Chicken and Dumplings

MEMOIR Chicken and Dumplings Sidney Saylor Farr A WELCOME DISH AT CHURCH SUPPERS AND FAMILY REUNIONS, chicken and dumplings has been a favorite in Appalachia for generations. It can be fixed for a small family or a large gathering. Cooks make differences in the taste by stewing the chicken in sherry, lemon peel, parsley or pepper. Some add butter and chopped giblets as well as boiled eggs to enrich the broth. There are two kinds of dumplings: fluffy round balls and slick dumplings rolled out flat and cut into strips. In my childhood Mama filled her cast-iron teakettle with water to heat on the cook stove, then caught a chicken—usually a hen. She killed the chicken either by wringing its neck or chopping off its head. She then put it in a No. 2 galvanized tub. Bringing out the boiling teakettle, she poured water over the chicken. After the hot water loosened the feathers, she plucked them off and saved them for pillows and feather beds. Mama then brought the chicken inside and held it over a flame in the wood stove to singe the pinfeathers and hairs. After Mama washed and dried the chicken, she cut it into serving pieces and simmered it slowly covered with water in a cast-iron kettle. When the chicken was fork-tender, she removed the kettle from the fire to cool. After de-boning the chicken, she put it back into the broth and moved the kettle onto a hot part of the stove. Then Mama made dumplings. Hers were fluffy tender dumplings that melted in your mouth. First she mixed up a dough. Then she laid this dough out on a board and kneaded it a few times. Finally, she pinched off wads of dough and rolled them between her palms until they were like round balls. Then she pulled and shaped them into ovals and dropped them into the rich boiling chicken broth where they cooked waxy on the outside and fluffy and tender on the inside. We did not like the flat dumplings with no baking powder and little shortening, which were rolled and cut into strips like wide noodles, then cooked firm and bumpy. Later I learned that fluffy round dumplings are more old-fashioned while the flat dumpling is more sophisticated. The preference for one version over another, of course, tends to run in families. 74 I grew up believing my mama's dumplings were perfect. I knew I could never improve on her basic recipe, so I never tried. I no longer use a wood burning stove or a cast-iron teakettle in which to heat water. I also buy chicken from the supermarket. But I still shape dumplings by rolling them between my hands and cook them just the way she did. People rave about my chicken and dumplings almost as much as they did when Mama fixed them. Chicken and Dumplings • 1 stewing hen, 3 to 4 pounds • Salted water • VA cups all-purpose flour (Self rising flour can be used, but eliminate salt and baking powder) • 1A teaspoon salt • YA teaspoons baking powder • 1A cup shortening • Vi cup milk Cut chicken into serving size pieces and place in a large kettle with tight-fitting lid. Cover with water that has been lightly salted to taste. Cover and cook until chicken is tender and meat falls from the bones. When tender let cool and remove all bones; put meat back into broth and bring to low boil. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Cut in shortening or lard until mixture is size of small peas. Add milk and mix well. Turn out on lightly floured board and knead a few times. Pinch off wad of dough and roll into a ball, then stretch into oval shape. Drop dumplings one at a time into hot broth. Continue to simmer for about 20 minutes. Yields eight servings. 75 ...