Southern Style Chicken and Dumplings

The Art of Making Chicken and Dumplings: A Family Tradition

As I sit here in my kitchen, surrounded by the familiar comforts of home, I am reminded of the countless Sundays spent gathered around the dinner table, enjoying a warm plate of chicken and dumplings. It's a dish that has been passed down through generations of my family, each one adding their own unique twist to the recipe. My grandmother, mother, and now myself have all taken turns perfecting this classic comfort food, and I'm excited to share our secrets with you.

First things first, we start by making the biscuit dough. You can use a rolling pin or your hands - whatever method you prefer works just as well. The key is to create a smooth, pliable dough that will hold up to the simmering broth. For this recipe, I've opted for the old-fashioned way of flattening the dough with my hands. It's a technique passed down from my father, who learned it from his mother before him.

Now, let's talk about the dumplings. These are what truly make chicken and dumplings special - tender, pillowy balls of dough that soak up all the flavorful goodness of the broth. You can form them into any shape you like, but I find that a simple ball is the most effective way to distribute them evenly throughout the pot. My father used to tell me that when he was growing up during the Dust Bowl, they would often use flour sacks to make their dumplings. The sack would be torn open and sifted through to remove any debris, leaving behind a fine powder that could be mixed with water and flour to create the perfect dough.

As we prepare our pot of chicken and dumplings, I'm reminded of the struggles my family faced during those difficult times. But even in the midst of hardship, there was always comfort food on the table - a testament to the resilience and resourcefulness of our ancestors. My mother used to make this dish for us every Sunday after church, using scraps of chicken and vegetables that would otherwise go to waste.

Now, let's get started! First, we'll need to brown some chicken in a pot over medium heat. I like to use boneless thighs for their rich flavor and tender texture. Once the chicken is nicely browned, we'll add in our aromatics - onions, carrots, and celery - to create a flavorful base for our broth. Next, we'll pour in enough water to cover the chicken and bring everything to a boil. It's at this point that we add in our dumplings, scattering them evenly throughout the pot.

As we wait for the soup to simmer, I take a moment to appreciate the simplicity of this dish. There's something beautiful about watching the dough rise to the surface, like tiny little islands rising from the depths of the broth. And when we finally thicken the soup with some cornstarch and water, it's nothing short of magic.

But the real secret to making great chicken and dumplings lies in the memories we associate with this dish. For me, it's the Sunday afternoons spent around the dinner table, laughing and chatting with loved ones. It's the warmth and comfort of a homemade meal, made with love and care. And as I serve up this plate of goodness to you today, I hope that you'll share in those same memories - making new traditions and creating a sense of community around the table.

As we take our first bites, let's remember the people who came before us - the old timers who suffered through the Dust Bowl, only to find comfort in the simple pleasures of life. Let's honor their memory by continuing this tradition, and sharing it with those we love. And so, I'd like to dedicate this recipe to all the service men and women, veterans, and families who have kept that flag flying high - thank you for your service, and for being part of our family.

