One of my favorite meals growing up was Chicken & Dumplings. It’s still a favorite comfort food meal I usually make in the dead of winter. It’s so good, even my husband is convinced it’s more than “just chicken soup.” The original recipe hales from an old Watkin’s cookbook. Back in the day, we had a gentleman we called “the Watkin’s man”…clever, huh? we were pretty bright kids…who went door-to-door selling Watkin’s products. Mom usually bought her vanilla from him. But the most coveted purchase was the Watkin’s Cookbook. My sisters and I all laid claim to it when Mom decided she was done cooking. I’m the current holder of the book….at least until my sisters figure that out and come beating down my door! More on the book another time, but until then, with some of my own tweaking, here’s Old-Fashioned Chicken & Dumplings. I hope it warms your heart, and belly, like it does ours.
Old-Fashioned Chicken & Dumplings
Ingredients
- 4 large bone-in chicken breasts
- 4 celery stalks including leaves, cut into large chunks
- 1 large onion cut into large chunks
- 4-5 whole thyme stalks
- 1 T salt
- 3 tsp pepper or 8-10 whole peppercorns
- 6 C water
Dumplings
- 4 C all-purpose flour
- Milk
- Eggs
- Salt
Slurry to Thicken Gravy
- 4 T cornstarch
- 1 C ice cold water
Instructions
- Put all ingredients into a large dutch oven or stock pot. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cook until chicken is done, 30-40 minutes. Remove chicken from pot when done, and cool. When able to handle, remove chicken from bones and cut or shred into medium size pieces.
- Strain broth through a sieve to remove large chunks, and return broth to pot. Add chicken back to pot and turn heat to a very low simmer. (By the way, this is a great starter for chicken soup!)
- DUMPLINGS....Mix all ingredients just until combined. Do not overmix, or dumplings will be tough. Bring chicken & broth to a boil and drop tablespoons of dumpling into the broth. They’ll expand while cooking, so don’t make your dough drops too big. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook 15 minutes. DO NOT PEEK! The dumplings will do just fine in the dark without you peeking!
- SLURRY TO THICKEN GRAVY....Mix well and make sure there are no chunks. I use a fork to mix because it seems to get rid of chunks better. When dumplings are done, raise heat to bring broth to a boil. Slowly pour slurry into broth, stirring constantly. Add slurry to desired gravy thickness.
Enjoy!
Quick PS for you…one of my all-time favorite investments is my oval enamel/cast iron dutch oven. I literally use it for everything, including baking bread in the oven! It gives a terrific sear on meats. Because it’s enamel coated, I didn’t have to go through the process of seasoning the cast iron. And, that it goes from stovetop right into the oven is a big bonus. If you’re looking to make a great kitchen investment, I would put this on your Top 5 List!
