Chicken and Dumplings (C&D) – It is so good and so comforting when it’s so cold outside. There are many ways to make the dish and likewise, there are strong opinions regarding the proper dumpling, type of sauce and the addition of vegetables.
• First there is the dumpling dispute. Some like a thin strip of a dumpling, a little thicker than a noodle. Some prefer thicker biscuit dough rolled and cut into small rectangles. And still others prefer the doughy blossoms of dropped biscuits.
• The gravy seems to invite less of a conflict among partakers. Yet there are those who prefer a thin runny soup while others want to suspend their spoon in thick gravy. However, almost all agree it should be sprinkled with a generous amount of black pepper.
• It’s difficult to gain accord when it comes to the addition of vegetables. C&D purists demand only thickened chicken broth, dark-meat chicken and dumplings. Then there are the Moms who take the opportunity to sneak in vegetables like onions, celery, carrots and peas.
Sunday evening I made two versions of C&D – a simple purist version with rolled-biscuit dumplings and a chicken-vegetable stew with drop-biscuit dumplings.
Quick C&D
8 cups chicken broth
1 rotisserie chicken
1 can Grands biscuit dough
Salt and pepper, to taste
Bring chicken broth to boil in a large pot. Heavily flour a work surface and roll out biscuits to 1/8″ thickness. Then cut each into strips and across the strips into rectangles.
Drop the dumplings and excess flour into the boiling broth while stirring. Reduce heat and cook for 15-20 minutes. Stir occasionally to keep the flour from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Debone the chicken and cut into bite-sized pieces. When the dumplings are done, add the chicken to the pot and season with salt and pepper.
Vegetable C&D
1 stewing chicken, cut into 8 pieces
Water to cover the chicken
Fresh herbs – parsley and sage sprigs, two bay leaves and peppercorns
1 onion, chopped
3 celery ribs, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
2 Tbsp. oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Cook the chicken in water with herbs. Meanwhile, sauté the vegetables with oil in a large deep pot. When the chicken is done (about 45 minutes), remove to cool and strain the liquid. Pour the liquid (broth – adding water if necessary to equal 8 cups) into the pan with the vegetables. Let simmer while deboning and cutting up the chicken.
Buttermilk dumplings
1-3/4 cups flour
1⁄2 tsp. baking powder
1⁄4 tsp. baking soda
1⁄2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley and/or chives
1⁄2 stick of butter
3⁄4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
Prepare dumplings by combining the dry ingredients and cutting in butter. Then add the buttermilk and egg. Mix together to make a sticky dough. Bring the broth to a boil and drop the dough, one teaspoon at a time, into the liquid. Reduce heat and cook dumplings for 15-20 minutes. Add chicken to the pot and season with salt and pepper.
My family liked both recipes. I added frozen peas to the vegetable version right before I brought it to a boil and dropped in the dumplings.
I found the Quick C&D to be surprisingly good considering how easily it came together. I recommend adding chopped parsley but overall, it is a solid recipe.