Taking stock of chicken, dumplings controversy
A recent email caught my eye, one about the controversy surrounding chicken and dumplings. Never having known that this was an issue, I read the story and discovered what the debate was all about: flat, rolled, cut dumplings vs. fluffy, puffy ones.
And I won’t even go into the topic of creamy, thick chicken and dumplings as opposed to a thin broth with vegetables in it, something that, in my book, is more akin to chicken soup than chicken and dumplings. I’ve always been of the mind that chicken and dumplings must be on the thick and creamy side.
Aside from that, I wish that, in our household, the debate is over rolled vs. flat or thick vs. thin. At my house, the debate is love vs. hate. I love them, but my husband thoroughly dislikes them. He was born and raised in the South, so for the life of me, I can’t figure out his aversion to chicken and dumplings. To me, it’s part of our culture and should be as much loved by any Southerner as fried green tomatoes, grits and Krystal hamburgers.
I still make them, but that puts me in a position of having to make another meal for my husband or tell him he’s on his own for takeout. But that puts me in another quandary of having a boatload of chicken and dumplings. As much as I love them, I certainly couldn’t sit down and eat an entire potful. Fortunately, they do freeze well. If you find yourself in the same position, I would suggest freezing them in individual quart-size bags so you can pull out just one serving at a time.
My mother always made drop dumplings, so in her honor in this week before Mother’s Day, here’s her recipe. It’s one that I treasure, like any child who remembers cooking with their moms and learning her tricks of the trade. Remember, if you want oldfashioned fluffy dumplings, don’t overwork the dough. Follow the less-is-more method. This recipe is like many others, but for me, my mother’s is the only one.
Shirley’s Chicken and Dumplings
8 to 9 chicken thighs,
skins on
12 cups water (or more) 2 chicken bouillon cubes 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 2 1/4 cups chicken broth, divided (from the pot used to cook the chicken)
2 cups milk
6 tablespoons cornstarch 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking
powder
1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup solid shortening
1 1/4 cups full-fat buttermilk
Place the chicken thighs in a large deep pot. Cover with at least 12 cups of water. The pot should be 2/3 full of water. Add the bouillon cubes, salt, pepper, garlic powder and thyme. Bring to a boil over high heat, keeping an eye on the pot so it doesn’t boil over. Reduce heat to medium, and cook covered with a lid until the chicken is done, about 1 hour. Transfer the chicken to a bowl, reserving the broth, and turn off the heat under the broth. Cover the chicken with a foil tent and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes. Remove the skins and bones, and cut it into bitesize pieces. Cover the chicken to prevent it from drying out while you make the dumplings.
Add the 2 cups of chicken broth, milk, cornstarch and salt to a medium saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until the sauce thickens, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside.
For the dumplings: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using two forks or a pastry blender, cut in the shortening. Add the buttermilk and 1/4 cup chicken broth, and mix just to combine. The mixture should be pretty wet.
Meanwhile, bring the remaining broth in the pot back to a boil over mediumhigh heat. Drop the dumplings by large spoonfuls into the broth, separating them from each other in the broth. Use a large ice cream scoop to drop the dumplings to make sure they are all the same size so they cook through at the same time. Cover the pot with a lid, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 10 minutes without removing the lid. Remove lid after 10 minutes. Gently ladle some of the broth over the top of the dumplings, and allow them to cook for an additional minute. Add the chicken and reserved chicken broth-milk mixture to the pot, and very gently mix to combine. Serve hot. Refrigerate leftovers. Reheat leftovers in a pot on the stove. Microwaving makes the dumplings tough and chewy.