You know, we're saluting all those folks that went through the hard times
We're lifting up depression cooking because them folks did it all. What are we talking about
Classic chicken and dumplings. The best classic food and comfort food there's ever been
I'm talking about classic comfort food, chicken and dumplings. Really, my dad said it was more like a depression meal because there really wasn't a whole lot of chicken in there, but they could put a whole lot of dumplings in there
Make a big pot of that, it would feed the whole family. And hey, it's still a classic today
It's something that I really think is probably one of the most traditional comfort foods that ever survived at the Dust Bowl
To really bring out the most flavor in this dish, I think you need to get you some of them chicken thighs
Yeah. Now, you can find them with the skin on them, or you can find them with the skin on them. or you can find them with the skin off
Now, I probably, if I'm going to boil these, and that's what we're going to do, we need to skin these chickens right quick, and you can see that comes off there pretty quick
Now, also, look here, this is a bone. Now, I'm going to tell you right now, we're going to leave that bone in there
because we're going to cook that down too. It's going to bring out more flavor. Well, as you can see, the water is boiling
Now, some of them are already going to say, I can hear you out there, Why didn't you just leave that skin on them
You got more flavor. Well, sometimes you can do that. Hey, it don't make me no difference
But so just to please, y'all, I'm going to put one of them in there with it, okay? So you want to make sure you have enough water in there and get it to boiling that everybody gets covered
So that's what you call a lot of chicken for chicken and dumplings
We're going to cook this probably 10 to 15 minutes at a bowl
It might not take quite that long, but you just want it to where it is. fork tender and will shred easy. Well, you can see the sun has made it up over the barn
because I can feel it hit me here on the side of the temple I can, but it is a beautiful
morning here in camp and let's talk about dumplings. Now, three cups of flour is where we're going
to start. We're going to add three tablespoons of sugar, which is exactly that amount. Some baking
powder, which is real close. Be sure you check the date on that because it can expire and not be good
We have what you call a boiling action over here. Some salt, which is about that much
Let's go ahead and mix that really well. And I want you to form a whale there in the middle
for this here cackleberry to set. So go ahead and crack him in there
and you'll see him laying in there oh so pretty. Yes, he is doing his job
It is. Get you a whisk, and I just need you to do it. to whisk him lightly
See, there is no need in ruining another, I'm not saying ruin, but make another dish dirty
So you can whisk that egg right here in the middle. I once seen an old man on a ranch where I stay in one time
Set a 50 pound sack of flier there beside him and make two biscuits in it with eggs and milk and buttermilk
and you never know he was in there until he got through. So to that, I need you to head
and we need to measure this folks about a cup of buttermilk cup and a fourth so we're going to start with a cup
we're going to pour it right there where that egg was white vinegar if you can get the lid off how much exactly
one capful right there in the middle it goes everything has found its home so now i need you to gently fold till we can get it all mixed in here
And this is going to make really a pretty shaggy dough, but I know we have made one mistake already, Shann, we have
Folks, we were supposed to have cut the butter into this before we put the liquid, but it will still work
So we're going to have to change this method up. up a little be right back rewind
now when you do that folks and you got the flyer the sugar and everything in there
before you add the egg or the buttermilk go ahead and cut the butter in now
we just need to go back to working in here to where we can get this in a ball-like form
It don't take long for this to come into shape. So when you get this all made, you can see when we pull that apart there, it's pretty wet
You don't want this too dry, but we're going to keep working it to make sure that all that
butter is incorporated in their whale. You just need to, I'd say need this 15 or 20 times, not 15 or 20 minutes
I'm going to cover it with this bread helmet. and we're going to check the chicken and see if it is tender
Well, folks, we're going to bring one of them thighs out there and put him over here on this cutting board
just to see, because I know that breast will be done before he is
I can tell you for sure right now, folks, do not think that, hey
we're going to discard that broth because we need to be saving some of that. You can go ahead and take them skins out of there
If you got them laying in here loose, look out, pups, look out, look out
Look out. Got a lot of help in the kitchen. Scoot, scoot just a little bit, mage
Scoot, scoot, scoot, just a little bit, a little bit more. There you go
We need to pour that back over here because we're gonna reserve about six cups of that broth to start out with
But you can see, I took me some carrots and with a handy dandy hash knife
done chopped them up. Now my dad told me in the dust bowl
chicken and dumplings didn't have this portion. No vegetable. It never did have celery or carrots
because it was hard to grow one when the dirt been blowing for like five years
and there wasn't no water out there. So most of the time it was just chicken. But I do remember him telling the story that his mother made what
Jack Rabbit and dumplings. Because, folks, when you run out of chickens at that hen house
when you're going over there all the time, and then next thing you know they ain't one, next thing come along going to be Jack Rabbit
Six cup of cream. And Shan said, oh, what? Six cups of cream
Yeah. Hey, hey, hey, hey. The chicken thief is here. But folks, my dad and them said they just used cow milk back then
They just go out there and you know you pull that stool up under the 19, let me see, 31 model
And it's, you know, you don't milk at the front end, you milk at the back end, pull a stool up in there
And then you just turn the knob where the faucets come on, right? No, you got to do this method
Then they would strain that cream off there when things was looking pretty generous and they would have cream and milk combined in the chicken and dumplings
So we got six cups of cream in there. and we're going to go ahead and just hey let's go for it let's put a whole stick of butter in there
i think you got to have it now i want you to put this on medium heat because that cream can scorch
if you've got that flame just blazing licking around the side walls there so six cup of chicken broth
