Dutch Oven Chicken And Dumplings

Next time you are camping and you really want to ratchet the level of your food up, give our Dutch Oven Chicken And Dumplings a try! Your fellow campers will be floored at what you can prepare with one pot and some hot coals!

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Chicken and Dumplings is a true American dish, it really has no regional roots and is served from coast to coast. The only difference seems to be in the style of the dumplings, Northerners have a preference for the round on top dumpling, while the flat noodle like dumpling is most associated with Southern chicken and dumplings.

Being a Northern Boy my Dutch Oven Chicken and Dumplings has the round style. This dumpling is very similar to the ones I can remember my Grandmother serving on top of beef stew when I was little. Can anybody really fault a guy for paying a homage to his beloved Grandma in his cooking?

Most dutch oven chicken and dumpling recipes start with a boiling a whole chicken, I am going to forgo this step in favor of frying up some chicken thighs and reserving a bit of the chicken fat for the dumplings. I find that the whole chicken is a bit much for camp cooking and that using the thighs doesn’t take away from the dish at all.

Making the Dutch Oven Chicken and Dumplings.

What you will need to get started

12 – 16 Quart Dutch Oven (I use a Camp Chef 12-Quart Dutch Oven)
Chimney Starter
Bag of Charcoal Briquettes
A Camp Chef Dutch Oven Tableis nice to have as well.

As with all traditional Dutch Oven cooking getting the coals nice and hot plays an important role. So I always start off my Dutch Oven endeavors with firing up the charcoal chimney.

The Soup

Ingredients

8 Chicken Thighs, fried and shredded
3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
3 Carrots, chopped
4 Celery Stalks, chopped
2 Medium Onions, chopped
4 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
1 Pound Bag of frozen Peas and Corn
1/4 Cup of Half and Half
5 Cups of Chicken Broth
Salt and Black Pepper to taste

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The Directions

Over about 20 coals start frying the chicken thighs skin down in the oil. I only turn them once so figure on about 5 minutes per side.
When the thighs are done pull them out of the dutch oven and drain off and reserve most of the rendered fat. Keep about 2 tablespoons in the oven to soften the veggies. Remove the skin and bones from the thighs and shred the meat.
Put the fresh veggies into the Dutch Oven and let them cook until they start to soften.
Coat the veggies with the All Purpose Flour and pour in the broth and half and half. Stir and bring to a boil.
Add the shredded chicken and the frozen peas and corn.
Put the lid on with 15-20 hot coals. Let it cook for 30 minutes, give the lid 1/2 a turn after 15 minutes.

The Dumplings

The Ingredients

2 Cups of All Purpose Flour
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1 Cup of Whole Milk
1 Teaspoon Salt
5 Tablespoons of reserved chicken fat

The Directions

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl
Spoon tablespoon sized lumps of the batter over the soup.
Cook with the lid on for another 30 minutes. Rotate the lid and replace some of the coals.

The Wrap-Up

The Dutch Oven Chicken and Dumplings came out awesome! Dutch Oven cooking is challenging, but very rewarding taking the primal element of fire and mixing it with a huge hunk of cast iron can be a recipe for disaster so being able to harness all that is going on and creating a great meal is always special.