This is an easy step-by-step recipe to make the Southern Classic Chicken and Pastry, also known as Southern Chicken and Dumplings.
Chicken and Pastry is one of South's most beloved classic dish. Follow these steps to make some delicious Southern Cooking.
Easy Chicken and Pastry Recipe
Chicken and Pastry
When I first met my husband I could barely cook. He would get so excited when his Great Aunts would come to visit bringing amazing platters ofEleven Layered Cake, Home Made Pimento Cheese Sandwiches, Field Peas, and his favorite…. Chicken and Pastry. I knew if I wanted to win this man's heart, I better learn how to make these dishes!!!
Aunt Molly
So I asked one of his sweet Aunts to teach me how to do some of this Southern Cooking. His Aunt Molly was happy to share. I started with the Chicken and Pastry. I would cook hours and hours in the kitchen making pastry from scratch just like Aunt Molly did. I would makequite a mess…. Flour everywhere…. But my husband was so happy when I made it. That made me happy. Soon his friends beganrequesting me to make it…. but it was so much work, I would only make it on special occasions. Until……
Chicken and Dumplings Easy
One day a family memberbrought over Chicken and Pastry to a family gathering. Everyone was devouring it. Someone slipped up and told me the hidden secret. They used Anne's Old Fashioned Flat Dumplings. I honestly couldn't tell the difference between the homemade version of the pastry or Anne's!!! I was shocked. All those hours and all that mess… And there was an easy frozen version??? Honestly, you cannot tell it is not homemade… So why not? I have been using Anne's Dumplings ever since. If I wasn't an honest person, I would tell everyone I made the pastry and no one would know…. but I couldn't live with myself if I did. So I thought I would share my little secret with you!
Anne's Old Fashioned Flat Dumplings
They come in this box in the freezer section.They cook just LOVELY!
I take celery, onion, and carrots and throw them in a food processor until they are finely cut. Then I sauté them until they are fully cooked.
Next I add the cooked carrots, onions, celery, seasonings, and a whole chicken to a large stock pot filling it with water. I cook the chicken in the pot until completelydone.
I take out the chicken and save the broth. I take off all the meat and save it for the pastry. I boil 3 eggs…. This is what makes Molly's version extra special… she adds hard boiled eggs…. Umm, umm, good!
Next, I bring the broth to a boil adding pastry one by one. I like my pastry thick, so I add the whole box… Pastry goes fast in my household… You have to make all you can make…
Next you add in the chicken.
Then you chop up the boiled eggs and add them in next.
Easy Chicken and Pastry Recipe
Talk about some Good Ol' Southern Soul Food!!!!
Easy Chicken and Pastry Recipe
Don't you want a bite?
Easy Chicken and Pastry Recipe
Writing this post is making me hungry all over again!!!
Aunt Molly recently passed away. She is truly missed. Besides my grandmother, she was the foundation to my love for cooking. She cooked with love… And you felt loved when you ate her food. I try to do the same. There is something very satisfying making something with your hands, sharing it, and watching someone else delight in it. I am not half the cook she was, but maybe I will be someday.
If you enjoyed this recipe, check out: French Onion Chicken Casserole, Granny Moore's Dressing, and How to CookField Peas.
Recipe
Easy Chicken and Pastry Recipe- Southern Chicken and Dumplings
This is an easy step-by-step recipe to make the Southern Classic Chicken and Pastry, also known as Southern Chicken and Dumplings.
A variant known as "chicken and pastry" or simply "chicken pastry" features wide, flat noodles rolled from biscuit dough. Where such a distinction is made, it is sometimes considered a different dish from "chicken and dumplings", which is known for small balls of dough rather than flat strips.
If you don't have broth on hand and want a little more flavor than just plain water, try subbing in 1 cup of water plus 1 tablespoon of butter for every cup of chicken broth in your recipe. The butter will help create a richer flavor than just water alone.
First, mix the dumpling ingredients just until the dough comes together. You'll whisk together the dry ingredients, then add melted butter and heavy cream. Stir everything together until the wet and dry ingredients are combined and you don't see any more dry flour.
Southern dumplings are made with shortening and are simmered in the broth. Northern dumplings — they aren't necessarily from the north, but they aren't southern dumplings so I am calling them northern — are made with butter and are steamed on the top of the pot.
All you have to do is cut a pound of prepared pizza dough into eight pieces, roll them into balls, and then drop them into the soup to cook through. Effortless and delicious!
Check for doneness: Gently stir the soup. Cut a dumpling in half to check if it is cooked through. If not, cook a few more minutes (with the lid on) and test again.
How can I thicken stove top chicken and dumplings? You can thicken this dish by adding more flour, or even cornstarch. Create a slurry with either of these ingredients and milk or water, then stir into your broth base until you get your desired consistency.
Per our sister publication, Better Homes & Gardens, you can use one bouillon cube or one teaspoon instant bouillon granules in one cup of water as a swap for every one cup of chicken broth for which a recipe calls.
Are those ingredients interchangeable? Yes, they are. Sometimes speedy recipes will call for broth or granules since they're quicker than bouillon cubes. However, one bouillon cube or 1 teaspoon of granules dissolved in 1 cup of boiling water may be substituted for 1 cup of broth in any recipe.
Overworking the mixture, thus having heavy dumplings is a common mistake people make. Dumplings need very gentle handling, so mix only until the ingredients are just combined, and if your recipe involves rolling them out with extra flour, avoid using too much.
The key is using the best chicken available; one that can stand up to a boiling without losing flavor. To help boost the flavor of my stock, I added four chicken feet, but neck bones or even chicken bouillon work just as well.
So that they cook perfectly, the dumplings need to steam, so cover the pot with its lid. Keep the pot at a gentle simmer when cooking the dumplings. An aggressive simmer or boiling will break them apart. Keep the heat low and cover the pot so that they steam.
By the mid-1800s, a variety of dumpling and meat dishes began to appear in southern cookbooks and a recipe of chicken stewed with dumplings was first published in 1879 by Marion Cabell Tyree in a cookbook called “Housekeeping in Old Virginia.” Many historians are also quick to point out that these recipes were cooked ...
Unbleached flour produces terrific flavor, but bleached flour imparts a brighter finish that some Asian cooks like. Chinese black vinegar is available at most Asian markets.
Southern dumplings are made with shortening and are simmered in the broth. Northern dumplings — they aren't necessarily from the north, but they aren't southern dumplings so I am calling them northern — are made with butter and are steamed on the top of the pot.
Dumplings may be prepared using a variety of methods, including baking, boiling, frying, simmering or steaming and are found in many world cuisines. Some definitions rule out baking and frying in order to exclude items like fritters and other pastries that are generally not regarded as dumplings by most individuals.
American dumplings may be of the filled pastry type (which are usually baked), or they may be little pieces of dough added to a savoury or sweet dish, in which case they are usually boiled. Baked sweet dumplings are a popular dessert in American cuisine.
Pasties are baked and a lot larger than your typical Asian dumpling, but as you can see to the left, without a sense of scale, an uncooked Pasty looks a lot like a Chinese dumpling.
A chicken and dumplings dish is essentially cooked chicken combined with a handful of chopped veggies in a thick gravy-like broth and topped with biscuit dough balls that cook while floating in the gravy.
Introduction: My name is Fr. Dewey Fisher, I am a powerful, open, faithful, combative, spotless, faithful, fair person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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