This is primarily for my own benefit, but if anyone else is interested, you’re welcome to follow along.

Chicken and Dumplings for Twelve Or More

Let’s start with a base recipe. My favorite has always been the chicken and dumplings from Cook’s Illustrated’s The Best Recipe. They don’t have it available online, but this web page has a fair approximation of the recipe, so that will be our starting point. From experience, when made with a four-pound chicken this recipe will feed 3-4 people. Oh, and disregard the dumpling recipe given there (they’re basically baking-powder biscuits); the one time I made them they were heavy, floury, and unpleasant. In spite of what the introduction says, I find Bisquick drop biscuits make excellent dumplings. The trick is to not make them too big (they’ll get dry in the middle), not to stir them too much when making them, and to make sure you only put enough dumplings on the surface for one layer – if you try to stack them they’ll run together and take longer to cook. A typical meal takes double-recipe of Bisquick drop biscuits.

Other notes about this recipe: Typically only about 75% of the carrots and celery get eaten, so that could stand to be scaled back. The boiling onions are a pain in the ass to deal with and don’t add much to the recipe, so I usually leave them out. Also, not everyone like vegetables in their chicken and dumplings, so I usually set them out so people can add them to their bowl as they serve themselves. The parsley garnish at the end does actually brighten the flavor a bit, and the frozen peas added at the end improve the flavor of the overall dish tremendously.

So, how to scale up the recipe? Well, let’s assume that it takes one pound of chicken per person, so it’s going to take twelve pounds of chicken, which translates into three mid-size fryers (fryers: 3-4 lbs., roasters: 5-7 pounds). I could go with two roasters, but I find fryers have more flavor, even if it means cutting up an extra chicken. I’ll probably go to Sam’s Club for this, since they have good prices on prepackaged meat, and I know they sell three-packs of fryers. Looking at the other ingredients:

1. Making the stock.
To start out with, cut up the chicken. Separate the drumsticks, wings, thighs, breasts, and backs. Retrieve the necks, which are usually packed inside the chicken cavity. Using a meat cleaver, chop the backs, necks, and wings into 1-2 inch pieces. Remove the skin from the legs, thighs, and breasts; discard the skin and refrigerate the legs, thighs, and breasts until needed. Heat two large pots (Dutch ovens, ideally) over medium-high heat. Add half of the hacked-up chicken pieces and chunks of 1.5 onions to each pot. Sauté until onion softens and chicken loses its raw color, about 5-7 minutes. Reduce heat to low, cover, and continue to cook until chicken pieces give up most of their liquid, about 20 minutes. While chicken stock pieces are cooking, bring 1.25 gallons of water to a boil in a large (3-5 gallon) stewpot. After 20 minutes, transfer the chicken and onions from both pots into the stewpot. Deglaze both Dutch ovens with some of the water (carefully – the water may spatter when it first goes into the pots) and return the liquid to the stewpot.

2. Cooking the chicken.
Add skinned chicken parts (legs, thighs, breasts), bay leaves, and 2 teaspoons of salt, then bring to a simmer. Reduce heat; continue to simmer, partially covered, until broth is flavorful and chicken parts are just cooked through, about 20-30 minutes. Remove the legs, thighs, and breasts and set aside. When cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones in 2 to 3 inch chunks. First scoop out what solids you can from the stewpot, then pour the rest through a strainer or colander into a large container. Discarding the chicken pieces and onions. Skim and reserve fat from broth. You can also refrigerate the broth at this point; if you let the broth sit in the refrigerator overnight, the fat will rise to the top and solidify and can be easily removed in the morning. This makes it much easier to use the fat in the next step.

3. Cooking the vegetables.
Bring 1/2 -1 inch water to simmer in a pot fitted with a steamer basket. Add celery and carrots; cover and steam until just tender, about 10 minutes. Remove and set aside.

4. Making the gravy.
Heat butter or an equal quantity of reserved chicken fat in the cleaned stewpot over medium-high heat. Whisk in flour and thyme; cook, whisking constantly, until flour turns golden and starts to smell nutty, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisking constantly, gradually add vermouth, then slowly add all of the chicken stock, bit by bit, whisking after each addition until the roux is thoroughly incorporated; simmer until gravy thickens slightly, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the cream and reserved chicken meat.

At this point, I’m going to diverge from the normal recipe a bit since I’ll be finishing this in someone else’s kitchen.

Remove the stewpot from the heat and set aside. Place the contents into containers suitable for transport and refrigerate, if necessary.

FINAL PREPARATIONS

Distribute the chicken and gravy into no more than three large pots. They should be at least 5 inches deep and be able to be covered. Diameter is important here – you want to be able to put the most dumplings on the surface of the liquid. Bring the pots to a simmer (not a boil! The gravy will scorch easily).

5. Making the dumplings.
Combine the Bisquick and milk in a large bowl; stir it only enough to bring the dough together – no more! Using a large spoon or an ice cream disher (I like a #20 disher) place the dumplings gently on the surface of the liquid in each pot. Ideally you should be able to cover the surface each pot with a single layer of dumplings. Cover the pots and simmer until the dumplings are cooked through, 15-25 minutes.

6. Finishing up.
Microwave the steamed vegetables 30 seconds at a time on high, stirring each time, until they are warm to the touch. When the dumplings are done, stir in the peas and parsley, and add a generous amount of salt and pepper to taste. Ladle portions of meat, sauce, vegetables, and dumplings into soup plates and serve immediately. Note: as pots are emptied, place under hot water to soak. This stuff sets up like a rock when it cools and dries!

If anyone has any questions or comments, let me know!