Dive into the bold flavors of the South with my Backyard Chicken and Dumplings recipe. Smoked chicken seasoned with Boudreaux’s signature Creole spices meets a silky, rich stew punctuated by a mirepoix and crispy bacon. The star? Fluffy homemade dumplings with a hint of optional heat from hot pepper relish, simmered in a thick, herb-infused broth. It’s a comforting classic with a spicy twist, perfect for warming up your dinner table. Ready in a few simple steps, this dish promises a delightful kick in every spoonful!
Ingredients:
For the Chicken:
• 1 whole chicken
• Boudreaux’s Backyard Fire and Smoke Creole Seasoning, to taste
• Olive oil, for coating
• 2 quarts chicken stock
• 4 strips thick bacon, cubed
• 1 cup onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup celery, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 quart heavy cream
• Boudreaux’s Backyard Lil’ Bit Better Creole Seasoning, to taste
• Boudreaux’s Backyard Low & Slow Simmer Seasoning, to taste
• Thyme, to taste
• Oregano, to taste
• Chives, chopped for garnish
For the Dumplings:
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup milk
• Hot pepper relish, optional
Directions:
1. Pat the chicken dry and coat with olive oil. Season liberally with Boudreaux’s Backyard Fire and Smoke Creole Seasoning.
2. Smoke the chicken at 300 degrees Fahrenheit indirect heat until the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees.
3. Debone the chicken, placing the bones and skin in a stockpot. Cube the meat and set aside.
4. Add the chicken stock to the pot with the chicken bones and skin. Simmer for 30-45 minutes. Strain and discard solids.
5. Render the bacon in a separate pot until crispy, then remove and set aside on paper towels.
6. In the same pot, add the mirepoix (onions, celery, carrots), and sauté until just soft. Then, add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
7. Stir in the butter with the vegetables until melted. Sprinkle in the flour to make a roux, cooking for a few minutes while stirring constantly.
8. Pour in the stock and heavy cream. Season with Lil’ Bit Better and Low & Slow Simmer Seasonings. Bring to a simmer before adding the cubed chicken.
9. For the dumplings, mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Gradually add the milk and melted butter (and pepper relish, if using), folding until a soft dough forms. Add a little more liquid if necessary.
10. Drop spoonfuls of the dumpling dough into the simmering stew, ensuring they are submerged. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the dumplings are cooked and the stew has thickened.
11. Gently stir in thyme and oregano.
12. Serve hot, garnished with the crispy bacon and fresh chives.
Notes:
• Make sure to adjust the seasonings to your taste.
• The stew can thicken upon cooling, so add a little extra stock or water when reheating if necessary.
We’re doing chicken and dumplings backyard style check it out now this ain’t your everyday chicken and dumplings we’re using smoked chicken I got some salty bacon going on and I got some spicy pepper dumplings all right now the first thing we want to do is get our chicken ready ahead cleaned it up
Already patted it dry I’m going sprinkle just a little bit of olive oil on the outside and I’m going to season it up with that brose fire and smoke get that all over your chicken and even try and get it under that skin now let’s go get
It on the smoker I’m going to go ahead and set the smoker up for indirect cooking we’re going to smoke this at about 300° for a couple of hours until it internal temperature reaches 155 so here we have our smoked chicken we’re going to go ahead debone it we’re
Going to save that skin and all of those bones and we could just throw that straight into our stock pot and then we’re going to go ahead and Cube up our chicken now we got our chicken cut up we got all the bones and the skin left over
We’re not going to make a whole stock from scratch but I want Infuse some of that smokiness into the stock we’re using so I’m going to go ahead and add two quarts of chicken stock to the stock pot we go ahead and simmer this for about 30 45 minutes all right now that
Sim about 45 minutes I’m going go ahead and pull out some of them bones it Tak it and just strain it out now we have that wonderful Smoky infused stock to use I got four strips of some nice thick cut bacon cubed up we’re going to render out the
Fat we’ll take that bacon out of our pot I’m add in some miraa that’s onion celery and carrots whenever that’s getting soft I got five cloves of minced garlic now right on top of that we’re going to build a little room so I got 2 tablespoons of butter I got three tablespoons of
Flour now we’re going to go ahead add in our stock and I’m going to use one qu of heavy cream now let’s start layering that seasoning I’m using that boo a little bit better Creole and my long slow simmer bring that up to a simmer and we could add in our
Chicken okay let’s go ahead and get our dumplings ready two cups of flour baking powder I got one tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon salt fresh Cracked Pepper mix up those dry ingredients 3/4 of of cup of milk 4 tbsp of melted butter I’mma spice these up with some of that brose’s hot pepper
Relish now go ahead and fold that all together if it’s too dry go ahead add a little bit of liquid now we’re going drop these in a spoonful at a time just kind of push them dumplings under that soup we’ll put the lid on and just let that
Poach add some herbs in right at the end I got a little bit time and oregano be careful when you stir so you don’t break up those dumplings let’s go ahead check it out I’m going go ahead and top it with some of that crispy bacon and some fresh
Chives I tell you what this is my first time ever making this I don’t think it’s going to be the last