In closing, I want to say that making chicken and dumplings is not just about cooking a meal - it's about creating memories, sharing love, and passing down traditions from one generation to the next. So go ahead, give this recipe a try, and see what kind of magic you can create in your own kitchen. And don't forget to share those memories with me - I'm always eager to hear about how my family's tradition is being carried on!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enyou know we're saluting all those folks that went through the hard times we're lifting up depression cooking because them folks did it all what are we talking about classic chicken and dumplings the best classic food and comfort food there's ever been I'm talking about classic comfort food chicken and dumplings really my dad said it was more like a depression meal because there really wasn't a whole lot of chicken in there but they could put a whole lot of dumplings in there make a big pot of that it would feed the whole family and hey it's still a classic today it's something that I really think is probably one of the most traditional Comfort foods that ever survived at the Dust Bowl to really bring out the most flavor in this dish I think you need to get you some of them chicken thighs yeah now you can find them with the skin on them or you can find them with the skin off now I probably if I'm going to boil these and that's what we're going to do we need to skin these chickens right quick and you can see that comes off there pretty quick now also look here this is a bone now I'm going to tell you right now we're going to leave that bone in there because we're going to cook that down too it's going to bring out more flavor well as you can see the water is boiling now some of them are already going to say I can hear you out there why didn't you just leave that skin on them you'd have got more flavor well sometimes you can do that hey it don't make me no difference but so just to please y'all I'm gonna put one of them in there with it okay so you want to make sure you have enough water in there and get it to Boiling that everybody gets covered so that's what you call a lot of chicken for chicken and dumplings we're going to cook this probably probably 10 to 15 minutes at a bowl might not take quite that long but you just want it to where it is fork tender and will shred easy well you can see the sun has made it up over the barn because I can feel it hit me here on the side of the temple like in but it is a beautiful morning here in Camp and let's talk about dumplings now three cups of flour is where we're going to start we're going to add three tablespoons of sugar which is exactly that amount some baking powder which is real close be sure you check the date on that because it can expire and not be good oh we have what you call a boiling action over here some salt which is about that much let's go ahead and mix that really well and I want you to form a whale there in the middle for this here cackleberry to set so go ahead and crack him in there and you'll see them laying in there oh so pretty yes he is doing his job it is get you a whisk and I just need you just to whisk him lightly see there is no need in ruining another and I'm not saying ruin but make another dish dirty so you can whisk that egg right here in the middle I once seen an old man on a ranch where I stay in one time set a 50-pound sack of flyer there beside him and make two biscuits in it with eggs and milk and buttermilk and you never know he was in there until he got through so to that I need you to head and we need to measure this folks about a cup of Buttermilk cup and a fourth so we're going to start with a cup we're going to pour it right there where that egg was white vinegar if you can get the lid off how much exactly one capful right there in the middle it goes everything has found its home so now I need you to gently fold so we can get it all mixed in here and this is going to make really a pretty Shaggy dough but I know we have made one mistake already Shen we have folks we were supposed to have cut the butter into this before we put the liquid but it will still work so we're going to have to change this method up a little be right back rewind now when you do that folks and you've got to flour the sugar and everything in there before you add the egg or the buttermilk go ahead and cut the butter in now we just need to go back to working in here to where we can get this in a ball-like form it don't take long for this to come into shape so when you get this all made you can see when we pull that apart there it's pretty wet you don't want this too dry but we're going to keep working it to make sure that all that butter is Incorporated in their well you just need to I'd say need this 15 or 20 times not 15 or 20 minutes I'm going to cover it with this bread helmet and we're going to check the chicken and see if it is tender well folks we're going to bring one of them thighs out there and put him over here on this cutting board just to see because that bro I know that breast will be done before he is I can tell you for sure right now folks do not think that hey we're going to discard that broth because we need to be saving some of that you can go ahead and take them skins out of there if you got them laying in here loose look out pups look out look out look out got a lot of help in the kitchen scoot scoot just a little bit made scooch scoot scoot just a little bit a little bit more there you go we need to