Chicken & Dumplings (1934)
1 cut up chicken
3/4 cup sifted flour
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 sm onion, chopped
boiling water
Sift into large bowl 3/4 cup flour. Place chicken pieces into the flour and press into the chicken as much as much flour as it will take up.
Put into a large pot any fat from the chicken.* Add about 1 tbsp butter. Put the pot over the fire; into the sizzling fat (oil/butter - see note) place the pieces of floured chicken and brown both sides of each piece. Put in new chicken pieces as the first are browned, lifting the browned pieces to a plate as the others are being browned. If the pot becomes too dry, add a little butter (or oil) as necessary.
When all the chicken is browned, add the chopped onion and let that slightly brown. Return the chicken to the pot and add sufficient boiling water to just cover the chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Allow this to just simmer, covering the pot with the lid. Simmer 2 hours or until chicken is done. Check gravy from time to time, add more water as needed, but not so much to thin the gravy.
DUMPLINGS
1 ½ cups sifted flour
1 ½ tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
* This recipe uses a fresh chicken - by that I mean, freshly killed, plucked, singed and cleaned. Unless we actually do that, we don't have access to chicken fat when we buy chicken from the grocery store. So, use oil or shortening. 1/4 cup or less - enough to brown all of the floured chicken.
Transcriber's Note:
This recipe is simple and delicious! I've made it and served it to guests. A few things to share - really press as much flour as you can into the chicken. That is what's going to thicken the gravy. Brown the pieces on a good medium-high heat but once you add the boiling water, lower the heat to a nice gentle simmer.
If you want to throw in a bay leaf, that's cool, but don't go all foodie exotic on this. As it is, this is very delicious.
THE DUMPLINGS: you won't believe how easy this is! It's nothing - takes 10 minutes to get the dough ready to drop.
As much as I really do not care for Martha Stewart, she's right about one thing: make sure your baking powder is fresh! Check the expiration date and don't use it if it has expired. If it has, your dumplings won't rise.
Unless you're a total food snob, you can use Bisquick and get the same results, but I take pride in cooking "from scratch." HINT: dip your spoon into the gravy before you scoop out a spoonful of dough - it'll drop into the chicken pot much easier.
As you serve this, remember this is an old fashioned recipe. We've become to accustomed to boneless, skinless chicken pieces - be sure your guests know that there will be bones in the stew. Those bones actually add a lot of flavor, much like making a broth.
3/4 cup sifted flour
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 sm onion, chopped
boiling water
Sift into large bowl 3/4 cup flour. Place chicken pieces into the flour and press into the chicken as much as much flour as it will take up.
Put into a large pot any fat from the chicken.* Add about 1 tbsp butter. Put the pot over the fire; into the sizzling fat (oil/butter - see note) place the pieces of floured chicken and brown both sides of each piece. Put in new chicken pieces as the first are browned, lifting the browned pieces to a plate as the others are being browned. If the pot becomes too dry, add a little butter (or oil) as necessary.
When all the chicken is browned, add the chopped onion and let that slightly brown. Return the chicken to the pot and add sufficient boiling water to just cover the chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Allow this to just simmer, covering the pot with the lid. Simmer 2 hours or until chicken is done. Check gravy from time to time, add more water as needed, but not so much to thin the gravy.
DUMPLINGS
1 ½ cups sifted flour
1 ½ tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
⅔ cup milk (no more)
Sift together flour, baking powder and salt, stir to thoroughly mix. Add milk slowly and mix to heavy, wet dough. Take heaping spoons of dumpling dough and carefully float on top of chicken & gravy. Gravy should be a heavy one. If gravy is very thin, place dumplings on top of the chicken. Place lid on pot and allow to cook covered for 15 minutes.
* This recipe uses a fresh chicken - by that I mean, freshly killed, plucked, singed and cleaned. Unless we actually do that, we don't have access to chicken fat when we buy chicken from the grocery store. So, use oil or shortening. 1/4 cup or less - enough to brown all of the floured chicken.
Transcriber's Note:
This recipe is simple and delicious! I've made it and served it to guests. A few things to share - really press as much flour as you can into the chicken. That is what's going to thicken the gravy. Brown the pieces on a good medium-high heat but once you add the boiling water, lower the heat to a nice gentle simmer.
If you want to throw in a bay leaf, that's cool, but don't go all foodie exotic on this. As it is, this is very delicious.
THE DUMPLINGS: you won't believe how easy this is! It's nothing - takes 10 minutes to get the dough ready to drop.
As much as I really do not care for Martha Stewart, she's right about one thing: make sure your baking powder is fresh! Check the expiration date and don't use it if it has expired. If it has, your dumplings won't rise.
Unless you're a total food snob, you can use Bisquick and get the same results, but I take pride in cooking "from scratch." HINT: dip your spoon into the gravy before you scoop out a spoonful of dough - it'll drop into the chicken pot much easier.
As you serve this, remember this is an old fashioned recipe. We've become to accustomed to boneless, skinless chicken pieces - be sure your guests know that there will be bones in the stew. Those bones actually add a lot of flavor, much like making a broth.
Also, take a tip from Julia Child - don't use margarine in cooking. Use butter. Margarine is fine to spread on toast, English muffin or biscuit - but in the pot it's not going to do what it's supposed to. You don't have to get all Paula Deen with it, either. Just enough to add to the fat or oil to give it flavor and to brown the chicken pieces and enhance the gravy.
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