Cracker Barrel Chicken & Dumplins

By NicoleS

Ingredients

• Chicken and Broth:
• 3 quarts water
• 1 3-4 lb chicken, cut up
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and quartered
• 1 bay leaf
• 4-6 whole parsley leaves
• 1 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• Dumplins:
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. milk

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the chicken, 1 tsp. salt, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf, and parsley to the pot. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook the chicken, uncovered, for 2 hours. The liquid will reduce by about 1/3.

When the chicken has cooked, remove it from the pot and set it aside. Strain the stock to remove all the vegetables and floating scum.

Pour 1 1/2 quarts (6 cups) of the stock back into the pot. Add pepper, 1/2 tsp. salt, and lemon juice, then reheat the stock over medium heat.

For the dumplins:
Combine the flour, baking powder, 1 1/4 tsp. salt, and milk in a medium bowl. Stir well until smooth, then let the dough rest for 5-10 minutes. Roll the dough onto a floured surface to about 1/2-inch thickness.

Cut the dough into 1/2-inch squares and drop each square into the simmering stock. Use all of the dough. The dumplins will first swell and then slowly shrink as they partially dissolve to thicken the stock into a white gravy. Simmer for 20-30 minutes until thick. Stir often.

Remove bones and skin from the chicken. Cut the chicken meat into bite-size pieces and drop them into the pot. Continue to simer the chicken and dumplins for 5-10 minutes.

When the gravy has reached the desired consistency, serve with steamed vegetables.