Sheri’s Shortcut Chicken Stew With Fluffy Dumplings

Yields: 6 to 8 servings

Here, fluffy and biscuit-like dumplings float like clouds atop a simple stew of large pieces of tender chicken studded with bright orange carrots and flecks of herbs. Rich broth with plenty of body that actually tastes like chicken is the bedrock of this stew and other recipes.

A note about the rotisserie chickens: We have called for small birds, and all their meat can be used. But if you buy larger rotisserie birds, like the ones at Costco, only use the white meat and reserve the dark meat for another use. Why? Because using all the meat from a large bird will thicken the stew to the point where the dumplings won’t be able to float.

From cookbook author Sheri Castle.

Ingredients

For the broth and stew

2 small, plain rotisserie chickens (see headnote)

4 cups cold water

8 cups low-sodium chicken broth (store-bought or homemade) 3 large thyme sprigs

3 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 small onion, chopped (about 3⁄4 cup)

2 medium ribs celery, thinly sliced (about 3⁄4 cup)

2 medium carrots, scrubbed well and cut into thin rounds (about 1 1⁄2 cups) 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

1⁄2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more as needed

For the dumplings

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt 1⁄2 teaspoon sugar 1⁄2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

4 tablespoons (1⁄2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes and chilled 2 tablespoons chilled vegetable shortening (may substitute leaf lard)

3⁄4 cup half-and-half

Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Instructions

For the broth and stew: Pull the meat from the chickens and tear it into largish bite-size pieces; cover and refrigerate until needed.

Place the carcasses and skin in a large saucepan or small pot. Add the cold water, broth, thyme sprigs and 1 teaspoon of the salt; bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for about an hour, until the carcasses fall apart and the liquid reduces to about 8 cups and tastes like rich chicken soup. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer into a large saucepan; discard solids. Stir in the vinegar and keep the broth warm on the lowest heat setting.

Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots, thyme leaves and a pinch of salt, stirring to coat. Cook for 8 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften, stirring often. Add the broth and cook for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

Season with the remaining 2 teaspoons salt and the pepper. Stir in the reserved rotisserie chicken; reduce the heat to low.

For the dumplings: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and pepper in a medium bowl. Work in the butter and shortening with your fingertips until the mixture is crumbly. Add the half-and-half and stir only until combined to form a soft, sticky dough.

Bring the chicken stew to a boil over medium-high heat. Use a 1-ounce scoop or two soup spoons to drop golf-ball-size dumplings evenly over the surface of the stew. Reduce the heat to medium; cover and cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until the dumplings are firm, fluffy and somewhat dry on top.

Uncover and let stand for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve warm.