Try steaming the dumplings first until they are done then add them to the broth.

dcarch

Kimberly, I would guess you didn't roll them thin enough. My mom used to roll them really thin, cut them in strips (pizza wheel works good here) and then when she picked up the strips she would stretch them and break off short pieces, drop them in the boiling broth. The broth does need to be boiling but not a rolling boil. Good luck with them...I've never eaten any as good as the ones she made. They were just perfect. A lot of people like the thick, doughy drop dumplings but I prefer the "slick" ones.

jude

Dumplings are wonderful because they absorb some of the lovely broth they are cooked in.
Likely your dumplings were thicker than ideal....but cooked enough they would have been OK.
If they tasted not done.....chances are huge they weren't.
Try again....I mean...flour, egg and salt...mixed up and cooked in chicken broth? What's not to like?
Next time make sure they are cooked through....either cook them longer or roll or stretch them thinner.

I've never made chicken and dumplings but have memories of my Mom's attempts. All hers were soggy and doughy. They were a total fail and after a couple of tries, she gave up. It's just not a food item that appeals to me.

Cheryl

Don't give up.

I love chicken and dumplings. The fluffy kind of dumpling and the "southern style" dumplings. I make mine the way a friend from Alabama mad hers with a little butter in the dough. Easy to roll out.

Chicken Stew And Dumplings
==========================
This is just a basic outline for the Stew. I never really measure anything when making any kind of stew. Just use it as a guide.

4 to 6 Chicken Breasts
(Or a whole chicken with extra pieces)
5 to 6 whole small cooking onions
2 or 3 stalks of celery
2 or 3 potatoes - halved or quartered (Do not use potatoes in stew if making Southern Style dumplings. I make mashed potatoes to serve with Southern style dumplings)
1 clove of garlic
fresh thyme or dried
1 bay leaf
chicken broth

Add chicken to a pot and cover with chicken broth or combination of water and broth.

Add 1 garlic clove, a few sprigs of thyme and bay leaf. Cook for 15 minutes and add whole peeled onions, celery cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces and simmer until onions are tender. Remove Chicken from pot and separate meat from bones. Add chicken back to pot. If using potatoes add now.

Now add what ever dumpling recipe you are using and simmer until dumplings are cooked.

If you like your stew thicker, mix some flour and milk or cream in a jar and pour into hot stew. Stir to make sure there are no lumps.
--------------------------------------

Mix dry ingredients and cut in shortening. Add enough milk to make a soft wet dough. Drop by tablespoon on to the top of stew and cover and simmer on low for about 15 minutes.

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Mix dry ingredients and cut in butter. Add enough milk to make a soft dough. Knead for a minute until smooth and let sit for 1/2 hour. Roll out dough to desired thickness. Dough should be on the thin side. Cut into 1/2 inch strips, 1 1/2 to 2 inches long.

Drop into boiling stew and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until noodles are cooked.

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Cheryl, Elery's mother made chicken and dumplings, the "slider" style that seem to me more like noodles. Now his sister makes them and people rave about them. Elery can't stand them, LOL.

My Grandma used to make the fluffy dumplings, more like biscuit dough. She'd add herbs to the mix sometimes, sometimes not. My girls love them, but I don't think I've made them since the girls moved out. I like them but I'm not crazy for them, so i don't make them for myself.

Kimberly, I also agree that if they didn't seem done they probably weren't. When making those slider types of dumplings I always taste to make sure they are cooked through, for some reason I just can't tell.

Annie

We always had the drop-style fluffy dumplings and that's the way I make them. I've known a lot of people who think the rolled kind are the only kind.

I make my dumplings by mixing buttermilk and a. It of the chicken broth with flour until I get it to the consistency that I like. Occasionally, I add some shortening if I happen to have some. I like the flavor that the buttermilk adds.

Dlynn could you be a little more specific on your dumpling recipe? Sounds a lot like Mama used to make. I know she did not use an egg and she not only rolled the dumplings thin but stretched them as she dropped them into the boiling broth.

jude

My mother wrote a "cook book" for me when I got married. It was pretty much a "Way to Cook" ( apologies to Julia) for the things I liked most that she made.
Her directions for making chicken fricasee with dumplings were as follows:
Buy a nice fryer, a good 4 pounds. Look for one with nice yellow skin. Have the butcher cut it up. Rinse and pat dry, removing any bits of lung or blood vessels from the inside.
Heat your Dutch oven and place pieces skin side down and cook on medium until the skin is browned. I don't like icky slimy white chicken skin. Brown a few pieces at a time and remove to a plate while you brown the rest.
When all pieces are browned on the skin side, put back into your pot, add a good big onion cut into quarters, 2 or 3 stalks of celery, with the leaves and 4 or 5 carrots peeled and cut into chunks, one or 2 cloves of garlic, crushed, a bay leaf a handful of parsley chopped and some summer savory. Add a can of chicken broth and enough water to just cover the chicken pieces..
Simmer about 40 minutes until the chicken and the carrots are tender, taste the broth and add salt and pepper as needed.
Make dumplings according to the recipe on the bisquick box, and drop them on top of the pieces of chicken in the simmering broth. Put the lid on the pot and simmer for 20 minutes without opening the lid of the pot. If you lift the lid the dumplings will fall and be gluey. Thicken the gravy if desired.