pour that back over here because we're going to reserve about six cups of that broth to start out with but you can see Adam took me some carrots in with the handy dandy hash knife done chop them up now my dad told me in the Dust Bowl chicken and dumplings didn't have this portion no vegetable it never did have celery or carrots because it was hard to grow one when the dirt been blowing for like five years and there wasn't no water out there so most of the time it was just chicken but I do remember him telling the story that my his mother made what jackrabbit and dumplings because folks when you run out of chickens at that Hen House when you're going over there all the time and then next thing you know there ain't one next thing come along gonna be Jackrabbit six cup of cream and Shan said oh what six cups of cream yup hate hate the chicken Thief is here but folks my dad near me said they just use cow milk back then they just go out there and you know you pull that stool up under the 19 let me see 31 Model and it's you know you don't milk at the front end you milk it to back in pull a stool up in there and then you just turn the knobs where the faucets come on right no you got to do this method then they would strain that cream off her when things was looking pretty generous and they would have cream and milk combined in the chicken and dumplings so we got six cups of cream in there and we're going to go ahead and just hey let's go for it let's put a whole stick of butter in there I think you got to have it now I want you to put this on medium heat because that cream can Scorch if you've got that flame just blazing licking around the side walls there so six cup of chicken broth so there's one two let's go ahead and let's get them carrots and that celery in there because folks we need that to be able to go ahead and cook and get tender we're going to give it a little original seasoning because we're going to need a little bit of that salt in there so give it a little sprinkling of that I mean you can just go ahead and just warm that up and have it for breakfast right there that'd probably be good for you now we're going to get back to shredding this chicken so you can do it with your hands you see when you cook that chicken right it's not too dry because when it you boil it too long it'll get to dry and tough that you can't pull it apart you have done had yours you stole what was going to be shared with the other puppies so no I don't think so so go ahead get your chicken you can chop it shred it tear it whatever you want to do to it no no get it get down you're not starving since we have some loyal subjects up here Sadie has not been in timeout any today let's give a hand to Sade what do you think we have no idea where duker is and duker if you didn't know you rewind and watch a video that come out the week before listen on the taquitos duker got in a skunk there you go big you done had some that's the Meiji nope quit and we're going to go ahead and see if we can get this monstrosity of chicken meat in there remember what I told you why look for chicken and chicken and dumplings when you know it's going to be there two chicken breasts and four thighs folks I'm talking we shouldn't have a whole bunch of goodness right here in Camp y'all didn't get the invitation did you well I wish you had it because we'd sure feed you make sure you don't leave nobody out we need all the flavor we can get we're going to slide him back over here and a lot of you might be asking that question why wouldn't you do that in all them dutch ovens you got well folks I don't like to boil a milk-based sub that's substance in a dutch oven because it can really Scorch easy in there because that cast iron gets quite a bit hotter than this little thin walled pot and it keeps that heat so it'll Scorch in there and it'll burn and ain't nothing worse than a burnt Bean unless it's burnt milk we're going to keep eye on it Stir It occasionally and probably going to cook it probably pretty close to about 15 minutes we want that celery and them carrots to get good and tender but that chicken to spread that love all the way throughout and then we're going to go to dropping them dumplings in there home run time so let's get our biscuit dough back out here you can see hey everything is just right now you can use a rolling pin or you can just flatten it with your hands whatever you choose to do me I'm just going to use the major method today you want to walk on it Mage huh you look bad you're all your your mustache is what whose looks the best my I think mine might look better than yours Mage I don't know when we're pulling off a piece it's going to sort of be about like that and this thing is going to plump up a little it's what we're going to call a dumpling I would say that's probably a half inch thick and maybe like I don't know tablespoon size you can form them into a ball I've seen people make them every way my dad when they said going through the Dust Bowl when they would have some dumplings a lot of times they'd be red in color some of them you know why because all that dirt done drifted in that flower sack settled you could sift it but you still ain't gonna get all that out of it now for our patreon folks there we have done a whole deal about really in the conditions in which the country that I cooked in and what the old timers went through just to get through it so be sure and check that out it's a great story it's about the Dust Bowl and the Integrity that them people had and I guarantee