Recipe Background
Even though it is the holidays, sometimes you don't want the most decadent dish. Sometimes all you want is a bit of home comfort and warmth. Thankfully, that's exactly what Country Christmas Chicken & Dumplings delivers. Tender dumplings simmered in broth absorb all that delicious savory flavor in a way egg noodles could only hope to achieve. The chicken is juicy and tender, and there's plenty of it, so each spoonful is double the heartiness of an ordinary chicken noodle soup! Country Christmas Chicken & Dumplings may be a simple (and sensational) way to enjoy a cold holiday evening... but it might be just what you need!
Even though it is the holidays, sometimes you don't want the most decadent dish. Sometimes all you want is a bit of home comfort and warmth. Thankfully, that's exactly what Country Christmas Chicken & Dumplings delivers. Tender dumplings simmered in broth absorb all that delicious savory flavor in a way egg noodles could only hope to achieve. The chicken is juicy and tender, and there's plenty of it, so each spoonful is double the heartiness of an ordinary chicken noodle soup! Country Christmas Chicken & Dumplings may be a simple (and sensational) way to enjoy a cold holiday evening... but it might be just what you need!
Ingredients
- 1 (3-4-pound) whole chicken
- salt to taste
- water to taste
- 1 lemon halved
- 2 stalks celery sliced
- 1 small onion chopped
- 2 carrots sliced
- 2 cups all-purpose flour plus more, to taste, for dusting the work surface
- black pepper to taste
Directions
- In a large pot, add the chicken, the salt, and enough of the water to just cover the chicken.
- Place the pot on the stovetop and bring the chicken mixture to a boil.
- Using a fine-mesh sieve, skim any scum that rises to the top of the chicken mixture and discard it.
- Add the lemon halves, the celery, the onions, and the carrots to the chicken mixture.
- Reduce the heat to medium.
- Simmer the chicken mixture until the chicken is cooked through to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F in its thickest part and the meat starts to fall off the bone, about 1 hour.
- Remove and discard the lemon halves from the chicken mixture.
- Transfer the chicken from the pot to a cutting board and allow it to cool. Make sure to keep the broth at a simmer.
- In a large bowl, add 2 cups of the flour, the salt, and the black pepper and whisk to combine.
- Make a well in the center of the flour mixture.
- Ladle 2-3 scoops of the hot broth into the well of the flour mixture and using a fork, carefully mix the hot broth into the flour mixture until a dough forms.
- Form the dough into a shaggy ball.
- Using the extra flour, lightly dust a work surface.
- Turn the dough out onto the prepared work surface and knead it carefully until smooth.
- Roll the dough out into a large rectangle of an even thickness.
- Cut the dough rectangle into small rectangular dumplings.
- Add the dumplings gradually to the simmering broth and cook, while stirring occasionally, until the dumplings are tender, about 30 minutes.
- Debone the chicken and chop the meat into bite-sized pieces.
- Add the chicken pieces to the broth and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes.
- Serve.
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