Recipe
Country Dumplings
These dumplings are our version of gravy and are a standard at my family’s holiday meals. They’re better than plain-old gravy…!
They’re NOT like other dumplings – they are not blobs of gooey dough. They’re strips of bread-like pasta in gravy. The texture should be three fold: thin layer of bread in the center, like pasta on the outer, smothered in a gravy-like sauce. It’s much easier and faster to prepare than it reads!
Dumplings have been a part of every Fall holiday meal since I was born, handed down from my family in the Midwest. I make them several times a year – any time I have a roasted dinner. My kids love them and enjoy helping make them. Just about everyone I’ve served find them tasty.
P.S. As handed-down recipes often go, there are few ‘exact’ measurements or procedures. Enjoy!
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15-20 minutes
Serves 8-10.
Ready
- 3-4 cups broth (turkey, chicken, beef or vegetable) See below for how to make broth during roasting.
- 2-3 cups water * Note: If the broth is thick from roasting, dilute with ½-⅔ cups water per cup of broth (example: 3 cups thick broth, add 2 cups water)
- 2 Eggs
- ¼-½ cup Milk
- 2-3 cups Self-Rising Flour
- ½-1 cup Self-Rising Flour for rolling
Set
- Large measuring cup
- Rolling pin
- Clean surface to roll out dumplings
- Large cooking pot
Go!
Begin making dough
- In large measuring cup add eggs. Add an equal amount of milk.
- Pour and mix in large bowl.
- Start adding flour in ½ cup increments, mixing completely between additions.
- When the dough begins to form a ball, moving away from the edges of the bowl, yet is still quite sticky, stop adding flour.
Start heating broth
- Pour broth (and water if necessary) into large cooking pot over medium heat for a soft boil.
Roll out the dumplings
- Generously mound ½ cup of flour on a clean surface.
- Place the ball of sticky dough on the flour and sprinkle more flour on top.
- With well floured hands, begin to flatten the dough until about the size of a pie.
- Don’t hesitate to add more flour as needed to keep it from sticking. This excess flour will become the gravy!
- Sprinkle more flour on top and turn the dough over, sprinkling flour again.
- Finish by rolling with floured rolling pin until ⅛th inch thick. (Not too thin, not too thick.)
Cut and cook the darling dumplings
- Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into ½ inch by 1 in wide strips. (Neither size nor shape really matters here.)
- Add to the boiling broth one at a time, stirring lightly.
- Gently boil about 15-20 minutes, occasionally stirring carefully. Pull out one thin and one thick dumpling, cut in half, and check the doneness. You’re looking for a bread-like center. Take a bite. Stop cooking when either (1) you see the bread center, or (2) some of them begin to fall apart.
- Serve and enjoy immediately.
Recommendations
Making Broth: Place your turkey, chicken, beef in a large roasting pan. Preferably place it on a raised rack to keep it off the bottom of the pan. Add 1-3 cups of water, depending on the amount of meat. Add 4-6 Tablespoons of butter or oil to the water (unless you have buttered or oiled the meat.) Baste the meat often to force juices into the bottom of the pan.
Also see Broth for more information.