Quick and easy recipes! Who doesn’t need them nowadays? When you want to make the most out of your day, “eat and run” recipes offer you some extra time to spare. This Cracker Barrel Chicken and Dumplings recipe falls into the category of “cooking in just a snap”!
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Cracker Barrel Chicken And Dumplings
What’s The Origin Of This Recipe?
I don’t know the exact origin is, but I thought it was Chinese because of the dumplings. Then I learned that Cracker Barrel was an American restaurant chain and gift store founded 47 years ago, which cooked this country home-style dish. It tasted so good, those who ordered it must have cooked it at home..
In our modern world, recipes evolve surprisingly fast, you never know what their origins are. This is good news, as it means our food choices are never boring.
This Cracker Barrel Chicken and Dumplings is also sometimes called “Texas-Style” or “Southern-Style”.
Who wants to cook chicken with dumplings today? Let’s make it the Cracker Barrel way!
Tools You Will Need For Cooking
- Bowl.
- Fork or pastry blender.
- Rolling pin.
- Dough cutter.
- Ingredients.
Cracker Barrel Chicken And Dumplings Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups of all-purpose flour.
- ½ tsp. baking powder.
- A dash of fine salt.
- 2 tbsps. unsalted butter, room temperature.
- 1 cup of your homemade buttermilk (or any buttermilk from the store will do).
- 2 quarts of chicken broth.
- 3 cups of chicken cutlets or leftover chicken.
Instructions
Let’s start with the chicken!
1. Boil your chicken cuts (If you have leftover chicken, there’s no need to boil).
2. When the chicken is done, take it out and let it cool.
3. Set aside the broth for later. If you are using the leftover chicken, use two quarts of broth from the store as a substitute. Heat it up.
4. Shred your cooked or leftover chicken into smaller pieces. Take out any bones. You can use them later for soup.
Boiled bones add flavor to soup and also provide calcium. When you are done, set it aside for later.
Let’s make the dumplings!
5. Put the flour, baking powder, and salt in your bowl and mix it well.
6. Add some butter and use your fork to blend it in or a pastry blender, which is much quicker.
7. Pour in the buttermilk and blend it together until the texture of the dough is firm enough to hold in a ball.
8. Put enough flour on your countertop to stop the dough from sticking on it, and then put the ball of dough on it.
9. Roll the dough ball with a rolling pin, starting from the center. Roll it over, back and forth, until the dough s flat and thin. Do not forget to sprinkle flour onto your rolling pin to stop the dough sticking to it.
10. Get your pastry cutter and start cutting the flat dough into two-inch strips. (You can choose your own size, if you prefer.)
11. Put the dumplings back into the bowl and set aside.
Let’s start cooking!
12. Get your broth and let it boil for a few minutes. While it is boiling, drop the dumplings in. Make them small portions, one at a time. I know this is simple boiling but when you have a pressure cooker, the soup turns out great!
13. Every time you add a portion of the dumplings, do not forget to stir the broth. It will stop the dumplings sticking to one another.
14. Let it boil for another 20 minutes until it’s cooked.
15. Get your shredded chicken and add it to the dumpling soup.
16. Boil for another 2 minutes, then turn off the heat and serve!
While you’re cooking, you will notice the dumplings absorb the liquid really fast. Some prefer it with less soup, but if you are like me and love your soup, pour out some extra broth. It gives me extra warmth on a cold night!
Wasn’t that easy? Want to watch a video on how to make the dish? In this video, he makes a lot of soup and so cooks it for a long time, as the cooking time depends on how much soup you are cooking. Here, help yourself and enjoy!
That was a piece of cake! Now, let’s learn some tips to make the recipe faster.
Tips For Making Cracker Barrel Chicken And Dumplings
- You can make the dumplings and shredded chicken in advanced and then store them in the fridge. Now, all you need to do is boil the broth and drop in the dumplings!
- Do not worry if there is lots of flour sticking to your dumpling before you drop them in. The flour will add to the soup and thicken it.
- You can use canned chicken or chicken bouillon cubes as a substitute. Just add it to 2 quarts of water to boil. It’s tasty and flavorful.
Cracker Barrel Chicken and Dumplings is comfort food that will keep your family warm on a cold day, Just keep a large enough stock of shredded chicken and a few cut dumplings in your fridge, and you will be able to make a hearty soup in minutes!
Hopefully, this article will have helped a lot to make this traditional and humble meal that you can share with the family. I am positive it will be a breeze to make on your own! So, if you love cooking, but don’t have enough time, here’s a meal that “you can make in just a snap”!
