The Best Southern Chicken and Dumplings

While options in food and additions may change over the years, the basic ideas remain the same. One of the most basic ideas when it comes to Southern Chicken and Dumplings is using a roaster chicken. I usually use around a 5 pound bird for this recipe.

Another great addition that all southern cooks will appreciate is using the freshest, most organic vegetables. Even though it's always kind of up-in-the-air the exact veggies you may enjoy using, I always prefer to stay with the main three for Southern Chicken and Dumplings, celery, carrots, and sweet onions.

Always feel free to use your own flour blend or mix for the dumplings, even with this recipe. Once you have a good base you have all you need to create the tastiest dumplings around.

For this recipe you'll need a good crock pot, a large cooking pot, a good set of tongs and a safe stirring spoon. Other than that, prepare to use your hands, get flour-dusted and have the most delicious Southern Chicken and Dumplings you've ever had in your life!

For the best cooking experience, make sure to follow this recipe in the order of the given instructions!!

Most of your time will be spent in cooking the roaster chicken. You will be able to prepare your veggies and your dumplings while the roaster is cooking in the crockpot.
For the smoothest cooking experience, be sure to follow these directions in exact order.

The first step is getting your roaster chicken cooking.

Ingredients:

• 5 Lb Roaster Chicken
• Carrots
• Celery
• Sweet Onion

Instructions:

1. Spray the bottom of your crockpot with a vegetable oil or butter spray.
2. Remove any giblets (if your roaster has them), clean the chicken and drop it down into the crockpot breast side down!
3. Use 1 of the tablespoons of either Cajun or Montreal seasoning by sprinkling it over the chicken in the crockpot.
4. Turn crockpot on high setting. Cover and begin to cook.
5. Chop one full piece of celery, a quarter of your sweet onion and one carrot (use two baby carrots if you are using those in this recipe) and toss all of this into the crockpot.
6. Cook on high for one hour.
7. Turn crockpot to its low setting. Cook for 2 more hours.

Move on to Dumpling Preparation now!

It's critical to create your dumplings after you are done with the roaster chicken preparation!

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Bisquick
• 2/3rd Cup Milk
• 1 Tablespoon of Cajun or Chicken seasoning
• 1 Egg Yolk

Instructions

1. Blend all of the ingredients together in a bowl until you have a lumpy, sticky batter.
2. Use a cutting board or flour a surface and dump your dough onto it.
3. Flour the top and roll out the dough. (Or flatten it with your hands, it makes for lighter dumplings the less you work the dough)
4. Cut your dumplings in strips one way down the board. Cut again, across, so that you have rectangle or square dumplings.
5. Put your whole cutting board with the dumplings on top in your refrigerator while you finish your cooking and preparation of the roaster chicken. If you don't have a cutting board large enough, it's okay to use a bowl and just toss the dumplings lightly in. You don't want them to stick together, but after being refrigerated for the next couple of hours, they should be fairly easy to get apart before you cook them.

Instructions:

1. Once the chicken has cooked on low for 2 hours, use tongs or a good grill set to turn it over in the crockpot. It should now be breast side up.
2. Cook the chicken on high again for one more hour.

Your chicken should now be falling apart. Toss your cooked chicken in a large dish for dissection. Leave the chicken stock in the crockpot while you do this. Let the cooked chicken cool down for at least a half-hour before dissecting it if you don't have safety gloves to protect you from heat and steam burns.

1. Go ahead and tear all of that chicken off of the bones, toss your bones, fat, skin and any other non-meat chicken debris into your 3 quart + cooking pot. Put your 'good' chicken meat, light and dark, in another bowl and set it to the side.
2. Put your cooking pot with the bones, fat and skin on the stove over medium-high heat.
3. Spoon scrape your crockpot and pour the chicken stock over into your bones, skin and fat cooking pot.
4. Cook over medium-high heat for 30 minutes.

Using a wire colander over a large metal or glass bowl (to protect from the hot chicken stock) pour the bones, fat and other chicken debris through the colander into the bowl. Trash the debris, pour the clean chicken stock back in your cooking pot, and let's move on to the next step!