Description
Cracker Barrel chicken & dumplings bring Southern comfort straight to your kitchen, promising hearty nostalgia with each creamy spoonful. Warm, savory comfort embraces friends and family, inviting you to savor classic homestyle flavors that feel like a welcoming hug.
Ingredients
Scale
Proteins:
- 1 whole chicken (about 4 lbs or 1.8 kg) or 4-6 chicken thighs
Vegetables and Herbs:
- 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
- 1 medium onion, quartered
- 2 bay leaves
Liquid and Seasonings:
- 8 cups (2 L) water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Dumpling Dry Ingredients:
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Dumpling Wet Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons (45 g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- ¾ cup (180 ml) milk
Soup Base Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons (60 g) unsalted butter
- ½ cup (60 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream (optional, for extra richness)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Place whole chicken in a spacious cooking vessel with aromatic herbs and crisp vegetables, creating a flavor-rich poaching liquid.
- Gently elevate the temperature until liquid reaches a rolling boil, then immediately lower heat to allow slow, tender cooking of the poultry.
- Allow chicken to simmer gracefully for approximately 90 minutes, ensuring meat becomes incredibly soft and easily separates from bones.
- Carefully extract chicken from the fragrant broth, letting it cool sufficiently to handle comfortably.
- Methodically deconstruct the chicken, pulling meat into delicate, bite-sized shreds while discarding skin and bone structure.
- Carefully strain the remaining liquid through a fine-mesh sieve, capturing all nuanced flavors while removing vegetable remnants and potential debris.
- Return the refined, golden broth to the original cooking pot, preparing for the next phase of dumpling creation.
Notes
- Choose bone-in chicken pieces for richer, more flavorful broth that develops deeper taste during long simmering process.
- Shred chicken while still warm to make the meat more tender and easier to pull apart without cooling down completely.
- Consider using low-sodium chicken broth instead of water for enhanced flavor profile if you prefer more intense seasoning.
- For gluten-free version, substitute regular flour with gluten-free all-purpose flour blend when preparing dumplings to accommodate dietary restrictions.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1.5 hours
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Simmering
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
- Calories: 450
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 700 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 45 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 25 g
- Cholesterol: 90 mg