Nanny’s Chicken and Dumplings

Scratch-made dumplings (with variations for thin pastry-like noodles or thicker doughy dumplings) with a slow cooked chicken stock with easy-to-follow instructions. Just like Nanny made!

The vast majority of folks like doughy dumplings in their Chicken & Dumplings but there's a small subset of us who grew up eating "slicks" or the thin noodle-like pastry strips.

I never even knew there was any other type of dumplings until I was grown and ordered them in a restaurant! My entire family makes them like this. Like Nanny always made hers.

You use a whole chicken, cooked down low and slow to make a rich, flavorful stock and hand-cut homemade dumplings to go in it. It takes a little time to make something like this from scratch but I enjoy every minute of it.

There’s something so therapeutic and calming about loving on a dish all day. And the reward of serving it to the people you love makes it worth every minute. Cooking (and then eating) a dish like this is the best therapy there is for me!

Some folks even call this preparation ‘chicken and pastry’ instead of ‘chicken and dumplings’. You can use this recipe to make your dumplings the way you like them best. You can roll them thicker if that’s what you like. You can add them to the pot immediately after cutting them if you like them doughier (the longer they ‘air out’ the less doughy they will be).

No matter which type of dumplings you like best, this recipe will get you there!

Nanny’s Chicken and Dumplings

Author: Mandy Rivers | South Your Mouth

prep time: 30 Mcook time: 2 hourtotal time: 2 H & 30 M

Scratch-made dumplings (with variations for thin pastry-like noodles or thicker doughy dumplings) with a slow cooked chicken stock with easy-to-follow instructions. Just like Nanny made!

ingredients:

Chicken & Stock:

• 1 large whole chicken
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 2 stalks celery, quartered
• 1 onion, quartered
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Dumplings:

• 2 cups self-rising flour, plus more
• 4 tablespoons shortening or lard
• 1/3 cup ice-cold water (approximately)

instructions:

How to cook Nanny’s Chicken and Dumplings

Make the Dumplings:

1. For pastry-style dumplings (more like a large, thick noodle), make the dumplings now so that they can dry out for two hours before starting the chicken. For doughy dumplings, proceed to cooking the chicken then make the dumplings after you've cooked the chicken.
2. Cut shortening into flour in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter or paddle attachment of a stand mixer until shortening is pea-sized. Slowly mix water into flour just until dough pulls away from the bowl and starts to form a ball.
3. Turn dough out onto liberally floured surface and knead 2-3 times. Roll dough out to desired thickness (I roll mine out pretty dang thin – about 1/8 of an inch). Sprinkle dough with more flour (about 1/4 cup - the extra flour will help to thicken the broth). Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut dough into 1”x2” strips.

Cook the chicken and make the stock:

1. Add chicken, broth, celery, onion, garlic, salt, pepper and thyme to a large pot or Dutch oven then bring to a boil over medium heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 1 hour. Turn off heat and let pot rest on the burner, covered, for 1 more hour.
2. Remove chicken and vegetables from stock using a slotted spoon. Discard vegetables. Remove skin and bones from chicken then chop chicken into bite-sized pieces. Set chicken aside.

Bring it all together:

1. Bring chicken stock to a low boil over medium-high heat. One-by-one, add the dumplings to the boiling stock. Reduce heat to medium-low and let the dumplings cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Add the chopped chicken to the pot and carefully stir. Taste for seasoning and add more if desired. Reduce heat to low and continue cooking 5 more minutes.
2. Cover pot, turn off heat then let the pot rest for 15 minutes or until broth is thickened.

NOTES:

We usually add 3-4 sliced boiled eggs too! I didn't in this batch because I was slap out of eggs! This is, of course, optional but I like it best with the eggs!

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