Equipment
* optional
Ingredients
Chicken and Soup Base
- 1000 g bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
- 30 g unsalted butter
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 celery, diced
- 3 garlic, minced
- 40 g all-purpose flour
- 1500 ml chicken stock
- 120 ml heavy cream
- 5 g fresh thyme, leaves stripped and chopped
- 10 g salt
- 3 g black pepper, freshly ground
Buttermilk Dumplings
- 250 g all-purpose flour
- 15 g baking powder
- 4 g salt
- 60 g unsalted butter, very cold, cubed
- 180 ml buttermilk, cold
- 10 g fresh parsley, finely chopped
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 913 kcal
- Protein
- 46 g
- Carbohydrates
- 53 g
- Fat
- 53 g
- Fiber
- 3 g
- Sugar
- 9 g
- Sodium
- 2218 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 20 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 17 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 7 g
- Cholesterol
- 219 mg
- Potassium
- 914 mg
- Calcium
- 259 mg
- Iron
- 3.0 mg
- Magnesium
- 67 mg
- Phosphorus
- 504 mg
- Zinc
- 3.1 mg
- Vitamin A
- 451 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 9 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.5 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 1.2 mg
- Vitamin K
- 42 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.7 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 1.2 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.23 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.39 mg
- Niacin
- 8.7 mg
- Folate
- 39 mcg
- Water
- 222 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Heat the unsalted butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper, then place them skin-side down in the pot. Sear until the skin is deep golden brown, then flip and briefly sear the other side. Wash hands and all surfaces thoroughly after handling raw chicken to prevent cross-contamination.
Remove the partially cooked chicken to a plate. Add the diced onion, carrots, and celery to the rendered chicken fat in the Dutch oven. Sauté over medium heat until the onions are softened and translucent.
Stir in the minced garlic and fresh thyme, cooking until fragrant. Sprinkle the all-purpose flour over the vegetables and stir constantly to coat them, cooking the raw flour taste out and creating a roux base.
Gradually pour in the chicken stock while scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to release any browned bits. Return the seared chicken thighs and any resting juices to the pot. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 74C/165F and is completely tender.
Using tongs, carefully transfer the cooked chicken from the broth to a cutting board. Once cool enough to handle, discard the skin and bones. Shred the meat into bite-sized pieces using two forks.
While the broth continues to simmer and reduce slightly, prepare the dumpling dough. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and chopped parsley. Cut the cold, cubed butter into the dry ingredients using a pastry blender or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Gently stir in the cold buttermilk until just combined into a shaggy, wet dough.
Return the shredded chicken to the simmering broth. Stir in the heavy cream and taste the soup base, adjusting salt and pepper as needed. Ensure the soup is at a steady, gentle simmer before adding dumplings.
Using two spoons or a cookie scoop, drop tablespoon-sized mounds of the dumpling dough directly onto the surface of the simmering soup. Space them out as evenly as possible, as they will expand during cooking.
Immediately cover the Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid. Reduce the heat to medium-low to maintain a gentle simmer and let the dumplings steam undisturbed. Do not lift the lid during this time.
Remove the pot from the heat. Let the soup rest uncovered for a few minutes to allow the broth to slightly thicken and cool. Ladle into warm bowls, ensuring each serving gets a generous amount of dumplings, chicken, and broth.
Chef's Notes
- Using bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs builds a gelatin-rich foundation for the broth that boneless breasts simply cannot replicate.
- For the lightest, fluffiest dumplings, ensure your butter and buttermilk are exceptionally cold. The small pockets of cold butter melting during the steaming process create steam pockets inside the dough.
- To build layers of flavor, you can deglaze the pan with 60ml of dry white wine before adding the chicken stock.
- The dumplings will absorb a significant amount of liquid as they cook and as they sit in the fridge. If you prefer a very brothy soup, increase the chicken stock by 500ml.
Storage
Refrigerator: 4 days — Store soup and dumplings together in an airtight container.
Reheating: Gently reheat on the stovetop over medium-low heat. Add a splash of chicken broth or water to loosen the thick base, taking care not to aggressively stir and break up the dumplings.
Troubleshooting
Dumplings are dense, heavy, or gummy in the center
Cause: The dough was overmixed, or the lid was lifted during the steaming process causing a loss of heat.
Fix: Cannot be fixed once cooked. If undercooked in the center, cover and steam for an additional 5 minutes.
Prevention: Mix the dumpling dough only until the wet and dry ingredients just come together, and never lift the lid while they are steaming.
Broth is too thin and watery
Cause: Not enough flour was added during the roux stage, or the soup was not allowed to simmer and reduce.
Fix: Remove the cooked dumplings carefully. Whisk a slurry of 15g cornstarch and 15ml cold water into the boiling broth until thickened.
Prevention: Ensure accurate measuring of the flour and allow the soup to simmer properly before adding the cream.
Cultural Context
Chicken and dumplings is a staple of Southern American comfort food, emerging historically as a resourceful way to stretch a single tough bird to feed a large family. By boiling the chicken slowly to extract maximum flavor and tenderize the meat, and using inexpensive pantry staples to create filling dough biscuits, home cooks created a hearty, warming dish that remains a symbol of hospitality and care.