so there one two let go ahead and let get them carrots and that celery in there because folks we need that to be able to go ahead and cook and get tender We going to give it a little original seasoning because we going to need a little bit of that salt in there
So give it a little sprinkling of that I mean you can just go ahead and just warm that up and have it for breakfast right there. That's probably be good for you
Now we're going to get back to shredding this chicken So you can do it with your hands. You see when you cook that chicken right. It's not too dry because when it you
You boil it too long, it'll get so dry and tough that you can't pull it apart. You have done, had yours
You stole what was going to be shared with the other puppies. So, no, I don't think so
So go ahead, get your chicken. You can chop it, shred it, tear it, whatever you want to do to it
No, no. Get down. You're not starving. Since we have some loyal subjects up here
Sadie has not been in timeout any today. Let's give a hand to Sade
What you think? We have no idea where Duker is. And Duker, if you didn't know
you rewind and watch a video that come out the week before this one. On the Tequitos, Duker got in a skunk
There you go, Big. You done had some. That's the maji. Nope, quit
And we're going to go ahead and see if we can get this monstrosity of chicken meat in there
Remember what I told you? Why look for chicken and chicken and dumplings when you know it's going to be there
Two chicken breast and four thighs? Folks, I'm talking we fit and have a whole bunch of goodness right here in camp
Y'all didn't get the invitation, did you? Well, I wish you had it because we'd sure feed you
Make sure you don't leave nobody out. We need all the flavor we can get. We're going to slide him back over here
And a lot of you might be asking that question, and why wouldn't you do that in all them Dutch ovens you've got
Well, folks, I don't like to boil a milk-based substance in a Dutch oven
because it can really scorch easy in there because that cast iron gets quite a bit harder than this little thin-walled pot
and it keeps that heat. So it'll scorch in there and it'll burn and ain't nothing worse than a burnt bean
unless it's burnt milk. We're going to keep eye on it, stir it occasionally
and probably going to cook it probably pretty close to about 15 minutes. We want that celery and them carrots
to get good and tender, but that chicken to spread that love all the way throughout. And then we're going to go to dropping them dumplings in there
Home run time. So let's get our biscuit dough back out here
You can see, hey, everything is just right. Now, you can use a rolling pin, or you can just flatten it with your hands
whatever you choose to do. Me, I'm just going to use the major method today
You want to walk on it, Major? Huh? You look bad. your mustache is
whose looks the best I think mine might look better than yours
Mage I don't know when we're pulling off a piece it's going to sort of be about like that
and this thing is going to plump up a little as what we're going to call a dumpling
I would say that's probably a half inch thick and maybe like I don't know
tablespoon size you can form them into a ball I've seen people make them every way
my dad when they said going through the dust bowl when they would have some dumplings, a lot of times they'd be red in color some of them
You know why? Because all that dirt drifted in that flour sack settled
You could sift it, but you still ain't going to get all that out of it. Now, for our Patreon folks there, we have done a whole deal about really the conditions
in which the country that I cooked in and what the old timers went through just to get through it
So be sure and check that out It a great story It about the Dust Bowl and the integrity that them people had And I guarantee you if they had this dish today they be thinking I make it another five years
Biscuit dumplings. Look at them right there. You can smell that butter in there
And folks, you got that there where it's just simmering along, bubbling right up
Shan said, you think you can get all them in there? I said, I don't know. We're going to get it until we can't get the lid on it no more
Because one thing that I always remembered when I used to make chicken and dumplings a lot of time
You had a lot of broth, but you always run out of chicken and you always run out of drumplins. Dumplins
So don't just dump them in there. I need you to scatter them out that way they don't clean together
And then about every 10th or 11th one, let's go ahead and give it a stir
Then we're going to put a lid on there. We're going to let them simmer about five minutes
Then we're going to thicken it with some cornstarch and water and then what we're going do we're going to eat it uh-huh i mean it's going to be good so let's do the dumpling dive-in
what you say I tip my hat
To all them old-timers that I ever knew, to all them folks
And you might have had some of them too that went through that depression and that dust bowl and times as lean food was scary hey y'all give me grit you did and
i appreciate each one of you but folks have you seen this creation i mean have you seen the size of them
dumplings thank you jesus i mean thank you so much the memories that come flooding back through
there from all the times my mother would fix this dish on a Sunday after church in a winter time
summertime spring time you can't go wrong it's what we call the right time it's the dumpling time
who I'd be loving me some dumplings made you you seen me right there at the end make some cornstarch
cold water poured in there make sure it is boiling or simmering before you do and thicken it now
because folks I like for that broth to be thicker than that heavy cream was
Well, we hope y'all enjoyed because I can't really enjoy it, as you can tell
It is an old classic, a recipe that has been through the test of time that will always get you through the thick and thin
And folks, that's pretty cheap eating right there it is. You can go to that gross store and come out ahead on this kind of deal
We appreciate you, we do. But as always, and it is with honor and great pride that I tip my hat to all the servicemen and women
and all the veterans who have kept that flag flying back to our over camp and to the rest of y'all
Remember last week I told you y'all was family. We mean that because you are
Be sure and share the videos with everybody you know because folks we need to help
everybody feel better. Give us a like on the channel. God bless you each and every
one and I'll see you about the best chicken and dumping trail you ever seen in your life
Look at this mustache and you look at mine. You know mine looks better than yours. You know
how it does. Look at the camera. Folks will tell you uh-huh. Don't be grumpy. Don't be grumpy