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Mama Hunter's
Family Recipes From The Heart
Mama's Old-Fashioned Homemade Chicken and
Dumplings
Yield: Makes 8 to 10 servings.
I learned to make chicken and
dumplings while watching my mother,
Fannie Mae Wade Hunter, known to all as MawMaw Hunter. "Hers were made to
perfection," "She would always say, 'Don't the pepper.'" Now
I always makes my mother's
chicken and dumplings and the family loves them.
- 1 whole fryer chicken or hen
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 4 to 6 tablespoons butter
- pepper, to taste
- Dumplings:
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup oil
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 small eggs
- 3 cups flour
Wash the chicken and place into a large Dutch oven. Cover well
with plenty of water. Add salt and pepper, and the butter (the more butter, the
richer the dish). Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and cook, uncovered,
until the chicken is well done, about 1 hour.
Remove the chicken from the broth. When the chicken has
cooled, remove the meat from the bone and return the de-bone
chicken to the broth. About 1/2 to 3/4 pot of broth should remain.
For dumplings: In a large bowl, mix together the salt, oil,
water, and eggs. Slowly add the flour to the mixture, blending it constantly
with a fork. Stir only long enough to mix the dough.
Turn the dough out onto a floured board. Pinch the dough in
half, and roll out until thin, about 1/4 inch. Slice the dough into
1/2-inch-wide strips, and cross-slice into pieces 4 to 8 inches long, for ease
in handling.
Bring the broth and chicken back to a boil, and pepper well to
taste. Drop the dumpling strips into the boiling stock. Boil approximately 20
minutes, uncovered, stirring lightly occasionally to
prevent sticking, until the dumplings are done (they'll be puffy). Most of the
broth will be absorbed. Remember do not stir your dumplings
to death. You really just need to use a spatula to lift them up from the bottom
of the boiler to prevent sticking. Remember you want dumplings not mush.
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