Rule #3: Good things take time.
There’s nothing quite like savory, comforting homemade Chicken and Dumplings. Brings me all of the good feels of the season! The bonus with this recipe is you’ll have leftover homemade chicken stock to freeze. I love having it on-hand for other recipes like Chicken Pot Pie, Creamy Dijon Chicken, or Chicken Marsala Meatballs. You can also just substitute store bought chicken stock and refrigerated biscuit dough.
I mean… come on, y’all. Tender chicken, creamy sauce, fluffy biscuits… what’s not to absolutely swoon over?
It’s like a bowl of everything’s gonna be all right.
Like I said, you can absolutely substitute store bought chicken stock, rotisserie chicken, and refrigerated biscuit dough. I get that we don’t all have that extra time for the homemade stuff. But I’d encourage you to give ‘er a try sometime on a lazy weekend. It’s worth it!
Homemade Chicken Stock
Feel free to skip this lil’ step and just use store bought chicken stock. I personally love homemade on-hand for any other recipe I’d use it for. There’s also nothing quite like the savory smell that homemade chicken stock gives your house. I usually end up with about 6 extra quarts of chicken stock that I freeze for other recipes.
Homemade Chicken Stock also is SUPER-dee-DUPER easy to make. You literally just throw it all into one biggo stock pot. I’ve had this guy for years, and he’s never let me down.
You’ll need one whole 5-lb. chicken, remove the innerds, plus some seasonings and cold water.
To season your homemade chicken stock, you’ll need Kosher salt, black peppercorns, fresh thyme, and bay leaves.
You’ll also want to the add one of God’s greatest gifts: GARLIC! Just chop it right through the equator – leave on the paper and everything. You’ll strain it all out later anyways.
And that’s it! Cover it all and boil away for about an hour and a half. Strain the stock into a sieve set over a large bowl (you’ll need to repeat the process a few times). Throw away the parts of the chicken you don’t want to keep, but definitely save the rest (see below).
I’ve seen quite a few recipes for homemade chicken stock where the chef discards the cooked chicken after the stock is made. I don’t know about you, but we don’t have “chuck the chicken” kinda money. So, we use that cooked chicken, thank you very much. Just peel that cooked lil’ bird (as Jon’s grandpa would say, “She’ll never fly again.”). Chop up whatever good lookin’ bits you find and set aside until later.
Buttermilk Dumplings
Okay, so really they’re more like biscuits, but they’re delish. You can also easily substitute some ready-to-bake biscuit dough. Just tear off little bits and plop them into the sauce to poach.
First, start with 2 cups of all-purpose flour. Pour it into a sifter set inside a large bowl.
Then sprinkle 1 tbs. baking powder atop the flour.
Next add in 1 tsp. table salt (not Kosher or sea salt). When you’re baking, you want to stick with table salt because of the fine grains. Pro tip from a non-pro!
Sift together the dry ingredients of your Buttermilk Dumplings and empty into your bowl.
Now for the wet ingredients of our lil’ biscuit dumplings. Start by pouring 1 cup of buttermilk into a large measuring cup.
Then add two eggs to the buttermilk; whisk to combine.
Finally add in 1/4 cup of chopped chives.
You might think the chives add a super onion-y flavor, but they really don’t. It just adds a bit of that herby-freshness you need to cut through the rich flavors of the sauce and dumplings.
Whisk the wet ingredients together, then gently whisk them into your dry ingredients. Set the biscuit dough aside until you’re ready to cook them.
Make the Chicken and Dumplings Sauce
Now on to the main star of the show: our Chicken and Dumplings Sauce! First, start by chopping up about 3 stalks of celery and 3 large peeled carrots (or skip a little step and just use baby carrots like me – about 20 of those guys).
In a large Dutch oven or stock pot, heat 2 tbs. of unsalted butter and 2 tbs. of extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high heat. Add in your carrots and celery and sauté until softened (about 8 minutes). Then toss in 3 bay leaves for that good punch ‘o flavah.
By sautéing the bay leaves with the veggies, you’re actually releasing even more flavor. I honestly can’t tell you why, but trust me… it’s a thing.
Next, we’ll add in some of the Lord’s best seasoning: GARLIC! Add in 5 cloves of minced or pressed garlic. Sauté another minute or so, until the garlic is fragrant, stirring occasionally.
Then we’ll sprinkle on some flour to give our sauce that thickening agent she needs to really develop into her full self. Sprinkle on about 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour all over them veggies. Sauté another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Now we come on back to our homemade chicken stock. Pour in 6 cups of chicken stock to your veggie and flour mixture. Be sure to scrape the pot with a wooden spoon to get the goodness (fond) that’s at the bottom. Then sprinkle in about 1 tsp. Kosher salt and 1/4 tsp. of freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine. Simmer for about 10 minutes, then lower the heat to medium low.
