The greatest thing about the South...

[Maddy McCall]

Chicken and Dumplins. Bar none--better than gumbo, fried chicken, or black-eyed peas (although the peas make a good side dish for them :-) ).

It doesn't matter what tragedy befalls a Southerner, from death in the family to divorce, or what good things are going on, from the birth of a baby to a family reunion, someone is SURE to show up with a batch of chicken and dumplins. Some people KNOW how do make them, some don't. I of course am in the former group. :-)

I made a batch last night for a family whose matriarch died. Today--indeed, right NOW--I am making another batch for my son and dad.

A story can be told about ANYTHING, so here are two of my chicken and dumplin stories.

First story: A couple with whom I am friends visited last winter, and I cooked up some chicken and dumplins for dinner. The husband RAVED about my C&Ds, to the point that he was scarfing them down and saying, "These are the best damned thing I have EVER eaten. Oh my GOD you have to tell Jane here how to make them. I have never eaten anything so good in my life!" A few minutes later, the wife was sitting in the car demanding that he take her home. To this day, she is cool towards me. Husband still raves about the dumplins. So, the moral of the story is that chicken and dumplins not only can heal broken hearts, but can also cause intense feelings of jealousy and envy :-)

Second story: A guy I was dating several years back said that we needed a code word for hanky panky when we were in a large group of people and wanted to leave. He chose "chicken and dumplins." So how'd this work out, you ask? We would be with a group of friends, and he would say, "Man, I feel like some chicken and dumplins." Everyone would say, "Where ya gonna get chicken and dumplins at this time of night?!" He and I would look at each other and snicker...eventually, our code word got out, so now everyone in the group began using it as a code word for knockin' boots. :evilgrin:

At any rate, here is how I make 'em. Always turn out delicious. Share your recipes, too.

RECIPE FOR CHICKEN AND DUMPLINS:

Start by making your broth:

In a LARGE, covered pot or pressure cooker, boil for 45 minutes:

1 large chicken
1 large peeled onion
2 carrots
garlic to taste
4 stems of celery
Salt
Pepper
Water to cover

After chicken is done, you should have a really nice broth. Strain it to remove the chicken and other items, then put the broth back on to boil. (Forget all that chilling-and-removing-the-fat stuff; if you're eating chicken and dumplin's you ought not concern yourself with fat or carb grams!) You may need to add a little water if the broth is really concentrated.

While the broth is coming back up to boil, debone the chicken. Now it will be really hot on the fingertips, so try using two forks instead: one to hold the chicken in place, and one to strip the meat from the bone. Place the meat in a bowl and cover with a damp papertowel to keep it from drying out.

When the broth is boiling, add whatever dumplins you prefer. Some people make homemade, some people used canned biscuits rolled out flat and cut into strips, some people use flour tortillas cut into strips. I use two packages of Mary B's Open Kettle Dumplins and I swear by them. You can buy them in the bread freezer at most grocers.

Ok, so your broth is boiling, you want to add 1 stick of butter at this point. Bring it back to boil and add your dumplins one at a time, making sure that if the broth cools down, you let it come back up to boil before adding more dumplins. Once you have all the dumplins in the pot, turn your heat down to medium and stir frequently--let it slow-boil for 30-40 minutes, uncovered. Warning: be sure to stir, as dumplins have a tendency to stick together and to the bottom of the pot. You may need to add water (or canned broth if you perfer) during this process.

After the dumplins are done, you will want to thicken the broth. Here's how I do it.

Start with about 3/4 cup of cornstarch, add 1/2 cup of milk and whisk to get rid of lumps. Then, take about 1/4 cup of broth off the top of the pot and add it to the mixture to temper it so that it won't turn into lumps when you pour it into the pot. Stir that really well and then add slowly to the pot. Stir the pot well, turn the heat down on low, and then add your deboned chicken.

Here is how I season the final pot:
Fresh ground black pepper
Salt to taste
A dab of sugar--just a dab--you're not making a dessert
A couple of dashes of nutmeg (I think this is the secret ingredient that makes them taste oh so good :-) )
A tiny dash of Tony C.--not too much, don't want them spicy.

