Here is the thing about Chicken and Dumplings- there are TWO kinds. In the North, you will tend to be served something akin to a soupier chicken pot pie topped with basically biscuits. In the South (and some Pennsylvania Dutch regions), you will be given a slightly thickened chicken broth with shredded chicken and long flat noodles. I mean, seriously, how different can the two be!? I am from Upstate NY. I ordered Chicken and Dumplings from the Cracker Barrel once and couldn’t understand what they had given me… haha I was pretty young at the time. Now I would know better. Either way it was delicious, just not what I was expecting.
As you can see from my photos, this recipe here is from Northern type Chicken and Dumplings. Although I’ve never had a homemade version myself, I now know why it is so decisively considered a comfort food. It’s just so warm and filling… full of deliciously savory flavors. Who wouldn’t want this on a cold winter night!? And personally I found the whole “dropping biscuit dough” into the “soup” quite fun. They go in as little dough balls and steam up to tender fluffy biscuits bathed in creamy broth- so cool! Not to mention very, very yummy.
I used a Tyler Florence recipe for this. Well, kind of. His recipe calls for a homemade stock and whole chicken. I didn’t want to get into the trouble of a homemade stock so I simply used chicken broth. I also refuse to use whole chickens in food that I prepare for myself. I am a white meat, boneless, skinless chicken breast kind of girl. What I did was simmer chicken breast in chicken broth and then shred it for the soup, reusing the same broth the chicken simmered in. Personally, I think it worked out perfectly and made for an easier dish, so I wrote it here as I made it.
This recipe was everything I dreamed it would be. Chunky and thick, full of flavor. I am definitely adding this to my winter dish catalog!
Drop-Style Chicken and Dumplings
Serves: 6 to 8
Ingredients:
- 3 lbs chicken, cooked and shredded (about 4 cups)
- Buttermilk-Chive Dumplings:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup chopped chives
- ¾ to 1 cup buttermilk
Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup frozen pearl onions
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- Freshly ground black pepper, for garnish
- Chopped chives, for garnish
Directions:
For the dumplings: Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, using a whisk, lightly beat the eggs, chives and buttermilk together; pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently fold. Mix just until the dough comes together; the batter should be thick and cake-like.
To prepare sauce: In a Dutch oven, over medium heat, add the butter and oil. Add the carrot, celery, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme and saute until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour to make a roux. Continue to stir and cook for 2 minutes to coat the flour and remove the starchy taste. Slowly pour in the chicken stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. Add frozen peas and pearl onions.
Let sauce simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes. Stir in heavy cream.
Fold the shredded chicken into the sauce and bring up to a simmer. Using 2 spoons, carefully drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dumpling batter into the hot mixture. The dumplings should cover the top of the sauce, but should not be touching or crowded. Let the dumplings poach for 10 to 15 minutes until they are firm and puffy. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Season with freshly cracked black pepper and garnish with chopped chives before serving.