if they had this dish today they'd be thinking I can make it another five years biscuit dumplings look at them right there you can smell that butter in there and folks you got that there where it's just simmering along bubbling right up Shane said you think you can get all them in there I said I don't know we're going to get it till we can't get the lid on it no more because one thing that I always remembered when I used to make chicken and dumplings a lot of time he had a lot of broth but you always run out of chicken and you always run out of drunk drumplings dumplings so don't just dump them in there I need you to scatter them out that way they don't cling together and then about every 10th or 11th one let's go ahead and give it a stir then we're going to put a lid on there we're gonna let them simmer about five minutes then we're going to thicken it with some cornstarch and water and then what we're going to do we're gonna eat it uh-huh I mean it's gonna be good so let's do the dumpling dive in where you see foreign foreign right off the bat to all them Old-Timers that I ever knew to all them folks and you might have had some of them too that went through that depression that Dust Bowl when times as lean food was scary hey y'all give me grit you did and I appreciate each one of you but folks have you seen this creation I mean have you seen the size of them dumplings thank you Jesus I mean thank you so much the memories that come flooding back through there from all the times my mother would fix this dish on a Sunday after church in the wintertime summertime Springtime you can't go wrong it's what we call the right time it's the dumpling time I'll be loving me some dumplings might you you see me right there at the end make some cornstarch cold water pour it in there make sure it is boiling or simmering before you do and thicken it now because folks I like for that broth to be thicker than that heavy cream was well we hope you all enjoyed because I oh can't really enjoy it as you can tell it is an old classic a recipe that has been through the test of time that will always get you through the thick and thin and folks that's pretty cheap cheap eating right there it is you can go to that grocery store and come out ahead on this kind of deal we appreciate you we do but as always and it is with honor and great pride that I tip my hat to all the service men and women and all the veterans who have kept that flag flying back through over camp and to the rest of y'all remember last week I told you y'all was family we mean that because you are be sure and share the videos with everybody you know because folks we need to help everybody feel better give us a like on the channel God bless you each and every one and I'll see you about the best chicken and dumpling Trail you've ever seen in your life look at this mustache I mean look at mine you know mine looks better than yours you know it does look at the camera folks will tell you uh-huh don't be grumpy don't be grumpyyou know we're saluting all those folks that went through the hard times we're lifting up depression cooking because them folks did it all what are we talking about classic chicken and dumplings the best classic food and comfort food there's ever been I'm talking about classic comfort food chicken and dumplings really my dad said it was more like a depression meal because there really wasn't a whole lot of chicken in there but they could put a whole lot of dumplings in there make a big pot of that it would feed the whole family and hey it's still a classic today it's something that I really think is probably one of the most traditional Comfort foods that ever survived at the Dust Bowl to really bring out the most flavor in this dish I think you need to get you some of them chicken thighs yeah now you can find them with the skin on them or you can find them with the skin off now I probably if I'm going to boil these and that's what we're going to do we need to skin these chickens right quick and you can see that comes off there pretty quick now also look here this is a bone now I'm going to tell you right now we're going to leave that bone in there because we're going to cook that down too it's going to bring out more flavor well as you can see the water is boiling now some of them are already going to say I can hear you out there why didn't you just leave that skin on them you'd have got more flavor well sometimes you can do that hey it don't make me no difference but so just to please y'all I'm gonna put one of them in there with it okay so you want to make sure you have enough water in there and get it to Boiling that everybody gets covered so that's what you call a lot of chicken for chicken and dumplings we're going to cook this probably probably 10 to 15 minutes at a bowl might not take quite that long but you just want it to where it is fork tender and will shred easy well you can see the sun has made it up over the barn because I can feel it hit me here on the side of the temple like in but it is a beautiful morning here in Camp and let's talk about dumplings now three cups of flour is where we're going to start we're going to add three tablespoons of sugar which is exactly that amount some baking powder which is real close be sure you check the date on that because it can expire and not be good oh we have what you call a boiling action over here some salt which is about that much let's go ahead and mix that really well and I want you to form a whale there in the middle for this here