Homemade Southern Chicken and Dumplings

Homemade chicken and dumplings from scratch! Southern cooking all the way! This recipe takes some time, but it is absolutely delicious!

• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 1 hr 20 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 50 mins
• Calories: 357 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• ½ cup vegetable shortening
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• water as needed
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, or as needed
• 2 quarts buttermilk
• 1 (3 pound) whole fryer chicken, giblets removed

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add carrots, celery, onion, and parsley. Add salt and pepper and cook vegetables until they sweat, about 5 minutes. Drop the chicken right into the stockpot and add water to cover by 3 to 4 inches. Bring to a boil and cook until no longer pink in the center and juices run clear, about 1 hour.

Step 2

Meanwhile, place flour in a large bowl; cut in shortening. Add buttermilk slowly until flour comes together in a a large ball. Knead dough slightly; do not overdo it or dumplings will not be fluffy. Roll dough out and cut into dumpling strips.

Step 3

Pull cooked chicken out of pot and let cool until safe to handle, about 15 minutes. Reserve stock.

Step 4

Shred chicken meat. Pull all veggie chunks out of stock. Add shredded chicken back to the pot with stock and bring to a boil.

Step 5

Add dumplings slowly, 1 at a time, stirring constantly to keep from sticking. Cook until stock is thickened and dumplings are no longer cream-colored, but almost brownish-grey, 5 to 10 minutes.