Weeknight "Slick" Dumplings and Shredded Chicken
Granny’s Pot on the Stove: The Weeknight Skillet
She dusts the counter with all-purpose flour, rolls the dough, and cuts ragged squares. A proper plate of chicken and dumplings has absolutely nothing to do with fluffy biscuits. Down here, they’re called "Slicks" or "Chicken Pastry"—chewy noodles boiled in rich broth until residual flour thickens the pot into velvet gravy. Traditionally, cooks boiled a tough hen for hours. The smart play leverages quick-cooking thighs, fortifying high-quality stock with a heavy scoop of chicken bouillon. This cheap dinner takes forty-five minutes. Drop the dough into a heavy Dutch oven, lower the heat, and watch as the broth thickens.
Before you start
Make the slicks ahead of time.
You can roll and cut the dumplings ahead of time, layer them between sheets of parchment paper heavily dusted with flour, and freeze them in a zip-top bag. Drop them directly into boiling broth from frozen, adding 3 to 5 minutes to the cooking time.
Ingredients
- unsalted butter2 tbsp
- yellow onion1 med
- carrots2 large
- celery stalks2 med
- garlic cloves3 med
- chicken stock6 cup
- chicken bouillon base1 tbsp
- dried thyme1/2 tsp
- freshly cracked black pepper1/2 tsp
- boneless skinless chicken thighs1 1/2 lb
- heavy cream1/4 cup
- all-purpose flour2 1/2 cup
- baking powder1/2 tsp
- kosher salt1/2 tsp
- vegetable shortening3 tbsp
Method
- 01
Build the flavor base.
Melt the butter in a heavy Dutch oven over medium-high heat, then sauté the onion, carrots, and celery until translucent and fragrant, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the minced garlic and cook for one minute more to wake up the aromatics.
- 02
Fortify the broth and poach the chicken.
Pour in the stock and whisk in the bouillon, thyme, and black pepper. Submerge the chicken thighs, bring the whole pot to a rolling boil, then drop the heat to medium-low, cover, and let it simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until the meat is perfectly tender.
- 03
Mix the dumpling dough using hot broth.
While the chicken simmers, whisk 2 cups of the flour, the baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Pinch the shortening into the flour until it resembles coarse sand, then carefully ladle half a cup of the hot broth directly from the simmering pot into the bowl. Stir until a shaggy dough forms, knead it four or five times on a clean surface, and let it rest for 5 minutes.
- 04
Roll the pastry thin and dust it heavily.
Do not skip the flour dusting—this is exactly what thickens the soup. Roll the dough out on a floured surface until it is about 1/8-inch thick, dust the top generously with the remaining half cup of flour, and slice it into 2-inch squares or rectangles, leaving them to rest in their floury coating.
- 05
Shred the chicken.
Pull the cooked thighs from the pot, shred them into bite-sized pieces with two forks, and return the meat to the simmering broth.
- 06
Drop the slicks into the pot.
Turn the heat up slightly to maintain a gentle boil and drop the dumplings in one by one, shaking off only the largest clumps of flour. Push them down gently with a wooden spoon—do not stir vigorously—to ensure they don't fuse together.
- 07
Simmer to slippery perfection.
Cover and simmer on low for 15 minutes. The raw flour will wash off to create a glossy, velvety gravy, while the dough transforms into chewy, slick noodles. Remove from heat, stir in the heavy cream if using, and let it sit for a few minutes to thicken further before serving.
Notes
The rotisserie shortcut.
Short on time? Skip the raw thighs and use pulled meat from a store-bought rotisserie chicken. Bring your fortified stock to a boil, cook the dumplings, and fold the meat in at the end just to warm it through.
From Cook Southern Food.