Chicken and Dumplings Like Cracker Barrel's

Submitted by hcopeland

"This tastes just like Cracker Barrel's, if you have ever tried it. From book "Old Fashioned Country Cooking" found at Cracker Barrel."

 

• Ready In: 3hrs
• Ingredients: 9
• Yields: 1 batch
• Serves: 6-8

ingredients

• 1360.77-2721.55 g frying chickens (any whole chicken will do)
• 1892.0 ml water
• 9.85 ml salt
• 2.46 ml pepper (I use coarse ground and double it)
• 473.18 ml all-purpose flour
• 2.46 ml baking soda
• 2.46 ml salt
• 44.37 ml shortening (I use Crisco sticks)
• 177.44 ml buttermilk (I add 1 tbsp. vinegar to 1 cup milk let sit 5 minutes, then measure 3/4 cup)

directions

1. Place chicken in a Dutch oven. Add water and 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil.
2. Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 1 hour or until tender (should almost fall off bone).
3. Remove the chicken from the broth and cool. Bone the chicken and cut meat into bite-sized pieces.
4. Bring the broth to a boil and add pepper.
5. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Cut in the shortening. Add the buttermilk, stirring with a fork until moistened.
6. Knead the dough 4 to 5 times (never done), and pat to 1/2-inch pieces and drop into boiling broth (I do not pat it out, just pinch off pieces). Reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Stir in the chicken and serve. I make it in the pressure cooker, much quicker and easier.
8. I pressure it for only 30 minutes.
9. It can also be done in the crockpot with 3-4 cups water but someone has that book so at this time I cannot give cooking times.
10. Good Luck! Hope you enjoy.

Reviews

[sarahlouzoo_640532]

I've been trying different chicken and dumpling recipes for years, usually with disappointment, but this one is fantastic. I actually worked for Cracker Barrel and can say that these come extremely close. I added onion, extra salt, pepper and thyme, which I love, and the recipe turned out perfectly. One tip, after rolling the dough out 1/2 inch thick, I used a pizza cutter to cut it into squares. I like my dumplings on the thin side and these were wonderful.

 

[southern chef in lo]

This was very good all of my familey loved it. I added 2 diced stalks of celery,2 diced carrots and 1 small onion diced to the water and chicken befor it was cooked for extra flavor.

 

[Erika]

I made this tonight and it was fantastic!! My kids loved it too. I added carrots and celery also. This recipe is a keeper!!

 

[Lyssie71]

This was fantastic!! The dumplings are soft, yet firm enough to have good texture. The gravy was nice and thick. I made my usual chicken stock with a chicken, one gallon of water, one bunch of celery, 3 large onions AND skins halved, 3 crushed garlic cloves, 2 Tsp. of salt, and 2 Tsp. of peppercorns. I doubled the dumpling recipe (since I doubled the broth). I kneaded the dough as directed, and patted it out on a floured counter to about 1/4" thickness and then cut 1" x 1 1/2" strips. Placed them all into the boiling stock (that everything else was removed from), reduced the temp as directed, and cooked for 10 mins. w/the cover cocked to allow some steam to leave. It was FANTASTIC and a definite keeper. (It was so good I joined the site! LOL) Thank you for this recipe.

 

[Gipsy_13]

As far as a classic C&D recipe, this is as close as it gets. However, looking at the nutrition facts was scary - 700 calories and 41 grams of fat per serving?? A lot of the fat comes from the whole chicken to make the broth and the shortening. Instead, I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs and some white meat chicken tenders. Added celery, garlic, onions, and thyme like some other reviews. I also added a Knor homestyle stock base, which helps add back some flavor without all the fat and marrow coming out of the chicken bones. Use low-fat margarine to make the dumplings and the buttermilk isn't really necessary. Most people can't tell the difference between normal milk (skim for me) and buttermilk when it's actually cooked into the dumplings. I did end up thickening the sauce a little more after adding dumpling by mixing 2 T flour into 1/4 c. COLD water, then adding that faux roux back into the pot and stirring. Hope this was helpful for anyone wanting to cut out some of the unnecessary fats!