Chicken and Dumplings, Just Like Mama Used to Make

Well, sorta. With Mother’s Day coming up, I’ve been thinking of all of my mom’s best recipes. And I would feel bad about changing Mama’s already-perfect recipe if she hadn’t changed my paternal grandma’s already-perfect recipe. 

See, my Daddy liked bone-in dark meat chicken. Only. 

So Gran, always eager to give her only child, Charlie, whatever he wanted, would make that happen for him, even if it meant her casserole had bones in it. 

Mama, being about half as eager to please Charlie, made half of it bone-in and the other half boneless. Normal, reasonable people could eat from one side; Daddy had the bony other side all to himself. And even though it’s shocking, since he passed away, she now makes this cozy casserole entirely without bones. 

When I think of comfort food, I think of Mama’s chicken and dumplings. And while I’ll happily eat Mama’s already-perfect version any time, I have the tendency to make things more flavorful whenever possible. That also means they’re more complicated.

In Mama’s version, you boil a whole chicken and use the broth to boil the dumplings. Then you pour some of the broth, plus a whitewash of milk, butter and flour over the mixture of chicken and dumplings and top with a crust that you roll out from some of the reserved dumpling dough. It’s delightfully starchy, and unlike most chicken and dumplings recipes you’ll see on the Food Network or the first page of a Google search, there are no vegetables to be found. Yum.

I roast the chicken whole (but feel free to use a rotisserie chicken to save time). Then I pull the meat and boil the carcass, along with any of those beautiful pan juices (or the congealed version of that same mixture that you find in the cold rotisserie chicken container), for a couple of hours, then strain for a quick, but rich stock. Next, I boil the dumplings in that stock and use the couple of remaining cups to make a mashup of velouté and bechamel – half stock, half cream sauce. It still gets the 2-for-1 dumpling crust, and there are still no unsightly actual vegetables, but I brush it with melted butter and top with a sprinkle of fresh herbs. 

This Mother’s Day, whether you try my Chicken and Dumplings (or Mama’s, or if you’re brave enough, Gran’s) or something from your own comfort food repertoire, I hope you savor something that makes you remember, honor and celebrate all the mamas in your life. They sure deserve it.

Chicken and Dumpling Casserole

Roast Chicken and Stock
1 (4 lb) whole chicken
2 TB butter, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
8 cups water

Dumplings and Crust
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Accent
1/2 tsp baking soda
12 TB butter, cut in pieces
1/2 cup buttermilk

Sauce
6 TB butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups stock
1 cup half and half or whole milk
2 TB melted butter

2 TB fresh dill or chives, optional

Directions

Heat oven to 400∞F. Spray small rimmed sheet pan or braisière pan with cooking spray. Place chicken breast-side up in pan. Tuck the cubed butter under skin of the chicken. Sprinkle all over with the 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Roast 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, turning once, until nicely browned and an instant-read thermometer placed in the thigh (without touching the bone) registers at least 165∞F. Transfer chicken to cutting board to rest until cool enough to handle; reserve pan juices. Turn off oven.

In stock pot or large Dutch oven, bring the water to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, break down the chicken. Pull the meat; transfer to storage container. You should have about 4 cups pulled cooked chicken. Cover and refrigerate pulled chicken. Add chicken carcass (including skin, cartilage and pan juices) to boiling water; return to a boil. Reduce to a simmer; cook 2 hours. Strain stock through mesh strainer into 8-cup glass measuring cup or large bowl; discard bones. You should have about 6 cups of stock. If you don’t, add enough water to make 6 cups. If you have more, that’s fine. Use all of it. Return strained stock to same pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Rinse strainer and measuring cup or bowl; reserve.

While stock is cooking, make the Dumplings and Crust. In food processor, place all Dumplings and Crust ingredients except buttermilk. Process until mixture is uniform and butter is fully cut in, scraping bowl with rubber spatula one to two times during processing. With processor running, stream buttermilk into the mixture until incorporated. Transfer to floured surface and knead lightly until mixture is smooth. Divide into three equal pieces. Wrap one piece in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Using floured rolling pin, roll out the remaining two thirds of the dough to 1/3-inch-thick rectangle. With knife or pizza cutter, cut edges of dough to make a clean rectangle; add scraps to reserved refrigerated dough for crust. Cut dough into 1-inch squares. 

Heat oven to 350∞F. Spray 13x9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Add dumpling squares to boiling stock and cook 6 to 10 minutes, until they puff up and turn white. Test for doneness. Strain through reserved strainer into the large measuring cup or bowl. You should have about 2 cups thick stock left. Immediately pour dumplings in dish and spread evenly. Spread cooled chicken evenly over dumplings.

Make the Sauce. In 2-quart saucepan, melt the 6 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add the remaining 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper and cook 1 to 2 minutes, until thick and beginning to smell slightly nutty. Whisk in the reserved stock and half and half or whole milk. Bring to a simmer and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until thickened. Pour sauce over mixture in pan. 

Prepare the crust. On lightly floured surface using floured rolling pin, roll out the refrigerated remaining third of the dough to a very thin 14x10-inch rectangle. Carefully transfer to casserole dish and tuck edges under. Brush crust with the melted butter. Cut several decorative slits in the crust to allow steam to escape. Bake 40 to 50 minutes, until casserole is steaming and crust is fully cooked. Mixture should be at least 165∞F in center. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with herbs.