cackleberry to set so go ahead and crack him in there and you'll see them laying in there oh so pretty yes he is doing his job it is get you a whisk and I just need you just to whisk him lightly see there is no need in ruining another and I'm not saying ruin but make another dish dirty so you can whisk that egg right here in the middle I once seen an old man on a ranch where I stay in one time set a 50-pound sack of flyer there beside him and make two biscuits in it with eggs and milk and buttermilk and you never know he was in there until he got through so to that I need you to head and we need to measure this folks about a cup of Buttermilk cup and a fourth so we're going to start with a cup we're going to pour it right there where that egg was white vinegar if you can get the lid off how much exactly one capful right there in the middle it goes everything has found its home so now I need you to gently fold so we can get it all mixed in here and this is going to make really a pretty Shaggy dough but I know we have made one mistake already Shen we have folks we were supposed to have cut the butter into this before we put the liquid but it will still work so we're going to have to change this method up a little be right back rewind now when you do that folks and you've got to flour the sugar and everything in there before you add the egg or the buttermilk go ahead and cut the butter in now we just need to go back to working in here to where we can get this in a ball-like form it don't take long for this to come into shape so when you get this all made you can see when we pull that apart there it's pretty wet you don't want this too dry but we're going to keep working it to make sure that all that butter is Incorporated in their well you just need to I'd say need this 15 or 20 times not 15 or 20 minutes I'm going to cover it with this bread helmet and we're going to check the chicken and see if it is tender well folks we're going to bring one of them thighs out there and put him over here on this cutting board just to see because that bro I know that breast will be done before he is I can tell you for sure right now folks do not think that hey we're going to discard that broth because we need to be saving some of that you can go ahead and take them skins out of there if you got them laying in here loose look out pups look out look out look out got a lot of help in the kitchen scoot scoot just a little bit made scooch scoot scoot just a little bit a little bit more there you go we need to pour that back over here because we're going to reserve about six cups of that broth to start out with but you can see Adam took me some carrots in with the handy dandy hash knife done chop them up now my dad told me in the Dust Bowl chicken and dumplings didn't have this portion no vegetable it never did have celery or carrots because it was hard to grow one when the dirt been blowing for like five years and there wasn't no water out there so most of the time it was just chicken but I do remember him telling the story that my his mother made what jackrabbit and dumplings because folks when you run out of chickens at that Hen House when you're going over there all the time and then next thing you know there ain't one next thing come along gonna be Jackrabbit six cup of cream and Shan said oh what six cups of cream yup hate hate the chicken Thief is here but folks my dad near me said they just use cow milk back then they just go out there and you know you pull that stool up under the 19 let me see 31 Model and it's you know you don't milk at the front end you milk it to back in pull a stool up in there and then you just turn the knobs where the faucets come on right no you got to do this method then they would strain that cream off her when things was looking pretty generous and they would have cream and milk combined in the chicken and dumplings so we got six cups of cream in there and we're going to go ahead and just hey let's go for it let's put a whole stick of butter in there I think you got to have it now I want you to put this on medium heat because that cream can Scorch if you've got that flame just blazing licking around the side walls there so six cup of chicken broth so there's one two let's go ahead and let's get them carrots and that celery in there because folks we need that to be able to go ahead and cook and get tender we're going to give it a little original seasoning because we're going to need a little bit of that salt in there so give it a little sprinkling of that I mean you can just go ahead and just warm that up and have it for breakfast right there that'd probably be good for you now we're going to get back to shredding this chicken so you can do it with your hands you see when you cook that chicken right it's not too dry because when it you boil it too long it'll get to dry and tough that you can't pull it apart you have done had yours you stole what was going to be shared with the other puppies so no I don't think so so go ahead get your chicken you can chop it shred it tear it whatever you want to do to it no no get it get down you're not starving since we have some loyal subjects up here Sadie has not been in timeout any today let's give a hand to Sade what do you think we have no idea where duker is and duker if you didn't know you rewind and watch a video that come out the week before listen on the taquitos duker got in a skunk there you go big you done had some that's the Meiji nope quit and we're going to go ahead and see if we can get