I often make the America’s test kitchen chicken and dumplings recipe and we love it! I have been wanting to make this recipe from the Jubilee cookbook for quite a while though and I was excited to try it.
This recipe uses slick downs for the dumpling portion instead of drop dumplings like the ATK recipe. The picture of this meal is so beautiful and appealing, I couldn’t wait to make it. I did very my cooking technique slightly from the one in the cookbook. I didn’t feel like dealing with cutting up a whole chicken, so I just browned my whole chicken in a stock pot and cooked it with some carrots, celery and onion. Then I used the meat and broth to make this recipe.
The chicken in cooked in chicken stock, veggies, garlic, thyme, paprika, salt and pepper with a touch of white wine and bay left. The dumplings are added to help thicken the broth and cook, and a bit of cream is stirred in at the end for richness.
I wrote the recipe in this post as I made it, which is slightly adapted from the cookbook version.
Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 1 whole chicken cut into pieces (or not)
- salt, pepper to taste plus more to taste
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 cup bacon fat, oil or butter
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- 1/2 cup diced carrots
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 4-6 cups chicken stock from cooking chicken or store bought
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 bay leaf
For the dumplings:
- 2 cups AP flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 2 tbsp chicken fat or shortening chilled and cut into pieces
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup whole milk
Instructions
For the chicken:
- Pat the chicken dry and put a few tbsp of oil in a stock pot. Place the chicken in and fry until the skin browns up nicely. Flip the chicken over and brown the other side.
- Add a carrot, celery stick and onion to the pot. Sprinkle some salt, pepper and paprika on the chicken and cover with water.
- Cook the chicken for 1 1/2 to 2 hours over a bare simmer to cook the meat and make broth. Remove the chicken to cool and then pick the meat off. Strain the broth and set aside.
- In a stockpot with a lid, heat the bacon fat/butter. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and thyme and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and fragrant. About 5 minutes.
- Add the wine and scrape up an brown bits. Add the chicken stock and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium low and let the mixture simmer until the veggies are tender and cooked. Add the shredded chicken and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
- Return the heat to medium until bubbles begin to appear. Add the dumplings and reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes without opening the lid. If the sauce seems thick before you add the dumplings, stir in some water before you add them. Stir in the cream and adjust seasoning again.
For the dumplings:
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and thyme. Sprinkle the fat over the mixture and work it in until it is crumbly.
- Whisk the eggs and milk in another bowl and with a fork, stir the mixture into the flour until a sticky dough forms.
- Turn onto a floured countertop and knead for 5 minutes until it is smooth. Chill for 30 minutes.
- Roll out the dough until it is 1/4 inch thick and cut into 1 1/2 inch squares.