The BEST Southern Chicken and Dumplings Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to perfect dumplings? ›

Overworking the mixture, thus having heavy dumplings is a common mistake people make. Dumplings need very gentle handling, so mix only until the ingredients are just combined, and if your recipe involves rolling them out with extra flour, avoid using too much.

What is the difference between Southern and Northern chicken and dumplings? Old-fashioned Southern chicken dumplings are made with shortening or butter and dropped into a simmering broth. Northern dumplings are made with eggs and served with a thinner broth.

Don't overmix the dough. Overmixing will develop the gluten in the Bisquick, which will make the dumplings tough. Instead, stir the dough just until the ingredients are combined. Let the dough rest for a few minutes before dropping it into the broth.

Dumplings: In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder and shortening with a fork. Add egg and 1/2 cup milk; mix to form dough. Roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness on floured surface. Cut into four-inch strips with sharp knife.

A teaspoon of sugar adds an extremely subtle hint of sweetness. It also helps the dumplings retain their moisture through the cooking process and slows gluten development, which ensures tender dumplings. A pinch of salt seasons the dumplings and enhances the flavors of the other ingredients.

For dumplings, 🌾 all-purpose flour 🌾 is typically the best type to use. It has a moderate protein content, which gives the dumplings a tender and soft texture. 🍴 If you want a slightly denser dumpling, you can use 🌾 cake flour 🌾 or 🌾 self-rising flour 🌾, which have lower protein contents.

By the mid-1800s, a variety of dumpling and meat dishes began to appear in southern cookbooks and a recipe of chicken stewed with dumplings was first published in 1879 by Marion Cabell Tyree in a cookbook called “Housekeeping in Old Virginia.” Many historians are also quick to point out that these recipes were cooked ...

Sometimes chicken that's boiled in anaerobic environment turns pink. You'll see this often in canned chicken. It can also happen in dumplings. It's some chemical reaction to low oxygen when cooking.

Popular meat fillings include ground meat (usually pork, but sometimes beef or chicken), shrimp, and even fish. Popular mixtures include pork with Chinese cabbage, pork with garlic chives, pork and shrimp with vegetables, pork with spring onion, and garlic chives with scrambled eggs.

It's best to have your lid ready: Immediately add about 3 tablespoons of water to the pan, just enough to cover the base of the dumplings, then cover and cook for 3–4 minutes, or until the water has evaporated. Lift the lid and allow the dumpling to cook for another 30 seconds, to allow the bottoms to get extra crispy.

Why do my chicken and dumplings have no flavor? ›

The key is using the best chicken available; one that can stand up to a boiling without losing flavor. To help boost the flavor of my stock, I added four chicken feet, but neck bones or even chicken bouillon work just as well.

So that they cook perfectly, the dumplings need to steam, so cover the pot with its lid. Keep the pot at a gentle simmer when cooking the dumplings. An aggressive simmer or boiling will break them apart. Keep the heat low and cover the pot so that they steam.

What are dumplings made of? The dumpling dough is made of three main ingredients: flour, water and salt.

Use Cornstarch to Thicken Chicken and Dumplings

To give that a little thicker texture we're going to add 1 cup of cool water to 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and stir it up well. Make sure the soup is brought back to a good boil and go ahead and stir in the cornstarch mixture.

On top of that, it is a great way for the family to spend time together. What makes dumplings special is that they are mixed by hand for some time to ensure the fat in the meat really entraps all the juices. This way when the dumplings are cooked, they have a certain texture—soft, but not falling apart.

Once your water is boiling, let your dumplings cook in the steam for about ten minutes. Don't remove the lid as letting the steam escape will disrupt the cooking process and result in undercooked dumplings, so keep that lid on!

Mei cooks her some special dumplings which she claims to be effective for rejuvenation. She tells Mrs. Li that the secret ingredient for her rejuvenating dumplings is unborn fetuses imported from an abortion clinic in Shenzhen, where she used to work.