Chicken and Dumplings
by Chef Ron Alhert of Community Culinary School of Charlotte

Ingredients:

• Vegetable oil, as needed (or fat rendered from chicken)
• 1 yellow onions, diced (1 ½ cups)
• 3 bunches celery diced (1 cup )
• 2 carrots, diced (1 cup)
• 2 tsp Thyme
• 1 Tbsp Dill
• 8 cups of chicken stock, plus more as needed
• 2 cups of heavy cream
• Salt and pepper as needed
• 1 roasted chicken, pulled (use the carcass to make stock)

For the Dumplings

• 3 cups flour
• 6-7 ounces of ice cold water

Making the Broth

• Heat a large pot over high heat.
• Add the vegetable oil then the mirepoix (combo of chopped carrots, celery, and onions).
• Sauté until vegetables tender but not caramelized.
• Add some salt and pepper, then the thyme and dill and sauté for another minute to bloom the spices.
• Add the stock, cream and chicken and bring to a high simmer.
• You should be able to see some convection movement.

Making the Dumplings

• While the stock is coming to temperature, make the dumplings.
• In a small bowl combine the flour and water.
• Mix thoroughly to create a dough.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
• Roll out to a thickness of 1/8” to ¼”.
• Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into your dumpling strips.

Once the stock is up to temperature, begin dropping the dumplings in. Drop a dozen at a time, stir, let the temperature come back up a bit, then add some more.

Once all the dumplings have been incorporated, continue stirring occasionally and maintain the temperature. Don’t let it get too hot as it will scorch very easily.

Serve Eat & Enjoy!

Thickening your Chicken and Dumplings:

If you’d like to thicken the chicken and dumplings up a bit, add roux. To make roux melt 2 oz butter in a medium sauce pan. Once the butter is melted, add two ounces of flour and mix so that it looks like wet sand. Cook the roux over a medium –low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture smells bit toasty and nutty, about 5 minutes. Using a ladle, add 4 oz of broth from the chicken and dumplings into the roux pan. It will tighten up immediately. Then add the contents of the roux pan directly back into the chicken and dumplings mixture, stirring thoroughly.

You can repeat the process depending on how thick you like your chicken and dumplings.

Here’s a look at the finished product!