favicon

Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken and Dumplings

Performed by Al Van Natta

Featuring The Gang

Ingredients

Soup Base

  • 1 (4-pound) whole chicken
  • 10 cups water
  • 4 cups unsalted chicken stock
  • 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
  • 3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped (about 6 ounces)
  • 2 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 5 ounces)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 onion, peeled and cut into wedges (about 10 ounces)
  • 1/2 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley (about 2 ounces)

Soup and dumplings

  • 3 tablespoons butter, divided
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1/4 cup sliced celery
  • 1 carrot, halved lengthwise and sliced
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 6 tablespoons nonfat buttermilk

Other

  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Buttermilk Biscuits

  • <a href="https://alvannatta.com/recipes/buttermilk_biscuits">1 batch biscuits</a>

Directions

Soup Base

  1. Remove giblets and neck from chicken; trim excess fat. Place chicken, 10 cups water, 4 cups unsalted chicken stock, 1 tablespoon black peppercorns, 3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped (about 6 ounces), 2 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 5 ounces), 2 bay leaves, and 1 onion, peeled and cut into wedges (about 10 ounces) in an 8-quart stock pot.
  2. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 1 hour, skimming foam from surface as necessary. Remove from heat; let stand 20 minutes.
  3. Remove skin from chicken; remove chicken from bones, discarding skin and bones. Shred chicken with 2 forks into bite-sized pieces.
  4. Strain broth through a sieve into a large bowl; discard solids. Cool broth and chicken to room temperature. Cover and chill broth and chicken 8 to 24 hours.
  5. Skim solidified fat from surface; discard. Reserve 8 cups of the broth and all of the chicken. Refrigerate remaining broth in an airtight container for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 3 months for another use.

Soup Prep

  1. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrot to pan; cook 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  2. Stir in 1 tablespoon flour, 3⁄4 teaspoon salt, and pepper; cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Stir in 8 cups reserved stock.
  3. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Dumpling prep

  1. Instead of doing these dumplings and cooking them in the water, I just used the trimmings from the biscuits and it was dope.

Buttermilk Biscuits

  1. Add butter to the flour mixture, and mix around until all the pieces are coated.
  2. Add 1 ¼ cups buttermilk to the mixture and give it a good stir.
  3. Remove the mixture from the bowl and continue to try to coax together into a sort of rectangle. Using a generously floured rolling pin, roll it out to a 16 by 9 inch rectangle and fold in thirds like a letter. Watch the episode above if you need help!
  4. Repeat this process five times.
  5. Place the dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up.
  6. Roll the dough out to a roughly 9x9 square-ish shape, and trim off the edges using a very sharp knife that was dusted in flour.
  7. Cut cleanly into 9 square biscuits.
  8. Place back on the parchment-lined baking sheet and brush with butter.
  9. Bake the biscuits at 400°F for 20-25 minutes.
  10. Cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before consumption.
  11. Place back on the parchment-lined baking sheet and brush with butter.
  12. Bake the biscuits at 400°F for 20-25 minutes.
  13. Cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before consumption.

Final assembly

  1. Gently stir in reserved shredded chicken and thyme. Simmer very low 6 minutes or until thoroughly heated and dumplings are done.
  2. Remove from heat, and ladle into shallow bowls. Sprinkle evenly with chopped parsley.
  3. Chuck a biscuit on top and call it a day.

Nutrition information

  1. Per 1 1/4 cups chicken mixture, 3 dumplings, and 1 teaspoon parsley: CALORIES 258, FAT 7.4g (sat 3.5g, mono 2g, poly 1g), PROTEIN 26.2g, CARB 20.7g, FIBER 2.2g, CHOL 77mg, IRON 2.5mg, SODIUM 629mg, CALC 69mg