Making chicken and dumplings from scratch is absolutely worth the time and effort required. This is one of those recipes that proves intimidating to novice cooks, but once you do it for the first time you'll see it isn't as hard as it looks. The smiles this recipe brings to your family's faces will be worth it.
You'll need to buy a whole chicken for this recipe. If you've never removed the giblets and neck from a chicken before, you'll get experience doing it with this recipe. The process may not be any cook's favorite, but we won't need those chicken parts for this recipe.
It's important that you pay close attention to the steps in this recipe. Some aspects of this recipe are a little on the complicated side, but following along with our written steps will ensure everything goes according to plan. This is definitely a recipe to tackle on a weekend.
We've provided the nutritional information for each serving down below. We know that many people like to or need to track their macros each day, for different reasons. Now, you won't have to guess how many calories or how much protein is in each serving!
Chicken and Dumplings from Scratch
Ingredients:
Stew:
1 4-pound whole chicken
3 quarts water
3 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrot
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
10 garlic cloves, peeled
4 thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves
¼ cup all-purpose flour (about 1 ounce)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons heavy cream
Dumplings:
¾ cup 1% low-fat milk
1 large egg
1½ cups all-purpose flour (about 6¾ ounces)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon cornmeal
½ teaspoon salt
Remaining Ingredients:
1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
1. To prepare stew, remove and discard giblets and neck from chicken. Rinse chicken with cold water; place chicken in an 8-quart stockpot. Add 3 quarts water and next 8 ingredients; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes; skim surface occasionally, discarding solids. Remove chicken from pot; cool. Strain stock through sieve into a large bowl; discard solids. Remove chicken meat from bones; tear chicken meat into 2-inch pieces, and store in refrigerator. Let stock cool to room temperature.
2. Pour stock into 2 zip-top plastic bags. Let stand 15 minutes. Working with one bag at a time, snip off 1 bottom corner of bag; drain liquid into stockpot, stopping before fat layer reaches opening. Discard fat. Repeat procedure with remaining bag. Bring stock to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat, and simmer until reduced to 8 cups (about 15 minutes).
3. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat 5 minutes. Lightly spoon ¼ cup flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Add flour to pan; cook 1 minute or until lightly browned, stirring constantly. Combine browned flour and cornstarch in a large bowl; add ⅔ cup stock to flour mixture, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture to remaining stock in pan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook 2 minutes or until slightly thick. Reduce heat; stir in cream. Add chicken; keep warm over low heat.
4. To prepare dumplings, combine milk and egg in a medium bowl. Lightly spoon 1½ cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, cornmeal, and ½ teaspoon salt. Add flour mixture to milk mixture, stirring with a fork just until dry ingredients are moistened.
5. Drop one-third of dumpling batter by 8 heaping teaspoonfuls onto chicken mixture. Cover and cook 3 minutes or until dumplings are done (do not allow chicken mixture to boil). Remove dumplings with a slotted spoon; place in a large serving bowl or on a deep serving platter. Keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining dumpling batter.
6. Remove pan from heat; slowly pour stew over dumplings. Sprinkle with parsley and freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately.
Nutritional Information
Serves 6
Serving size: 1⅓ cups stew and 4 dumplings
Per serving
Calories: 334 (21% from fat)
Total Fat: 7.9g
Sat: 3.2g
Mono: 2.4g
Poly: 1.2g
Protein: 31.4g
Carb: 32.2g
Fiber: 1.2g
Cholesterol: 130mg
Iron: 3.3mg
Sodium: 755mg
Calcium: 211mg
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