If dumplins are too thick, thin with milk. IF too thin, thicken even more with the cornstarch mixture above.

Now, instead of serving right up, you want to turn the heat so low that it is barely on. Let this mixture stay on the heat--not at a boil or even at a simmer--with the lid on for about 30 minutes, during which time you stir frequently. After 30 minutes, turn the heat off, and let the mixture just sit and season--the dumplins will become so soft they will melt in your mouth if you do this--this is when they are absorbing liquids from the stew.

Serve'em up however you like. I like them with garlic bread or hot-water cornbread on the side. Some people add even MORE carbs and serve 'em over rice. It's all up to you.


Edited because I am just stupid sometimes :-)

[cosmicdot]

1. I was just wishing for some of my Mama's the other day ...

I miss her cooking.

[catzies]

2. Mmmmm....love your euphemism for "knocking boots" too!

:9

[jburton]

3. Cornbread, Cornbread, Cornbread

None of that "Mix" stuff, neither...

Real deal Cornbread!

[Don_G]

4. I'm Partial To Fried Green Tomatoes Too

:)

[Melsky]

5. Thanks for the recipe

I have a southern food question maybe you can answer. What are boiled peanuts and sweet tea? Are they anything more than peanuts that have been boiled and iced tea with sugar? I always hear people from the south talk about these and I'm curious.

[supernova]

6. Boiled peanuts and sweet tea

Yes, boiled peanuts are boiled in salty water and eaten hot and wet. I don't care for them, but others crave them.

"Sweet tea" is just an expression used to differentiate between "sweet" and "unsweet" tea. You're stating your preference for iced tea with or without sugar (or artifical sweetner). Bottom line: you WILL HAVE iced tea! LOL!

[Maddy McCall]

8. Boiled Peanuts/Sweet Tea

Boiled peanuts are easy to fix. They also are more culturally significant than just as a food item, because Southerners like to have Boiled Peanut Boils--kinda the same thing as Crawfish boils--with plenty of peanuts and beer. They use huge propane cookers and cook up sack after sack for these gatherings.

Here is how you do it at home. Take a large pot, place about, oh, 5 lbs. of GREEN peanuts in it. They have to be GREEN, not dried, or it won't work. Cover with water, salt liberally, season with Tony's, and boil for a couple of hours. After you turn them off, let them sit a while so that the peanuts can draw in the seasoning in the water.

I absolutely LOVE them. SO GOOD.

Sweet tea is a staple in the south. I use Community brand. I bring a small pot of water to a boil, add in 4 family-size tea bags, bring it to a boil, let it go for a couple of minutes, then turn the heat off and let it sit for a few minutes. Then, pour it into a pitcher that has sugar in the bottom--usually a cup or so--stir while warm so the sugar dissolves, and then add cold water and ice to the pitcher. Serve over ice. Yes, I guess Sweet Tea is iced tea with water.

[jdsmith]

11. boiled peanuts

Some cooks also experiment with other flavors (e.g., artificial ham flavoring) in the water.

[Maddy McCall]

12. We like Zattarain's Crab Boil...

if you are in the mood for zesty ones.

I really like just plain salt the best.

[The Zanti Regent]

7. Wow, could I put an order in?

Oh, just reading that got me hungry.

So sad, my mother passed away 6 years ago and I still miss her. Her greatest dish was potato salad. I was in Canter's deli in Los Angeles right after her funeral, and just broke down when I saw the potato salad try at the deli counter,

[jdsmith]

10. Sweet tea is NOT just iced tea with sugar

First off, no Southerner would even use the phrase "sweet tea." Tea is ALWAYS sweet. "Unsweetened tea" is the mutant form.

As the poster above noted, the water has to be HOT when you add the sugar. That way, you can dissolve a lot more sugar into it. If you tried to sweeten unsweetened iced tea with a similar amount of sugar, you'd end up with a two-inch thick layer of sugar at the bottom of your glass.

