INGREDIENTS

CHICKEN & BROTH

  • 8 to 9 chicken thighs, skins on
  • 2 chicken bouillon cubes
  • 12 cups water
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

CREAMY GRAVY

  • 2 cups chicken broth (from the pot)
  • 2 cups milk
  • 6 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

DUMPLINGS

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup solid shortening
  • 1 1/4 cups full-fat buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup chicken broth

INSTRUCTIONS

CHICKEN & BROTH

  1. Place the chicken thighs in a large deep pot.  Cover with at least 12 cups of water.  The pot should be 2/3 full of water.  Add the bouillon cubes, salt, pepper, and thyme.  Bring to a boil over high heat, keeping an eye on the pot so it doesn’t boil over.  Reduce heat to medium and cook covered with a lid until the chicken is done about 1 hour.  Transfer the chicken to a bowl and turn off the heat under the broth.  Cover the chicken with a foil tent and allow the chicken to rest for at least 15 minutes.  Remove the skins, allow the chicken to cool enough to handle, remove it from the bones and cut it into bite-size pieces.  Cover the chicken to prevent it from drying out while you make the dumplings.

CREAMY GRAVY

  1. Add the chicken broth, milk, cornstarch & salt to a medium saucepan.  Whisk over medium heat until the sauce thickens, about 8 to 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.

DUMPLINGS

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Using two forks or a pastry blender, cut in the shortening.  Add the buttermilk and chicken broth and mix just to combine.  The mixture should be pretty wet.
  2. Meantime, bring the broth in the pot back to a boil over medium-high heat.  Drop the dumplings by large spoonfuls into the broth, separating them from each other in the broth.  I use a 1/2 cup large ice cream/cookie scoop to drop the dumplings, to make sure they are all the same size, so they cook through at the same time.  Cover the pot with a lid and reduce the heat to low.  Simmer for 10 minutes.  DO NOT PEAK OR REMOVE THE LID during this time.  Remover lid after 10 minutes.  Gently ladle some of the broth over the top of the dumplings and allow them to cook for an additional minute.  Add the chicken and gravy to the pot and very gently mix to combine.
  3. Serve hot and refrigerate leftovers.
  4. I recommend eating the leftovers the next day.  Don’t overheat them.  Warm them gently over medium-low heat or in a microwave.  Microwave heating tends to make them denser and chewier inside.

NOTES

I recommend doubling the dumpling recipe.  One batch makes about 8 large dumplings.  There is plenty of broth in this recipe for doubling the dumpling recipe.  Mix one batch of dumpling batter at a time.  Cook the first batch, transfer them to a bowl and cover, then make the second batch.

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