Smoked chicken and dumplings

Ingredients:

For the chicken (or get a rotisserie chicken)

Whole chicken

Olive oil

Braggs 24 herbs & spice rub

S&P

For the soup

1 onion small dice

4 celery stalks small dice

4 carrots small dice

3 cloves garlic minced

Small bunch parsley, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and sage minced 

1 quarts roasted chicken stock (homemade preferably, low sodium if store bought)

1 quart heavy cream 

S&P to taste

1 tbsp Bragg 24 herbs & spice rub

For the dumplings 

4 cups ap flour

5 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda 

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp sautéed herbs 

5 tbsp butter flavored crisco 

2 cups buttermilk 

Directions:

For the chicken

Rub olive oil on whole chicken then season with Bragg 24 herbs & spices and salt and pepper. Place in smoker and cook until internal temp of 165 degrees. Let cool then pull meat from bones. If making stock use these bones to add more smoke flavor to your soup. 

For the soup

Add olive oil to large Dutch oven and place on medium high heat. Add onions then carrots and last celery to pot. Cook until onions are translucent. Add garlic, cook until fragrant. Now add the chicken stock and heavy cream. Bring to a simmer then add fresh herbs and lastly the dumplings. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir the now cooked dumplings into the soup and serve! 

For the dumplings 

This is a Miss Kay Robertson from Duck Dynasty’s recipe and I’ve used it for years! In a sauté pan, add a tablespoon of oil and put on medium heat. Then add the minced herbs and sauté for about 1-2 minutes. Add to bowl with flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. This is where your hands are going to get messy! Add the crisco and incorporate into the flour mixture by mashing it with your hands until all the crisco has been incorporated into the flour. Now add the buttermilk stirring with spatula until the dough forms. Flour a flat surface and scoop out the dough onto floured area. Add more flour as needed, flour your hands so that the dough doesn’t stick to your hands. Kneed dough for 2-3 minutes then with rolling pen, roll dough about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick and cut into 1 inch cubes. Add to pot after the cream and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes then stir the dumplings into the soup. Serve, garnish with parsley and cracked black pepper!