Great Tip For Chicken/Dumplings

My dad was one of those naturally great cooks and he used to make the BEST Chicken and Dumplings. He used flour and salt and all manner of goopy shite. I have spent a lot of time trying to replicate his dumplings with varying degrees of success. But the perfect dumpling has been elusive. My Aunt Hjordis also made fantastic dumplings but I never bothered asking for her recipe for some reason. She died a few years ago. Her daughter mentioned that she was making Chicken and Dumplings a few weeks ago and I asked for the recipe... can I tell you that the dumplings were FANTASTIC and I am laughing at how friggin EASY they were. Ready? You get the CHEAPEST CANNED BISCUITS (NOT the flaky kind) that you can find. That's it. That's the big secret! I tried it and it was insane how good they were! Comforting too.

Here's the full recipe in case you are interested.

Put Chicken (with skin and bones) in a pot. I used 1 small chicken and 3 chicken breasts (with ribs and skin). Pour in enough chicken stock or water to cover chicken. Add 1 bay leaf, 1 whole onion (remove the roots, leave the skin on), about half a pound of potatoes (I chopped them roughly into chunks), 2 broken carrots, 2 broken celery ribs with leaves attached. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about an hour or so - until chicken starts to fall off bone. You can add more stock/water if it simmers down too far.

Remove chicken from pot and use slotted spoon to pick out celery and carrots and bay leaf. Remove the onion and peel away skin. Thow out cooked carrots and celery. Keep pot at a low simmer. Add in a handful of fresh baby carrots or sliced carrots. Add in a handful of fresh sliced celery. Add some chicken base (or boullion if you prefer) and some pepper to taste. Shred chicken and add it back to the pot. Chop up onion roughly and add back to pot. Take the canned biscuits and open them.. run a knife down the stack of biscuits - splitting it into 2 sides... then run the knife the other way through the stack so each biscuit is cut in quarters. Toss the biscuits in the broth and that's it! They will swell then shrink and be PERFECT. You may need to stir a bit while they cook to prevent the chicken from burning at the bottom. I used 2 cans of biscuits - but my cousin uses FOUR!!!! I can't imagine how she fits them all! put a few biscuits in each bowl and as they are cut and eaten, they thicken the broth in the bowl. Delicious.

Message edited 2/8/2010 10:12:09 AM.

Re: Great Tip For Chicken/Dumplings

That sounds so easy and soooo good! Thanks!

My grandmother makes pork and dumplings - I know she uses day-old bread or day-old rolls. She says it takes a lot of arm strength to make her dumplings! This sounds like a great cheat/alternate...

Re: Great Tip For Chicken/Dumplings

If you're watching fat/calories...I was out of the cheapo biscuits one time so I took some soft flour tortillas, used my kitchen shears to cut them into pieces, dropped them into pot and voila!

Re: Great Tip For Chicken/Dumplings

Re: Great Tip For Chicken/Dumplings

I have always used bisquick (regular or reduced fat) and they come out great!! It is one of the few things I so not attempt to make from scratch!

Re: Great Tip For Chicken/Dumplings

Posted by rojerono

Posted by mathteach

If you're watching fat/calories...I was out of the cheapo biscuits one time so I took some soft flour tortillas, used my kitchen shears to cut them into pieces, dropped them into pot and voila!

Now see.. I never even had an iota of an idea to use the cheap canned biscuits! I've been making them from scratch.. so it's a revelation for me.. now you are saying Tortilla's work too? Do you have to ball them up? I'm trying to figure out how they will expand and contract to that delicious texture! And do they still get the soup nice and thick? This is exciting stuff!

Re: Great Tip For Chicken/Dumplings

YOu can also use Bisquick

Re: Great Tip For Chicken/Dumplings

I have tried using Bisquick.. but I don't think I've got "dumpling talent" - when I try it they get too loose or they sink or they just don't have that right chewy consistancy!! And for some reason the broth always gets super heavy when I use Bisquick! Makes me crazy! I like when it looks like broth until after it is served and you start cutting into it.. then it gets all creamy and delightful! I am sooo looking forward to the flour tortilla idea for next time!!!

Message edited 2/10/2010 3:48:17 PM.

Re: Great Tip For Chicken/Dumplings

This sounds awesome Roj. I am planning on making this over the weekend.