Best Chicken And Dumplings Alton Brown Recipes

CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• For the chicken: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Remove the neck and giblets from the cavity of the chicken and discard. Rinse the chicken under cold water, inside and out. Pat dry thoroughly with paper towels. Season the body and cavity of the chicken generously with salt and pepper.
• In a small bowl, mash together the butter, lemon juice, and chopped herbs. Rub the herbed butter all over the chicken, as well as under the skin. Put the lemon halves, onion, garlic, and whole herbs inside the chicken cavity, for added flavor. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Place the chicken, breast side up, in a roasting pan fitted with a rack. Roast for 1 hour until the meat is no longer pink. When cool enough to handle, shred the meat, discarding the skin and set aside. Reserve the bones for chicken stock.
• For the stock: Coat a large stockpot with olive oil and place over medium heat. Add the vegetables and saute for 3 minutes. Add the reserved chicken bones, water, and herbs; simmer for 1 hour. Strain the stock to remove the solids and set aside.
• For the dumplings: sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and milk together; pour the liquid in the dry ingredients and gently fold. Mix just until the dough comes together, the batter should be thick and cake-like.
• For the sauce: In a Dutch oven, melt butter and heat oil over medium heat. Add carrot, celery, garlic, and bay leaves. Saute until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour to make a roux. Continue to stir and cook for 2 minutes to coat the flour and remove the starchy taste. Slowly pour in the chicken stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition.
• Let sauce simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes. Stir in heavy cream.
• Fold the reserved shredded chicken into the sauce and bring up to a simmer. Using 2 spoons, carefully drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dumpling batter into the hot mixture. The dumplings should cover the top of the sauce, but should not be touching or crowded. Let the dumplings poach for 10 to 15 minutes until they are firm and puffy. Season with freshly cracked black pepper and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.

CHICKEN AND DROPPED DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Put the chicken and 3 teaspoons of the salt in a 7-quart pressure cooker. Add enough water just to cover the chicken; do not fill above the cooker's "maximum fill" line, or 2/3 full. Cover and lock the lid. Bring to pressure over high heat, about 20 minutes.
• Once the pot reaches pressure, reduce heat to low, so that you barely hear hissing from the pot. Cook for 45 minutes.
• Following the manufacturer's instructions, release the pressure using the cooker's release device, or cool the cooker by running cold water over the lid for 5 minutes. Open carefully. Remove the chicken from the broth and set aside to cool. The meat should be tender and falling away from the bone. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, pull the meat from the bones in small pieces, cover, and set aside. Discard the skin and bones.
• Set a cheesecloth-lined colander in a shallow, wide, 6-quart pot, and strain the broth, discarding the solids. Taste and season the broth with additional salt, if desired.
• Put 1/2 cup of the broth, the butter, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a 2-quart saucier, set over high heat, and bring to a boil. As soon as it boils, add all of the flour at once and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture starts to come together, about 1 minute. Decrease heat to low and continue stirring until the mixture forms a ball and is no longer sticky, about 3 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and mix with an electric hand mixer, on low speed, until mixture is cool and there is no more steam rising, about 5 minutes. Continue to mix on low, and add the eggs, one at a time, making sure each is completely incorporated before adding another. You may need to stop occasionally and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Before adding the last egg, check the mixture for consistency: It should tear slightly as it falls from the beater, creating a "V" shape. Transfer the dough to a 1-gallon zip-top bag. Cut off 1 corner of the bag to make a quarter-sized opening.
• Bring the broth to a slight simmer over medium heat. Pipe 1 inch of the mixture and cut with kitchen shears directly over the broth. Repeat with the remaining batter. Cook, covered, until the dumplings are cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the meat, and wait for 2 to 3 minutes before serving. Serve in bowls with freshly ground black pepper.

