food international Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken and dumplings. Mmmm. Let’s just contemplate that for a moment.

I love Chicken and Dumplings. Love it. I love Chicken and Noodles, too, and Chicken Spaghetti, and basically any dish that begins with cooking a chicken in a pot and throwing in some kind of noodle or dumpling. Comfort food to the max. Like, totally.

Dumplings, when it comes to Chicken and Dumplings, can be a little difficult to get right; if you’re not careful, you can wind up with gloopy flour balls that wind up in a paste on the roof of your mouth. But in all my trial and error, I’ve found that dumpling recipes that include cornmeal along with the flour completely solve that problem.

This is an adaptation of one of my favorite old Gourmet Magazine recipes for Chicken and Dumplings. I’ve tailored it in a few ways through the years, but kept my two favorite elements: the dumplings (because I think they really are perfect) and the addition of apple cider (you have to trust me on this.)

Don’t be intimidated—while it takes a little time to cook, it’s a beautifully simple dish.

With beautifully delicious results.

 

You need a whole chicken. Whenever I need a whole chicken I almost always buy a cut-up fryer; all the hard work’s already done! Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper…

Then dredge each piece in flour.

Shake off the excess.

 

Melt some butter and olive oil in a pot…

 

Then brown the chicken in two batches.

  Loveliness!

When the chicken’s nice and brown, remove it from the pot. It doesn’t have to be done in the middle; it’s going back into the pot in a minute.

Next, slice up some carrots. Don’t even peel ’em! Just wash ’em really thoroughly.

 

Dice ’em up into small—but not tiny—pieces.

 

Do the same with celery…

 

And onions…

 

Then throw it all into the same pot you used to cook the chicken.

One pot meals make my skirt fly up.

Speaking of which, my friend Pam has an entire cookbook of dinners that are made in one pot, dish, or baking pan. If you’re into that sort of thing, here’s the link:

Perfect One Dish Dinners by Pam Anderson

(Pam Anderson did not know I was going to slip a mention of my cookbook in here.)

(To be honest, I didn’t know I was going to until approximately fifty seconds ago.)

(This is basically how I roll.)

Cook the carrots, celery, and onions over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes.

  Throw in some ground thyme and just a leetle bit of turmeric.

If you don’t like turmeric, you can leave it out…but it’s such a tiny amount, you’ll hardly taste it. And it really does give the finished dish a lovely golden tinge and nice flavor.

 

Stir in the herbs until they’re combined…

 

Then pour in some low (or no) sodium chicken broth.

 

Stir as you’re pouring it in.

Next, put the browned chicken back in the pot.

And here’s where I can tell you about the two different directions you can head with the chicken. It’s nice and brown and pretty, so if you wanted a more impressive/elegant presentation, you could leave the chicken pieces whole and serve a piece with each serving. I tend to like chicken diced up and/or shredded for dishes like this, so I’ll take the meat off the bone. But I wanted to show you the option here.

I would normally say that if you plan to take the meat off the bone for the finished dish, there’s no need to dredge it in flour and go to great lengths to brown the chicken and make it pretty. But first of all, browning the chicken first injects some good chicken flavor into the dish right off the bat; and second of all, the small amount of flour used to dredge the chicken actually winds up giving the dish a little strength and substance later (without sprinkling in a whole lot of extra flour.)

Did that make sense?

No?

Good! Then today is a normal day.

 
Oops! Forgot an ingredient. Apple cider! I see this in the occasional chicken and dumpling or chicken and noodle dish, and while it sounds totally bizarre, it really does add just a nice little oomph.

Normally, you’d add the cider along with the chicken broth.

That’s what most people would do.

But most people operate on a higher level of organization and clear thinking than I do.

And that’s it for awhile! Just cover the pot and simmer the chicken for a good 20 minutes or so. You want the chicken to finish cooking and the broth to achieve a nice, deep flavor.

Next, it’s time to make the dumplings! The best dumplings, in my opinion, have a mix of cornmeal and flour. Without the cornmeal, the dumplings can become gummy and overly glutenous and then your life can completely fall to pieces if you’re not careful.

The pressure! The pressure!

 

Sift together the dry ingredients, then pour in half-and-half.

(Whole milk will work, too…but half-and-half seems to hold things together a little better.)

Stir it together until just combined. It won’t be overly wet, but if you feel like it needs a teeny bit more moisture, just splash in a tiny bit of half-and-half.

Now just set this aside for a minute.

Now, back to the pot: remove the chicken to a plate. Continue simmering the broth.

 

Use two forks to pick the meat from the bone.

 

Then throw this into the pot.

Yum! 

 
Now, pour 1/2 to 3/4 cup of heavy cream into the pot. This will not result in an overly creamy base; it’ll just give it a nice richness. Stir it around to combine…

 

Then it’s time to throw in the dumplings! I just use a tablespoon to roughly scoop out some dough, then drop it on in without shaping it or messing with it at all. You want the dumplings to be rough and rustic and interesting. You don’t want ping pong balls.

After you drop in all the dumplings, just put the lid on the pot and let it simmer for another 15 minutes or so.

Bingo!

 

I can’t tell you how heavenly this smells.

But I’ll try: This smells so heavenly.

How was that?

Uh…waiter? Call 911. I’m dying from bliss right here at my table.

 

So here’s what I think I should do: give it a nice, healthy taste.

I wouldn’t want to serve my family an inferior product.

I’m considerate like that.

Absolutely scrumptious. Here’s what the dumplings look like on the inside, even after about fifteen minutes of simmering. The outside is soft and moist; the inside is a little grainy and textured.

 

And the surrounding elements: perfect. Not overly brothy and thin; not overly creamy and thick. Lovely chicken flavor, lovely hints of thyme and turmeric.

Lovely, lovely, lovely. Who can argue with that?

Enjoy this, guys! It takes awhile to whip out, but it’s really very easy to make. And it’ll make anyone you serve it to say ooooh, aaaah, and I love you.

Recipe

Chicken and Dumplings

Prep Time:

15 Minutes

Difficulty:

Easy

Cook Time:

30 Minutes

Servings:

8 Servings

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
• 1 whole Chicken, Cut Into Pieces (cut Up Fryer)
• Salt And Pepper
• 1/2 cup Finely Diced Carrots
• 1/2 cup Finely Diced Celery
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric
• 6 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
• 1/2 cup Apple Cider
• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
• Dumplings:
• 1-1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup Yellow Cornmeal
• 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1-1/2 cup Half-and-half
• 2 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Parsley (optional)
• Salt As Needed

Instructions

Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt and pepper, then dredge both sides in flour.

Melt butter in a pot over medium-high heat. In two batches, brown chicken on both sides and remove to a clean plate.

In the same pot, add diced onion, carrots, and celery. Stir and cook for 3 to 4 minutes over medium-low heat. Stir in ground thyme and turmeric, then pour in chicken broth and apple cider. Stir to combine, then add browned chicken. Cover pot and simmer for 20 minutes.

While chicken is simmering, make the dough for the dumplings: sift together all dry ingredients, then add half-and-half, stirring gently to combine. Set aside.

Remove chicken from pot and set aside on a plate. Use two forks to remove chicken from the bone. Shred, then add chicken to the pot. Pour heavy cream into the pot and stir to combine.

Drop tablespoons of dumpling dough into the simmering pot. Add minced parsley if using. Cover pot halfway and continue to simmer for 15 minutes. Check seasonings; add salt if needed. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

*Adapted from Gourmet Magazine