Delaware-Style Chicken and Slippery Dumplings

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds), cut into pieces
• 12 cups water
• 1 yellow onion, quartered
• 2 celery stalks, cut into large pieces
• 2 carrots, cut into large pieces
• 2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup whole milk, plus more as needed
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, for dusting

Method

1. 1

   Place the chicken pieces in a large stock pot with the water, onion, celery, carrots, salt, pepper, and bay leaves.

2. 2

   Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until the chicken is tender and falling off the bone.

   1:00:00 · Simmer chicken
3. 3

   Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside to cool slightly. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, discarding the vegetables and bay leaves, then return the broth to the pot.

4. 4

   Once cool enough to handle, remove the chicken meat from the bones, discarding skin and bones, and shred the meat into bite-sized pieces.

5. 5

   While the chicken simmers, make the dumpling dough: whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

6. 6

   In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, and melted butter together, then stir into the flour mixture until a stiff dough forms, adding a splash more milk if the dough is too dry to come together.

7. 7

   Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead a few times until smooth, then let rest for 10 minutes.

   10:00 · Rest dough
8. 8

   Divide the dough in half and roll each portion out on a well-floured surface to about 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into strips roughly 1 inch wide and 3 inches long, dusting with flour to keep them from sticking together.

9. 9

   Bring the strained broth back to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper as needed.

10. 10

    Drop the dumpling strips into the boiling broth one at a time, stirring gently to prevent sticking. Reduce heat to a steady simmer and cook until the dumplings are tender and slightly translucent at the edges.

    15:00 · Simmer dumplings
11. 11

    Stir the shredded chicken back into the pot and simmer until heated through and the broth has thickened slightly from the dumplings.

    5:00 · Heat through
12. 12

    Ladle into bowls and serve hot.