CHICKEN AND ROLLED DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Whisk the flour, baking powder, and 1 teaspoon of the salt together in a medium mixing bowl. Rub the shortening into the flour mixture using your fingertips until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add the milk, 2 tablespoons at a time, just until you have a rough ball of workable dough. Knead the dough 3 to 4 times, until it is mostly smooth, but do not overwork.
• Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough, using a floured rolling pin, to a sheet about 1/16-inch thick, on a floured piece of waxed paper or parchment paper. Cover the dough, still on the waxed paper or parchment, with a tea towel, and dry for at least 8 hours. This can be done the night before or early in the morning.
• Two to three hours before the dumplings are ready to cook, put the chicken, water, and the remaining tablespoon of salt in a 7-quart pressure cooker. Do not fill above the cooker's "maximum fill" line, or two-thirds full. Cover and lock the lid. Bring to pressure over high heat, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, so that you barely hear hissing from the pot. Cook for 45 minutes.
• Release the pressure using the cooker's release device (read the manual!) or cool the cooker by running cold water over the lid for 5 minutes. Open carefully. Remove the chicken from the broth and set aside to cool. The meat should be tender and falling away from the bone. Once the hen is cool enough to handle, pull the meat from the bones in small pieces, cover and set aside. Discard the skin and bones.
• Set a cheesecloth-lined colander in a large container and pour in the broth, discarding the solids. Taste and season the broth with additional salt, if needed. Return the broth to the pressure cooker, cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium to maintain a gentle boil.
• Cut the dough into 1/2-inch-wide strips, break into 1 1/2-inch long pieces, and drop into the boiling broth. When all the dough has been used, gently push all of the dumplings down into the broth with a slotted spoon. Do not stir the dumplings. Cook the dumplings until they are cooked through, but not falling apart, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the meat. Serve in bowls with freshly ground black pepper.

CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS (ALTON BROWN)

Steps:

• Directions.
• Special equipment: 7-quart pressure cooker.
• Put the hen and 3 teaspoons of the salt in a 7-quart pressure cooker. Add water just to cover the hen. Do not fill above the cooker's "maximum fill" line, or 2/3 full. Cover and lock the lid. Bring to pressure over high heat, approximately 20 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to low, so that you barely hear hissing from the pot. Cook for 45 minutes.
• Release the pressure using the cooker's release device (read the manual!) or cool the cooker by running cold water over the lid for 5 minutes. Open carefully. Remove the hen from the broth and set aside to cool. The meat should be tender and falling away from the bone. Once the hen is cool enough to handle, pull the meat from the bones in small pieces, cover and set aside. Discard the skin and bones.
• Set a cheesecloth-lined colander in a shallow, wide, 6-quart pot and strain the broth, discarding the solids. Taste and season the broth with additional salt, if needed.
• Put 1/2 cup of the broth, the butter, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a 2-quart saucier, set over high heat, and bring to a boil. As soon as it boils, add all of the flour at once and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture starts to come together, approximately 1 minute. Decrease the heat to low and continue stirring until the mixture forms a ball and is no longer sticky, approximately 3 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and mix, on low speed, for 5 minutes with an electric hand mixer. Beat until cool and there is no more steam rising. Continue to mix on low, and add the eggs, 1 at a time, making sure each is completely incorporated before adding another. You may need to stop occasionally and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Before adding the last egg, check the mixture for consistency: It should tear slightly as it falls from the beater, creating a "V" shape. Transfer the dough to a 1-gallon resealable plastic bag. Cut off 1 corner of the bag to make a quarter-sized opening.
• Bring the broth to a slight simmer over medium heat. Pipe 1-inch of the mixture and cut with kitchen shears directly over the broth. Repeat with the remaining batter. Cook, covered, until the dumplings are cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the meat and wait for 2 to 3 minutes before serving. Serve in bowls with freshly ground black pepper.

CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• For the chicken: Heat a large braiser or Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add 4 tablespoons butter. Sprinkle the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and add to the pan. Cook until golden, turning once, about 3 minutes per side. Remove to a plate.
• Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, the onion, celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently and scraping up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, until the vegetables are coated in fat and slightly golden, about 3 minutes. Add the flour and stir until the vegetables are coated. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chicken stock, bay leaf and browned chicken, along with any chicken juices at the bottom of the plate. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, cover and simmer until the chicken is tender and cooked through, about 45 minutes.
• For the dumplings: Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Using a fork, cut the shortening into the flour mixture. Slowly add the buttermilk, gently mixing to incorporate. Fold in the chives.
• Use 2 forks to shred the chicken. When the chicken is ready, use 2 spoons sprayed with cooking spray if desired to add scoops of dumpling dough over the top of the stew, about 1 tablespoon each. Cover and simmer until the dumplings double in size, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, discard the bay leaf and garnish with parsley.