Nanny’s Chicken and Dumplings
Note: This recipe comes down from my great-grandmother, Virginia Grace Robinson, whom we called Nanny. I remember her making this recipe when she was in her late 80s. By that time, she was blind, and everything was by taste and feel. Mother translated Nanny’s ingredients into quantities and passed the recipe down for the coming generations. While it seems like a simple recipe, not many have been able to execute the recipe as well as Nanny did. Mother did an exceptional job as does my wife Kathy and my three sisters. We have added to it with the onion and garlic cooked with the chicken and the chicken cooked in chicken broth.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs. chicken
- You can use a hen, fryer or individual breasts; if hen or fryer, let cool and bone.
- If you use the whole bird, it will generate its own broth.
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- dash of baking powder
- pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons of shortening
- 8 tablespoons salted butter
- 1/3 cup milk
- dash poultry seasoning
- 1 small-medium onion
- 1 clove garlic
Directions
- Cook chicken in chicken broth, about eight cups, with whole onion and whole clove of garlic. If more liquid is needed, add heated chicken broth.
- Mix dry ingredients
- Cut in shortening
- Add enough hot water to make stiff dough
- Roll out dough to about 1/8 in.
- Cut in strips about one in. wide and two in. long
- Take chicken out of broth, bone if needed
- Into broth add salt and pepper, one stick butter, some milk (about 1/3 cup)
- Bring to boil and start adding dumplings a few at a time; let cook a few seconds before adding more dumplings (Kathy puts in a batch and let’s them cook while she is cutting the next batch)
- Cook dumplings 30-40 minutes; when almost done, add chicken and a dash of poultry seasoning
- Dumplings should be cooked completely prior to serving
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