1 − 3 lb. Chicken
4 Cup Water
2 Cup Chicken broth
1 Carrot, roughly chopped
1 Medium onion, cut into quarters
1 Stalk of celery, roughly chopped
1 Teaspoon Salt
¼ Teaspoon Freshly ground pepper
2 Cup All−purpose flour
½ Teaspoon Baking soda
½ Teaspoon Salt
3 Teaspoon Shortening
1 Cup Buttermilk
Place the chicken in a Dutch oven or other large pot, and add the water,
broth, carrot, onion, celery and salt. Bring to a boil, cover and lower
heat. Simmer for 60 to 70 minutes, or until tender and chicken is done.
Remove chicken and allow it to cool enough to handle. Remove the carrot,
onion and celery pieces from the broth and discard. Reserve the broth.
Bone the chicken, discarding all skin and bones, and tear meat into
bite−size pieces. Set aside. (You can do this part the day before, if you
like. Just refrigerate the boned chicken −− well covered so it doesn’t dry
out −− and broth.)
The Dumplings:
Combine the flour, baking soda and ½ teaspoon salt; cut in the shortening
with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture is consistency of coarse
meal. Add the buttermilk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times −− no more.
For drop dumplings, pat the dough down to a ¼−inch thickness, and pinch off
1−½−inch pieces.
For rolled dumplings, roll the dough to a ¼−inch thickness, and cut into
strips, no larger than about 2 x 2 inches. (The dumplings will plump up when
they are cooked.) If you have prepared the chicken in advance and
refrigerated it, return it and the broth to your big pot and bring it to a
boil. Then, with a very large slotted spoon or ladle, dip the boned chicken out of the broth, cover it and keep it warm. With the chicken broth at a low
rolling boil, drop in the dumplings, one or two at a time, and reduce the
heat to medium. Stir from time to time to make sure dumplings do not stick
together. Cook dumplings 10 minutes. The flour in the dumplings will thicken
the broth, and it is absolutely not necessary to thicken it further.
Return the boned chicken to the mixture and simmer until heated through. Add
the freshly ground black pepper and remove from heat. Makes 4 or 5 servings,
depending upon appetites. I’ve seen two hungry men put away this entire
recipe.