Now pour in 1/4 cup of heavy cream.
Simmer over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, until thickened. Be sure to stir occasionally and scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon. If after 15 minutes, your sauce isn’t thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, whisk together 1 cup of chicken stock with 1/4 cup of flour. Add the slurry to the sauce, stirring to combine.
Once your sauce has thickened, add in 1 cup of frozen peas and 1 cup of frozen pearl onions. Go ahead and pull out the bay leaves and discard them (they’ve done their part). Simmer over medium-low for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Once the sauce is ready, fold in your chopped, cooked chicken. I like our Chicken and Dumplings to really hit both that CHICKEN ‘n DUMPLINGS bit, you know what I’m saying? So I add in quite a bit.
Now, we’re going to grab two spoons and scoop our biscuit (dumpling) dough and place dollops all over the top of our sauce. Use all of the dough, adding bits to any open area on top of the sauce. Not the most flattering side of her, but she comes out the other side looking like a gem.
Poach the dumplings for about 10 minutes, still over medium-low. Scrape the bottom of the pot as much as you can with a wooden spoon without disturbing those poaching little bits of deliciousness. Flip each dumpling and keep cooking them for about 5 minutes, until fluffy and cooked through.
You’ll get these little heavenly pillows of comfort food glory.
Remove from heat and let sit for about 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with chopped chives.
Chicken and Dumplings
Ingredients
Chicken and Stock
- 1 5 lb. whole chicken
- 3 bay leaves
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 8 black peppercorns
- 1 head garlic split through the equator
- 1 yellow onion quartered
- 2 tbs. Kosher salt
Buttermilk and Chive Dumplings
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbs. baking powder
- 1 tsp. table salt Morton
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup chopped chives
Sauce
- 2 tbs. unsalted butter
- 2 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 carrots peeled and diced (or about 20 baby carrots, diced)
- 3 stalks celery diced
- 3 bay leaves
- 5 cloves garlic minced or pressed
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour divided (1/2 cup + 1/4 cup)
- 7 cups chicken stock divided (6 cups + 1 cup)
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- Kosher salt to taste (about 1 tsp.)
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste (about ¼ tsp.)
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup frozen pearl onions
- 1 lb. cooked chopped chicken (from above Chicken and Stock recipe)
- Chopped chives for garnish
Instructions
For the Stock
- Place the chicken and all stock ingredients in a large stock pot and cover with cold water to about 1” above the chicken. Place pot on stove over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat medium and simmer for 1 1/2 hours until the chicken is cooked through. Skim the fat and scum off the surface.
- After the chicken is cooked, place a large colander or sieve inside an even larger bowl. Strain the chicken and stock into the sieve. Repeat the process using as many bowls as needed to strain out all of the stock. Place the cooked chicken on a large cutting board and allow to cool. Pick apart the pieces of the chicken you’d like to cook with later and discard the rest. Cover the chicken and store in the fridge. Allow the stock to cool, cover, and place in the fridge until you’re ready to cook.
- The stock and chicken can be made up to two days ahead of time. You can also use store bought chicken stock and shred a rotisserie chicken to save time and skip this step.
For the Dumplings
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a large measuring cup, measure out 1 cup of buttermilk. Whisk in the eggs and chives until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir just until they come together. The batter should be very thick and cake-like. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate biscuit dough until ready to use.
- The dumplings can be made one day ahead of time.
For the Sauce
- In a large Dutch oven, over medium-high heat, add the butter and oil. Add the carrot, celery, and bay leaves and sauté until the vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for an additional minute. Sprinkle in ½ cup of flour to make a roux (this makes the sauce thicken). Continue to stir and cook for 2 minutes to coat the vegetables in the flour.
- Slowly pour in a total of 6 cups of chicken stock, one cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. Using a wooden spoon, be sure to scrape the pot to get all the yummy fond off the bottom. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low, and add heavy cream, Kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
- Allow to simmer for 15 minutes, until thickened. If sauce is not thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, then combine 1 cup of chicken stock and 1/4 cup flour in a small measuring cup, whisking until smooth. Slowly pour this mixture in to the large pot, stirring to combine. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Once sauce has thickened, add frozen peas and pearl onions. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
- Reduce heat to low and fold in the reserved, chopped chicken into the sauce.
- Using 2 spoons, carefully drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dumpling batter into the hot mixture. Evenly distribute the dumplings so they cover the top of the sauce. Poach the dumplings for about 10 minutes, turn, and continue an additional 5 until the dumplings are fluffy and cooked through.
- Remove from heat and let sit 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with chopped chives.
- Freeze reserved chicken stock and shredded chicken in airtight containers for up to 6 months for the stock and 3 months for the chicken.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary, and Pineapple House Rules makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.