Thursday, August 2, 2012

Chicken and Dumplings

For some reason I've had chicken and dumplings on my mind today.  Not just any chicken and dumplings either but those made by my grandmother.  Even my mother could not do dumplings like granny did.  Like the biscuits that go with them.  Mother always rolled the dough our flat and used a biscuit cutter (a water glass or a tin can) to get nice, round biscuits.  Granny just pinched off a hunk of dough and dropped it in the pan.

I used to make chicken and dumplings ever once in a while but could never do as well even though it is not a complicated process.  Dumplings are the same dough as the biscuits are so just make a double portion of what you would make for biscuits.  I rolled my dumpling dough out into a thin, flat disc and cut that into strips then cut the strips into short pieces.  Granny just pinched small portions of dough and dropped them into the pot.

The best chicken and dumplings are made with a fresh killed chicken.  Well, everything is better with fresh ingredients and, unless one lives on a farm, it is difficult to get fresh killed chickens these days.  Then you dismember the chicken and place it in a large pot (we called it a kettle but my wife makes fun of me when I call pots a kettle these days) with lots of water and put on medium high heat.  Cover and cook until fall-off-the-bone tender.

Only seasoning is a little salt and pepper.  Can even skip the pepper if you'd like.  Then remove the chicken and shred all the meat from the bones and put it back in the pot.  Or, if you're like me, you reserve the gizzard, liver, heart and one leg for consumption while waiting for the dumplings to get done. 

Once the chicken is back in the pot and the stock is boiling start dropping the dumplings in allowing the stock to stay at a boil.  The flour on the dumplings will help to thicken the gravy over the dumplings but it is most likely one will need to add some extra flour to thicken it up to where it needs to be.  Cook, stirring regularly, until the dumplings are done.

While the dumplings are cooking put the biscuits in the oven to bake as you want to eat it all while it is hot.  Left overs are good but nothing like when it is fresh our of the oven and off the stove.  Put in a bowl and eat with a spoon so you can get the gravy with each dumpling and sop (soak for you city people) up gravy with your biscuit.  Have a big, cold glass of buttermilk and it is wonderful.

I guess my favorite chicken and dumpling dinner of all time was when the big, red rooster that terrified me at my grandparent's house went into the pot.  I was so very happy to see that bird on the table with steaming hot biscuits and gravy. 

The real treat, though, was when we were allowed to kill a "laying hen" to cook.  Along with the rest of the chicken we got the "egg bag" (womb) from the hen.  This egg bag had eggs from full sized with a shell all the way down to little yolks about the size of a pin head.  It was a fight between my brother, sister and I to be standing by the kettle (or pot if you prefer) when the egg bag was done.  First come, first serve.  I have to say to this day that is my favorite part of a chicken.

When one starts getting a little older one's childhood memories take on more meaning and it seems the ones dealing with foods one loved have the most meaning of all.   It is a true shame someone so young is unable to appreciate the good things they have every day that become nothing but fond memories as one becomes older.  The one thing that made everything better when I was growing up was it was all seasoned with bacon grease.  Without a liberal dosing of bacon grease food is just something to eat and not something to love.

1 comment:

  1. I can make Mama's meatloaf, but I don't, cause it isn't the same. I rarely make spaghetti, because mine doesn't taste like hers. I do make deviled eggs, which remind me of grandma when I eat them.

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