Chicken and Dumplings

Remember when you were a kid and you would get homemade chicken and dumplings all the time? Yeah, neither do I! Ha, but for some reason, there's just something very homey about this recipe. It feels like something your Grandma would have made and you would sit around a warm fireplace eating it. I love this recipe because that's what it makes you feel like when you eat it, so warm and cozy! Chicken and dumplings is the ultimate comfort food. I slightly adapted this recipe from Tyler Florance's version, and it's the best I have tried. I once tried to make Paula Deen's recipe and it turned out lackluster. So, just save  yourself some time and make this one! You can obviously substitute the homemade stock for store bought, but I don't like to waste anything and since I already had the chicken, why not? I did buy the roast chicken from the store, I find it's just as good and didn't want to spend 8 hours making this. 

Ingredients: 

Chicken Stock: 

• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 onion, quartered
• 2 large carrots, cut in large chunks
• Half bunch of celery, cut in large chunks (about 8 stalks) 
• 5 cloves garlic, smashed (skins on is okay)
• Bones of 1 whole cooked chicken 
• 10-12 cups cold water
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme or 4 sprigs fresh
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 tsp salt 

Dumplings:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tbs baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup - 1 cup buttermilk 
• 2 tbs chopped fresh chives 

Sauce:

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 tbs butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 large carrots, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves 
• 1/4 cup flour
• 10 cups chicken stock (see above)
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbs cornstarch
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

For the stock:

Normally stock takes a long time to cook, but cooking the vegetables before adding the water and chicken bones helps speed up the process. Using a roast chicken, remove chicken from bones and set aside. Heat olive oil in large stock pot over medium high heat. Add the the vegetables and saute about 4 minutes. Add in the water, chicken bones, bay leaves, herbs and pepper. Cook for at least an hour, the longer the better! Strain into a large bowl to remove all the solids and set aside. 

For the Dumplings:

Sift all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, Lightly beat the eggs and milk together until combined. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry, folding gently. Add the chives. Mix just until the dough comes together. If the dough looks too dry, you can add more buttermilk. Set aside. 

For the Sauce: 

In the same stock pot used to make the stock, melt the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add all the veggies and bay leaves, cook 5 minutes or until soft. Add in the flour and cook an additional 2 minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste. 

Add the stock, one cup at a time. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove 1/2 cup of the liquid and whisk in the cornstarch. Making sure there are no lumps, add the mixture to the pot and let it lightly boil for 5 minutes until slightly thickened. Note: it shouldn't be super thick, you still want it soup like. It will thicken a little more once you add the dumplings. 

Fold in the reserved chicken from the roast chicken you used to make the stock. Stir in cream.

Using 2 spoons or a cookie scoop, drop heaping tablespoons of the dumpling dough into the hot sauce. The dumplings should cover the top of the sauce, but shouldn't be touching. Cover and let poach 10-15 minutes until firm and puffy. 

Garnish with chives and serve! 

PRINTABLE RECIPE