On the matter of chicken and dumplings: a sign that the South is actually many Souths. Where I am from--South Carolina--we don;t much take to c&d. If we hear that someone has just died, we (1) start frying a chicken to take to his/her family and (2) start a macaroni and cheese.

Here's a test: Is macaroni and cheese: (1) a main dish or (2) a vegetable? If you answered 2, you are from the South. If you answered 1, you probably call it "mac and cheese," as if the staples of human existence are to be made cute.

[SiobhanClancy]

9. Delta Blues...

is my favorite thing about the South..after the food,of course:)

[forgethell]

13. Barbecue

without a doubt. when in Tuscaloosa, forget Dreamland, it's gone commercial. Try Archibald's, in Northport, or Archibald's #2 in Cottondale. Archibalds' #2 has chicken, in addition to ribs and butt. My favorite way for butt is sliced, outsided meat, with extra sauce, but not everybody likes it that way. You can also get chopped, but not pulled.

[Maddy McCall]

14. Will keep this in mind the next time I am headed through.

:-)

[Punkingal]

15. jchild....

you just made me soooooo homesick. No one is Vegas ever heard of Chicken and Dumplins. And real honest to goodness cornbread...can't even get the proper cornmeal here. Every time I go home for a visit, I bring back a bunch of it. And iced tea! As Dolly said in Steel Magnolias, "It's the house wine of the South."

[Maddy McCall]

16. Well print out the recipe...

and make a go at it. :-)

And while nothing takes the place of real homemade cornbread, I have found that Martha White's "Cotton Pickin' Cornbread" is a close replica. It comes in a little single-recipe pouch, ya know, like pancake mixes and muffins do. All you have to do is add hot water, stir, pour into a hot, greased skillet and bake.

That's just terrible that you can't get chicken and dumplins in Vegas! Maybe I should move there and open a southern cooking restaurant. :-)

[TheZoo]

17. Biscutts & Gravy

I would love to know what the "official" gravy is for the South.

When we visited a friend in Sparta, NC, we had biscutts and gravy. It wasn't spicy, but there was a taste to it. I would love to make the gravy - apparently it's the same on chicken fried steak, but they can't make it here in Vegas.

[Maddy McCall]

18. Flour gravy...

it's EASY to make. Here's how you do it:

You start with bacon. Fry up six or seven slices in a skillet, then cut your heat down when the bacon is done, take it out, leaving the grease in the pan.

Sprinkle several tablespoons of flour in the grease and stir with a fork...this mixture should just cover the bottom of the skillet...lay your fork down on the skillet bottom when you stir and stir it like crazy to keep the stuff from burning.

Already have a bowl of watered down milk--half milk/half water--set aside. When your flour/grease mixture is light tan, add the milk/water, and bring it to a boil, stirring all the while. Add salt and pepper--heavy on the pepper if you like it to have a little spice to it.

Let it simmer for a few minutes--it will thicken. Add milk if it gets too thick.

Serve over hot, homemade biscuits. Delicious!

[TheZoo]

19. Thanks!

Any substitute for the bacon? Or measurements?

[Maddy McCall]

20. Let's see...

for bacon grease, you can just use shortening or vegetable oil. When I fry chicken, I spoon off some of the hot grease and start my gravy with that.

Measurements? I don't use measuring cups or spoons when I make gravy, but let me see if I can guestimate for you...

Start with about 1/3 cup of oil.

Flour...you want to add enough flour to the hot grease that the mixture is still fluid--about the consistency of, well, the only thing I can think of is motor oil...bad comparison, but you get the picture...so probably about 3 heaping tablespoons of flour, maybe a little more.

The bowl I use holds 4 cups of water, so for the water mixture, use 2 cups of milk, 2 cups of water.

When you add it to the flour mixture, you may think that there is no way it will thicken up to gravy consistency, but give it a couple of minutes and it will.

Salt and pepper to your own liking.

HOpe this helps.