Chicken and Dumplings!
We successfully christened our new pressure cooker tonight! We made Alton Brown’s Chicken and Dropped Dumplings. The pressure cooker worked great for cooking the chicken, and the resulting broth was delicious. While I picked the meat from the bones, the Snook mixed up the dumpling dough (which is basically a choux pastry). He then loaded it into a bag and squeezed out small dumplings into the broth. We thought they looked pretty dubious at this point, but once he put the lid on they swelled up big and fluffy and beautiful. Eight minutes later the dumplings were done and the chicken went back in the pot. LOVERLY.
Of course, this isn’t quite the way my family make it back home in Indiana. This made more of a clear soup with chicken and discrete, pillowy dumplings. I can’t find the recipe, but I’m pretty sure my Aunt Berb’s “dumpling” mixture there is more of a thick, lumpy batter that gets spooned in. I’ve sent out emails to the relevant relatives and hopefully I’ll get the mystery solved soon.
M-H
January 14, 2011 — 12:03 pm
We’re looking at new product called a ‘slow fast cooker’ – it is both a pressure cooker or a slow cooker, depending on the settings you use. Our latest slow cooker (Breville) cooks things too hot – even on low we come home to a mushy mess instead of a stew after 8 hours, and the mixture really boils, not barely simmers like it did in the old one. My daughter in NZ bought one too and has the same complaint. It’s fine for soup, but not for stews. But this new thing is Breville as well, so we’re a bit reluctant to buy it in case it turns out to overcook on slow cooker settings.
Andrea Roceal
January 14, 2011 — 4:59 pm
Yeah, my family’s Oklahoma-style chicken & dumplings had a really light/clear broth, with veggies, and the dumplings were drop biscuit dough. Yum.
Hillbilly Housewife has a really simple recipe. http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/chickendumplings.htm
Kris
January 14, 2011 — 7:22 pm
That Hillbilly Housewife recipe is closer to what my Indiana relatives do, Andrea.
This dish seem to have so many local variations!
Laura
January 14, 2011 — 8:29 pm
Congratulations! Would love to read your dumpling recipe when you find ti!
hip pressure cooking
making pressure cookers hip again, one recipe at a time!
Ailsa
January 15, 2011 — 8:57 pm
OMG don’t you dare/please will you cook anything that comes from a website called hillbilly housewife!
I can’t decide!!!!