The Chicken Dumplin' Gang

I got friends who won't cook chicken on the bone.  They say things like "It's easier being a carnivore when I don't know it has bones."  Some friends just don't like handling meat that looks as if once it was alive.  I personally will never forget the time I was in the backyard at my Granny's house and my Uncle came up to kill us a chicken to cook for dinner.  He just grabbed it by the head and in a few seconds the head was gone and the chicken's body was running around.  Once it stopped they gave me the chicken with instructions on defeathering and cleaning the meat to prepare it for baking.  For sure and I would not lie about this:  I cried for that poor chicken's soul for a solid hour-- until the meal was served and I tasted its gift to us.  I knew that chicken PERSONALLY.

But one of my all time favorite chicken dishes is chicken n dumplings.  To make chicken n dumplings you have three main things to do.  First you cook the chicken and remove the cooked meat from the bones.  Next, prepare and cook the dumplings.  Finally thicken the gruel.  Sides to serve with chicken and dumplings are rolls, green beans, mashed potatoes.  I've seen it served with macaroni and cheese, scalloped turnips and sweet potato casserole.

Preparation Time: 45 minutes
Start to finish: 2.75 hours
Yield: 6 servings

For the chicken and gruel:
7 cups water
1 chicken cut into pieces
1 tablespoon chicken bouillon grains
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

For dumplins:
21/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup melted chicken fat or shortening
1/2 cup chicken stock, pot likker, or water.
Combine 2 cups of the flour with the salt and stir in the shortening.  Add the stock and mix until you have a stiff dough.  Knead for 30 strokes or until stiff.  Working on a floured surface and using a rolling pin, roll the dough to a thickness of 1/8 to 1/4 inch, as if making a piecrust.  Use a pizza cutter to cute 1 inch by 2 inch strips.  Dry the surface of the dumplins by adding flour.  Slip the dumplings, one at a time, into a large pot of simmering broth.  Stir to keep the dumplings separated.  Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove from the heat, cover the pan and cool 30 to 60 minutes.  This resting time helps to thicken the gruel and tenderize the dumplings.  Reheat before serving.  The longer dumplings sit after cooking the more tender they are and they will keep for several days. 

Step 1: Several hours or the day before cooking the dumplings, combine the water, chicken, bouillon, salt, and pepper in a large saucepan and simmer 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked.  cover and refrigerate.
Step 2: When the chicken and broth have compeltely cooled, remove and discard the fat from the top of the gruel.  Take the chicken out of the gruel and separate and discard the bones and skin.  Set aside and cover.
Step 3: Bring the gruel back to a low boil and prepare the dumplings.

Step 4: In a small bowl prepare a cold roux by slowly whisking the 1/2 cup water into the 1/2 cup flour.  One-third at a time, pour this cold roux into the simmering dumplings.  Return the prepared chicken to the pot, bring to a boil, and remove from the heat.