I do some things a little differently now ( like who has summer savory any more) but the spirit of her "recipe" is the same....don't peek at the dumplings!!
Linda c

Sorry, I don't really have a recipe and every time I use a different amount. I made them the other day and this is what I did.

Just make whatever kind of chicken broth you choose to make. I was in a hurry, so I used "Better than Bouillon", water, celery, thyme, and the carcass from a grocery store roasted chicken, and just cooked it for a little while. Sometimes I add shredded carrots for color.

For the dumplings I use salt (or seasoned salt), white pepper, and lots of flour. Then I mix buttermilk with some of the broth (about a 4:1 ratio of milk to broth). I then mix this in with the flour until I get it to the thickness that I like it. Sometimes I will drop a dumpling into the broth to test and see if I need to make it drier or more wet, then adjust it with more flour or buttermilk. I think my dough was about the consistency of moist biscuits, but then I put quite a bit of flour down on the counter to roll them out, so that dries it out a bit more.

When the dough is how I like it, I roll it out thin, cut it into strips with the pizza cutter, tear off the dumpling size pieces and drop into the broth. I added the deboned chicken to the broth when I added the dumplings.

We like the broth a bit thicker and not completely watery, so I make a paste of flour and buttermilk (about 1/2 cup) and pour it into the broth to thicken it a bit.

Sorry, I don't really have a recipe and every time I use a different amount. I made them the other day and this is what I did.

Just make whatever kind of chicken broth you choose to make. I was in a hurry, so I used "Better than Bouillon", water, celery, thyme, and the carcass from a grocery store roasted chicken, and just cooked it for a little while. Sometimes I add shredded carrots for color.

For the dumplings I use salt (or seasoned salt), white pepper, and lots of flour. Then I mix buttermilk with some of the broth (about a 4:1 ratio of milk to broth). I then mix this in with the flour until I get it to the thickness that I like it. Sometimes I will drop a dumpling into the broth to test and see if I need to make it drier or more wet, then adjust it with more flour or buttermilk. I think my dough was about the consistency of moist biscuits, but then I put quite a bit of flour down on the counter to roll them out, so that dries it out a bit more.

When the dough is how I like it, I roll it out thin, cut it into strips with the pizza cutter, tear off the dumpling size pieces and drop into the broth. I added the deboned chicken to the broth when I added the dumplings.

We like the broth a bit thicker and not completely watery, so I make a paste of flour and buttermilk (about 1/2 cup) and pour it into the broth to thicken it a bit.

Lindac, = "Make dumplings according to the recipe on the bisquick box"

I still do exactly as your mother directed :) I make dumplings only about twice a year, but I use bisquick. Fast and easy and I like them. No one told me not to peek and I'm not sure if I do or not, but they never fail.

I make the recipe from the Bisquick box, but add chopped chives and shredded cheddar cheese. Drop them in boiling stew, brush the tops with some melted butter and garlic, turn the heat down and cook 10 minutes uncovered, then cover and cook 15 more minutes. Made this yesterday for a sick hubby.

Until I discovered tarragon, I was always unhappy with my chicken soup or dumplings. A little goes a long way.

I love to have biscuits with chicken gravy and gave up trying to cook the biscuits in the gravy. Bake them, put in a bowl, and cover with the gravy. So much easier.

Thank you all so much for your comments. I'm not giving up. I am going to make these again.

I love, love, love chicken and dumplings....the noodle, slider ,Southern style. Not a fan of the "biscuity" type.

Kimberly try Ann's Southern style dumpling recipe it is excellent. I do leave on a bit of extra flour to help thicken the broth. Now you have me on a mission!!!!!

I tried dumplings once but wasn't a fan. They just tasted like soggy biscuits.

I've never tried that other one though...spaetzle? Where you pour the dough through a colander into the pot to make noodles... Has anyone done that?

Also try matzo ball recipes and gefilte fish recipes, if you are not that exited about your dumpling recipes.

dcarch

If you do not like the fluffy style dumplings you might like the southern style/sliders.

Spaetzle is very easy to make. There is a current thread on Spaetzle which includes recipes. You can find it here.