Chicken and Dumplings
History
In 1836 a recipe in Mary Randolf's cookbook, The Virginia Housewife. mentions meat dumplings, which combine suet, flour, and salt into a dough which is rolled out then boiled. Cookbooks like The Kentucky Housewife and Carolina Housewife followed suit with various recipes for fruit dumplings in 1839 and 1847. It wasn't until 1879 that Marion Cabell Tyree shared a recipe for adding chicken into her dumpling dish in her cookbook, Housekeeping in Old Virginia. The book includes two recipes for stewed chicken, one of them including rolled dumplings dropped in broth. (Burginger)
Course: Soups
Cuisine: Southern Yield: 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Author: The Southern Spice Rack
Ingredients
6 tablespoons butter
1 cup diced yellow onion
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
12 oz whole milk
32 oz (1 quart) chicken stock
4 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 tablespoon fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
2 teaspoons black pepper
3 teaspoons salt
For the dumplings
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon, baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (6 oz) whole milk
4 tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
· In a large pot ( Dutch oven preferably) melt butter over medium heat.
· Once melted add onion, carrots, and celery. Cook until just soft, about five minutes.
· Add flour into pot and stir, making a roux. Cook roux for about a two minutes, just until it starts to smell nutty and looks blonde.
· Mix in the milk and chicken stock, and bring to a simmer.
· Once simmering add in the chicken, thyme, black pepper, and salt. Let simmer uncovered.
· In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
· Mix in the milk and butter. Stir until a ball forms and thoroughly mixed. *if your dough seems dry add a few tablespoons of milk.
· Using a ice cream scoop, scoop the dough directly into the simmering soup.
· Once all dumplings have been added gently press down to ensure they are covered. Cover with the lid and simmer for 15 minutes.
· To check the dumplings are done simply cut one in half to ensure its cooked through.
· Serve and enjoy!
History Cite:
Burginger, Lyndsay. “The Real Story behind Southern Chicken and Dumplings.” Wide Open Eats, 18 Oct. 2018, www.wideopeneats.com/the-real-story-behind-chicken-and-dumplings/. Accessed 25 Jan. 2021.