Cracker Barrel Chicken Dumplings Recipes

Steps:

• Place chicken in a Dutch oven. Add water and 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil.
• Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 1 hour or until tender (should almost fall off bone).
• Remove the chicken from the broth and cool. Bone the chicken and cut meat into bite-sized pieces.
• Bring the broth to a boil and add pepper.
• Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Cut in the shortening. Add the buttermilk, stirring with a fork until moistened.
• 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.
• Stir in the chicken and serve. I make it in the pressure cooker, much quicker and easier.
• I pressure it for only 30 minutes.
• 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.
• Good Luck! Hope you enjoy.

Steps:

• Boil 3 quarts water in a large pot.
• Add chicken, 1 t salt, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf and parsley and simmer for 2 hours.
• The liquid will reduce by 1/3.
• When chicken is cooked, remove it and set aside.
• Strain stock and throw away everything but the stock.
• Put 6 cups of the stock back into the pot. (Leftover stock can be frozen.)
• Add the pepper, 1/2 t salt and lemon juice and reheat while you mix dumplings.
• For dumplings, mix flour, baking powder, 1-1/4 t salt and milk in a medium bowl.
• Stir until smooth, then let dough rest for 5-10 minutes.
• Roll dough onto a floured surface to about 1/2 inch thickness. (Handle the dough as little as possible for good dumplings).
• Cut the dough into 1/2 inch squares (I use a pizza cutter) and drop each square into the simmering stock.
• Use all of the dough.
• The dumplings will first swell and then slowly shrink as they partially dissolve to thicken the stock into a white gravy.
• Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until thick.
• Stir often.
• While the stock is thickening, the chicken will have cooled.
• Tear all the meat from the bones and remove the skin.
• Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and drop them into the pot.
• Cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, but stir carefully so you don't break the chicken up.
• When the gravy has reached the desired consistency, ladle four portions onto plates and serve hot.
• (Very good over mashed potatoes.).

Steps:

• Bring water to a boil in a large pot.
• Add the chicken, 1 teaspoon of salt, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf and parsley to the pot.
• Reduce the heat to simmer and cook the chicken, uncovered, for 2 hours.
• The liquid will reduce by about one third.
• When the chicken has cooked, remove it from the pot and set it aside.
• Strain the stock to remove all the vegetables and floating scum.
• You want only the stock and the chicken, so toss everything else out.
• Pour 1 1/2 quarts (6 cups) of the stock back into the pot (keep the leftover stock, if any, for another recipe - it can be frozen).
• Add coarsely ground pepper, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and the tablespoon of lemon juice, then reheat the stock over medium heat while preparing the Dumplings.
• For the Dumplings, combine the flour, baking powder, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt and milk in a medium bowl.
• Stir well until smooth, then let the dough rest for 5 to 20 minutes.
• Roll the dough out onto a floured surface to about a 1/2-inch thickness.
• Cut the dough into 1/2-inch squares and drop each square into the simmering stock.
• Use all of the dough.
• The Dumplings will first swell and then slowly shrink as they partially dissolve to thicken the stock into a white gravy.
• Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until thick. Stir often.
• While the stock is thickening, the chicken will have become cool enough to handle.
• Tear all the meat from the bones and remove the skin.
• Cut the chicken neatly into bite-size pieces and drop them into the pot.
• Discard the skin and bones.
• Continue to simmer the chicken and dumplings for another 5 to 10 minutes, but don't stir too vigorously or the chicken will shred and fall apart.
• You want big chunks of chicken in the end.
• When the gravy has reached the desired consistency, ladle four portions onto plates and serve hot.
• Serve with your choice of steamed vegetables, if desired.

Steps:

• Brown chicken parts in small amount of butter or oil in deep skillet.
• Add sliced celery, carrot and onion. Pour chicken broth over to barely cover chicken pieces.
• Cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through (about 35 to 45 minutes).
• While chicken is cooking, make dumplings (see instructions below).
• Remove chicken when cooked and tent with foil.
• Pour off broth and vegetables from skillet into blender or food processor, pulse until smooth.
• Return broth to skillet. Add parsley, mace, and evaporated milk. Bring to boil.
• Add dumplings and cook for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Taste broth and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• HINT: if you would like your sauce a bit thicker, finely crush 5-6 saltine crackers and stir into the broth.
• Add chicken back in to warm through. Cover and keep warm until serving.
• DUMPLINGS:.
• To make in food processor:.
• Whisk together melted 1 tablespoons butter, 3 eggs and 1/4 Cup milk.
• Using the dough blade for your food processor, finely chop crackers with the parsley and garlic powder in processor.
• Add liquid to crackers with processor running until all ingredients come together in a dough like mixture (don't overprocess, just process until it comes together).
• Form into small balls about size of unshelled walnuts, add to broth as directed above.
• To make W/O food processor:.
• Finely crush crackers with rolling pin, add to bowl with garlic powder and finely chopped parsley.
• Whisk together melted butter, eggs and milk.
• Add to crackers, mix well, and form into balls about size of unshelled walnuts. Add to broth as directed above.

Steps:

• Place chicken and 1 pinch salt in a large pot; cover with water. Bring to a boil, skimming any scum off the surface with a slotted spoon. Add lemon, celery, onion, and carrots. Simmer broth over medium heat until chicken starts to fall off the bone, about 1 hour.
• Discard lemon. Remove chicken from the pot; let cool.
• Place flour, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Ladle in 2 to 3 scoops of hot broth. Mix in flour with a spoon until dough comes together into a ball.
• Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead carefully until smooth. Roll out into a large rectangle; cut into small rectangular dumplings.
• Drop dumplings one at a time into the simmering broth. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 30 minutes.
• Bone chicken and chop into pieces. Add to the pot; cook until heated through, about 5 minutes.