this monstrosity of chicken meat in there remember what I told you why look for chicken and chicken and dumplings when you know it's going to be there two chicken breasts and four thighs folks I'm talking we shouldn't have a whole bunch of goodness right here in Camp y'all didn't get the invitation did you well I wish you had it because we'd sure feed you make sure you don't leave nobody out we need all the flavor we can get we're going to slide him back over here and a lot of you might be asking that question why wouldn't you do that in all them dutch ovens you got well folks I don't like to boil a milk-based sub that's substance in a dutch oven because it can really Scorch easy in there because that cast iron gets quite a bit hotter than this little thin walled pot and it keeps that heat so it'll Scorch in there and it'll burn and ain't nothing worse than a burnt Bean unless it's burnt milk we're going to keep eye on it Stir It occasionally and probably going to cook it probably pretty close to about 15 minutes we want that celery and them carrots to get good and tender but that chicken to spread that love all the way throughout and then we're going to go to dropping them dumplings in there home run time so let's get our biscuit dough back out here you can see hey everything is just right now you can use a rolling pin or you can just flatten it with your hands whatever you choose to do me I'm just going to use the major method today you want to walk on it Mage huh you look bad you're all your your mustache is what whose looks the best my I think mine might look better than yours Mage I don't know when we're pulling off a piece it's going to sort of be about like that and this thing is going to plump up a little it's what we're going to call a dumpling I would say that's probably a half inch thick and maybe like I don't know tablespoon size you can form them into a ball I've seen people make them every way my dad when they said going through the Dust Bowl when they would have some dumplings a lot of times they'd be red in color some of them you know why because all that dirt done drifted in that flower sack settled you could sift it but you still ain't gonna get all that out of it now for our patreon folks there we have done a whole deal about really in the conditions in which the country that I cooked in and what the old timers went through just to get through it so be sure and check that out it's a great story it's about the Dust Bowl and the Integrity that them people had and I guarantee if they had this dish today they'd be thinking I can make it another five years biscuit dumplings look at them right there you can smell that butter in there and folks you got that there where it's just simmering along bubbling right up Shane said you think you can get all them in there I said I don't know we're going to get it till we can't get the lid on it no more because one thing that I always remembered when I used to make chicken and dumplings a lot of time he had a lot of broth but you always run out of chicken and you always run out of drunk drumplings dumplings so don't just dump them in there I need you to scatter them out that way they don't cling together and then about every 10th or 11th one let's go ahead and give it a stir then we're going to put a lid on there we're gonna let them simmer about five minutes then we're going to thicken it with some cornstarch and water and then what we're going to do we're gonna eat it uh-huh I mean it's gonna be good so let's do the dumpling dive in where you see foreign foreign right off the bat to all them Old-Timers that I ever knew to all them folks and you might have had some of them too that went through that depression that Dust Bowl when times as lean food was scary hey y'all give me grit you did and I appreciate each one of you but folks have you seen this creation I mean have you seen the size of them dumplings thank you Jesus I mean thank you so much the memories that come flooding back through there from all the times my mother would fix this dish on a Sunday after church in the wintertime summertime Springtime you can't go wrong it's what we call the right time it's the dumpling time I'll be loving me some dumplings might you you see me right there at the end make some cornstarch cold water pour it in there make sure it is boiling or simmering before you do and thicken it now because folks I like for that broth to be thicker than that heavy cream was well we hope you all enjoyed because I oh can't really enjoy it as you can tell it is an old classic a recipe that has been through the test of time that will always get you through the thick and thin and folks that's pretty cheap cheap eating right there it is you can go to that grocery store and come out ahead on this kind of deal we appreciate you we do but as always and it is with honor and great pride that I tip my hat to all the service men and women and all the veterans who have kept that flag flying back through over camp and to the rest of y'all remember last week I told you y'all was family we mean that because you are be sure and share the videos with everybody you know because folks we need to help everybody feel better give us a like on the channel God bless you each and every one and I'll see you about the best chicken and dumpling Trail you've ever seen in your life look at this mustache I mean look at mine you know mine looks better than yours you know it does look at the camera folks will tell you uh-huh don't be grumpy don't be grumpy\n"