Cracker Barrel Style Chicken and Dumplings
- 3 quarts Water
- 3 whole Large, Boneless And Skinless Chicken Breasts (or 4, If You Want A More Meaty End Result)
- 1- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 whole Onion, Chopped
- 3 stalks Celery, Chopped
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 leaf Bay Leaf
- 1 teaspoon Ground Coriander
- 1 tub (1.15 Oz. Size) Knorr Homestyle Stock Concentrate
- 1 teaspoon Pepper
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 2 cups Flour
- 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
- 1- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Milk
- In a large stock pot, bring the water to a boil.
- Add the chicken, 1 teaspoon of the salt, onion, celery, garlic powder, bay leaf, coriander and stock concentrate.
- Once it boils, turn the heat down and allow this to simmer for 2 hours, covered.
- You want it to reduce the liquid by roughly one third.
- After the chicken has cooked and the liquid has reduced, skim off any scum that is floating on the surface.
- Remove the chicken with tongs and set aside.
- Strain the stock into a bowl so that all the vegetables are removed.
- Discard the vegetables or use them for another purpose.
- You should have about 6 cups of stock.
- Put it back into the stock pot.
- Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, the pepper, and the lemon juice.
- Let it reheat to a simmer over medium heat while preparing the dumplings.
- For the dumpling dough, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and milk until smooth.
- Allow the dough to rest for several minutes.
- It will be a little gooey.
- Roll it out on a well-floured surface to about 1/2 inch thick.
- If needed, sprinkle the top of the dough with a bit of flour to keep the rolling pin from sticking.
- Cut the dough into 1/2 inch cubes (I find that a pizza cutter makes this job quick and easy).
- Do not cut them any larger than this or you will end up with dumplings that are undercooked in the middle but tough on the outside.
- Drop the dumplings into the simmering stock.
- It will be normal for them to swell up a bit, but they will return to their original size as they dissolve.
- Let the dumplings simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, until the stock becomes a creamy gravy consistency, stirring often.
- While the dumplings are cooking, cut or pull your chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- Put the chicken in with the dumplings for the last ten minutes of the dumpling cooking time to reheat the chicken and infuse it with the flavor of the broth.
- Continue to cook until the desired gravy consistency has been reached.
- We prefer chicken and dumplings more soup-like in our household, but if youd rather have a thicker gravy, add a bit of cornstarch mixed with water to the bubbling broth to thicken.
- My favorite side to serve with this meal is steamed baby carrots with a butter, salt, pepper and brown sugar glaze.
- Its all serious down-home goodness!
- Enjoy.
water, chicken breasts, salt, onion, stalks celery, garlic, ground coriander, knorr, pepper, lemon juice, flour, baking powder, salt, milk
Taken from tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/cracker-barrel-style-chicken-and-dumplings/ (may not work)