
Step Five : Steaming the Dumplings on the Chicken Stew
- chives, thyme or parsley for garnish
Instructions
Step One: Stewing the Chicken
- In a large pot, submerge the raw chicken in water. Add the onion, celery, carrot, salt and pepper. Bring to a low boil, then lower the temperature to a simmer. Cover the pot, leaving a small vent for steam to escape. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
- After the chicken is stewed, remove the carcass with a large slotted spoon. Place the hot chicken on a cutting board. Let it cool until you are able to touch it with your hands without burning yourself. Take all the meat off the bones and set all the meat in one pile, and the bones (skin, cartilage and connective tissue) in another pile. Chop the chicken meat into large chunks. Refrigerate the chicken.
Step Two: Finishing the Broth
- Add the chicken bones back to the pot along with additional onion, celery, carrot. Bring to a low boil, then lower to a simmer. Cover the pot, leaving a small vent for steam. Simmer for 2 hours.After hours, strain the contents of the pot. Reserving the broth and discarding the bones and cooked vegetables. Set the broth aside.
Step Three: Making the Chicken Stew
- In the olive oil, and on medium-high heat, saute the onions for about five minutes. Add the carrots and celery. Saute for an additional five minutes. Add the pre-cooked chicken meat and all of the fresh broth. Simmer on medium for 20 – 30 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
Step Four: Making the Dumplings
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the self-rising flour, melted butter and buttermilk. Stir until you have a stiff, shaggy dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured surface. Work the dough, adding more flour if necessary until you have a somewhat smooth dough. Roll dough into a ball and cut into 16 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.
Step Five : Steaming the Dumplings on the Chicken Stew
- Drop the dumplings into the simmering chicken stew and cover the pot with a lid. Lower the temperature of the burner to low and let the dumplings steam for 30 minutes. Serve in shallow bowls with plenty of broth. Sprinkle with parsley, chives or thyme to garnish.
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