Chicken and Dumplings

This is comfort food from the hills, a one-pot meal fit for country
royalty. My grandmother used pieces cut from a whole chicken, but
for convenience I like using the meat from a good rotisserie bird, with
store-bought salted chicken broth. There is a debate in our community
about fluffy dumplings versus thin ones. I make mine fluffy as clouds
from a biscuit dough recipe so that they melt in your mouth. Sometimes
I update my grandmother’s recipe by adding a large chopped onion and
a sliced carrot to the broth with a bit of garlic powder to the dumplings
or the broth to deepen the flavor profile. But this is how she made it,
simple and pure.

Serves 4 to 6

2 quarts (8 cups) store-bought or homemade chicken broth (64 ounces)

1 to 2 pounds cooked boneless, skinless chicken, shredded (from 1 rotisserie bird, carcass
reserved)
2 cups self-rising flour, plus more for the work surface
8 tablespoons (½ cup) chilled vegetable shortening
1 cup full-fat buttermilk
Freshly ground black pepper
Table salt to taste

Pour the chicken broth into a wide stockpot, add the chicken carcass,
and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Meanwhile, lightly flour a work surface.

Place the flour in a mixing bowl. Use a pastry cutter or two forks to
work in the shortening until well incorporated, then add the buttermilk,
stirring just long enough to form a soft dough that is evenly moistened.

Scrape the dough out onto the floured work surface. Use a rolling
pin to roll out the dough to an even thickness of ½ inch (about an
8 × 7-inch rectangle), then use a knife to cut it into 1½-inch-square
dumplings.

Remove the chicken carcass from the pot. Add the dumplings to the
boiling broth one at a time; the pot will be crowded. Reduce the heat to
medium-low. Cover and cook, undisturbed, for about 10 minutes. The
dumplings will puff up, and the liquid will thicken into a smooth gravy.
Gently stir in the shredded chicken. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 5 minutes, then
remove one of the dumplings to check for doneness. It should be fluffy and evenly cooked
through. Some of the dumplings may have broken up. Season generously with pepper and salt if
necessary.

Serve hot.