Cracker Barrel Style Chicken and Dumplings

In a large stock pot, bring the water to a boil. Add the chicken, 1 teaspoon of the salt, onion, celery, garlic powder, bay leaf, coriander and stock concentrate. Once it boils, turn the heat down and allow this to simmer for 2 hours, covered. You want it to reduce the liquid by roughly one third.

After the chicken has cooked and the liquid has reduced, skim off any scum that is floating on the surface. Remove the chicken with tongs and set aside. Strain the stock into a bowl so that all the vegetables are removed. Discard the vegetables or use them for another purpose.

You should have about 6 cups of stock. Put it back into the stock pot. Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, the pepper, and the lemon juice. Let it reheat to a simmer over medium heat while preparing the dumplings.

For the dumpling dough, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and milk until smooth. Allow the dough to rest for several minutes. It will be a little gooey. Roll it out on a well-floured surface to about 1/2 inch thick. If needed, sprinkle the top of the dough with a bit of flour to keep the rolling pin from sticking. Cut the dough into 1/2 inch cubes (I find that a pizza cutter makes this job quick and easy). Do not cut them any larger than this or you will end up with dumplings that are undercooked in the middle but tough on the outside.

Drop the dumplings into the simmering stock. It will be normal for them to swell up a bit, but they will return to their original size as they dissolve. Let the dumplings simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, until the stock becomes a creamy gravy consistency, stirring often.

While the dumplings are cooking, cut or pull your chicken into bite-sized pieces. Put the chicken in with the dumplings for the last ten minutes of the dumpling cooking time to reheat the chicken and infuse it with the flavor of the broth. Continue to cook until the desired gravy consistency has been reached.

We prefer chicken and dumplings more soup-like in our household, but if you’d rather have a thicker gravy, add a bit of cornstarch mixed with water to the bubbling broth to thicken.

My favorite side to serve with this meal is steamed baby carrots with a butter, salt, pepper and brown sugar glaze. It’s all serious down-home goodness! Enjoy.