Lighter Chicken and Dumplings

Lighter Chicken and Dumplings

About 8 servings
Adapted from The Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook via Annie’s Eats

For the stew:
2 tsp. canola oil
3 lbs. bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed
2 small onions, finely chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled and  cut into 3/4″ pieces
3 celery ribs, finely chopped
1/4 cup dry sherry
6 cups chicken broth
1 tsp. freshly minced thyme
1 lb. chicken wings
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

For the dumplings:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
a couple turns of freshly ground pepper
3/4 cup well-shaken, chilled buttermilk
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and hot
1 large egg white

Pat the chicken thighs dry and season with salt and pepper.

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat, until shimmering. Add the chicken thighs to the hot oil, skin side down, and cook until browned and crisp, about 5-7 minutes. Flip the chicken and brown on the other side for an additional 5-7 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a plate. Drain all but 1 tsp. of fat from the pot.

Add onions, carrots, and celery to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally,  until caramelized, 7-9 minutes. Stir in the sherry, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Stir in the thyme and chicken broth. Add the chicken thighs and any accumulated juices to the pot, as well as the chicken wings.  Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook until thigh meat offers no resistance when poked with a paring knife, but still clings to bones, about 45 minutes.

Remove the pot from heat and transfer chicken to cutting board. Allow the broth to cool for 5 minutes before skimming the fat from the top. Once cool enough to handle, remove the skin from the chicken and discard. Cut or shred chicken into bite sized pieces (use thighs only or thighs and wings). Return meat to pot. (At this point, you can cool the stew to room temperature and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Bring to a simmer before continuing.)

To make the dumplings: Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, pepper, and baking soda in a large bowl.  In a medium bowl (or right in the measuring cup you’ve used for the buttermilk), stir the butter into the buttermilk, until the butter forms small clumps. Whisk in the egg white. Add the buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula or wooden spoon until just incorporated.

Return stew to a simmer. Stir in parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper. Wrap the lid of the Dutch oven in a clean kitchen towel.

Using a greased tablespoon, drop spoonfuls of dough over simmering stew, spacing about 1/4″ apart (about 24 dumplings total). Cover the pot with the wrapped lid and simmer gently until dumplings have doubled in size and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 13-16 minutes.