My Momma’s Chicken and Dumplings

One of my very favorite cold weather comfort foods is chicken and dumplings.  mmmmmmm, YUMO!  But have you ever had chicken & dumplings where the “sauce” is just boiled chicken water?  Gross!  So my mom, a long time ago, started boiling her dumplings in gravy.  It’s so wonderful.  I decided to make this for my family last night and thought far enough in advance to take some pictures so I could share the recipe with you.  Aren’t I nice?  Yeah, I knew you would think so. 

Ingredients (Keep in mind that I triple the dumpling recipe to feed my family of 5)

• A max pack of boneless skinless chicken.  You could use bone-in half breasts, but for the love of all things holy, take the chicken off the bone before boiling the dumplings.  You really could use any kind of chicken you want, too.  But I personally gag at the thought of dark meat, so boneless/skinless it is!
• 1 large onion (optional)

For the gravy (makes about 8 cups):

• 2 cubes of butter (what’s that?  1 cup?  Yeah…1 cup of butter)
• 1 cup of flour
• 8 cups of combination reserved chicken water and milk.  I use as much of the chicken water as I got, and then supplement with milk to get 8 cups.  You could use water here, too, if you prefer.  But who would?
• (the exact “recipe” for a gravy is 2 tbsp flour, 2 tbsp butter, 1 cup liquid.  So however much you want to make, adjust accordingly)
• Salt & Pepper to taste.

For the dumplings (remember, I tripled this)

• 1 cup flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tbsp oil (I used olive oil)

Assembly:

Start by rinsing and placing your chicken into a large pot.  I just cut the onion in half or quarters and put it in for flavor.  Cover with water and bring to a boil over high heat.  For boneless/skinless chicken, I usually boil for about 20 mins.  Remove chicken from the water and let cool some so you don’t burn the shit out of your fingers when you chunk it.  I let the pot of chicken water sit and I start my gravy in another pot.

*Note, I am a very messy cook and use lots of pots and utensils.  It drives my husband crazy.  I supposed you could pour your chicken water into a bowl through a strainer to remove the onion chunks.  But I didn’t.

For the gravy, I melt down 2 cubes of butter over medium/high heat.  Once melted I add 1 cup flour and whisk to create my rue.  Once mixed well, I add in 8 cups of liquid (combination of what chicken water I have, milk and/or water).  Salt and pepper to taste.  While I wait for my gravy to heat up, I chunk the chicken and mix my ingredients for the dumplings.

For the dumplings.  Combine dry ingredients in one bowl and wet in another.  Then mix together until moist.

Once the gravy is almost boiling, I add back in my chunked chicken.  Then I drop by big messy spoonfulls, the dumpling dough into the boiling gravy.  Cover tightly!  Do not remove the lid!  Reduce heat as to keep it boiling, but not to scorch the bottom of the gravy (which I do a lot cuz the kids start screaming and I don’t pay attention).  So about a medium/high.  Boil for 15-20 minuets.

Remove from heat and enjoy!  These are awesome served with mashed potato’s, but as you can see from the picture, tater tots go well, too!