Chicken Carcass & Dumpling Stew
This is a big, thick chicken stew with grandma-style dumplings on top. This is the way I use up a whole chicken carcass every time I roast a whole bird.
This is a big, thick chicken stew with grandma-style dumplings on top. This is the way I use up a whole chicken carcass every time I roast a whole bird.
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 medium onion diced
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tbs salt
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 1 cup milk
- 1 whole chicken carcass roasted, with meat bones and skin
- 8 quarts water
- 4 stalks celery with leaves
- 3 whole carrots scrubbed but not peeled
- 3 garlic cloves whole, unpeeled
- 1/4 onion rough chop
- sprig parsley (or about 2 tbs dried)
- sprig thyme (or about 2 tbs dried)
- 3 cups cooked rice
- 2 tbs cornstarch
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tbs parsley
- 2 tbs crisco
- Carbohydrate 163.577458818213 g
- Cholesterol 21.9237500155006 mg
- Fat 8.97789722138891 g
- Fiber 3.1899637813112 g
- Protein 187.349930452502 g
- Saturated Fat 4.64486279550377 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (3906g)
- Sodium 270107.754782555 mg
- Sugar 160.387495036902 g
- Trans Fat 0.551685509179696 g
- Calories 1488 calories
Step-by-step
- This is a "home all day" event. Put your chicken carcass in a stock pot and cover with water, about 8 quarts. Add celery stalks, whole carrots, rough chopped onion, garlic, and salt. Add herbs. Bring to a boil, and them simmer for 4-6 hours. I usually keep the lid off unless the water gets too low, then I put the lid on.
- When your time is up or the chicken is falling apart, strain. Put enough of the stock in your pot to be the amount you want for your dinner - I freeze the rest in muffin cups to have handy little bits of frozen broth whenever I need it, and put any remaining in a glass jar for use during the following week.
- Pick all the remaining meat off the chicken and put in with the stew stock. Add diced onions, celery, carrot, and any other vegetable you might like. Bring to a boil. Add cooked rice (or noodles, or whatever floats your boat). Add salt to taste, and mix up the cornstarch and cold water - whisk till totally blended then add to stew.
- In a large bowl mix the flour, parsley, sea salt, and baking powder. Add the crisco and cut it in. Add the milk and stir til blended. Drop onto the simmering pot by heaping spoon ful and then cover for 15 minutes and DO NOT lift the top.
- Serve, enjoy.
- Disclaimer - I eyeball everything. This is a close approximation.
Thick, opaque broth coats the back of a spoon while fluffy, fat-absorbed dumplings steam beneath a tight-fitting lid. This preparation transforms post-roast poultry bones into a rich foundation, but only if extraction methods are handled with precision. Simmering eight quarts of water with a bare carcass requires patience. Letting the pot bubble away for four to six hours extracts maximum collagen from the joints. Keep the lid off during the initial hours to allow rapid evaporation. This concentrates the gelatin. If the liquid drops too quickly, add water or apply the lid partially to arrest the reduction.
The Chemistry of Long Extraction
Bones stripped of prime meat still harbor dense connective tissue that breaks down into gelatin only through sustained, gentle heat. Unpeeled garlic cloves and scrubbed carrots tossed into the stockpot add body and faint sweetness without clouding the final strain. Once the carcass falls apart completely, strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve. Discard the spent solids. Measure the yield carefully before proceeding. Excess broth freezes well in silicone muffin cups for up to three months. Drop dumplings require cold fat cut evenly into dry ingredients. Incorporate shortening using your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir milk in gently just until moisture binds the flour. Overmixing develops excess gluten. This turns the dumplings from light pillows into dense pellets.
Managing Swaps and Thickeners
Modifying this blueprint alters structural integrity. Substituting butter for shortening introduces water content that changes hydration ratios. This requires an extra tablespoon of flour to maintain dough stability. Using dried parsley instead of fresh herbs demands a one-to-three reduction ratio. Dried herbs concentrate rapidly in boiling liquids. Whisk cornstarch thoroughly with cold water before introducing it to the simmering stew. Pouring dry starch directly into hot liquid creates stubborn lumps. Maintain a rolling boil for sixty seconds after adding the slurry to activate the thickening starch fully. Cover the pot immediately after spooning the batter onto the surface. Steam expands the baking powder pockets inside an enclosed environment. Lifting the lid before fifteen minutes releases critical steam pressure and deflates the dumplings.
