Chicken Stock
1 whole chicken or 2 lbs of chicken thighs
6 cups water
2-3 carrots chopped
2-3 stalks celery chopped
1 onion chopped
5-6 toes of garlic crushed
Black Pepper
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
2 tbsp Better Than Bouillon Chicken Paste (if you bake the chicken and brown the skin you will not need the bouillon for the fond taste)
The vegetable can be chopped rough as you will be discarding. They are only for flavor. Boil till chicken is tender or 30 minutes on high in the Instant Pot. Remove chicken, place on a plate to cool. When cool pick off the bone and discard the bones and skin.
Strain the broth into a 5 -7 quart stock pot.
Dumplings
1 cup flour all purpose
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp kosher salt (1 tsp table salt)
3/4 cup buttermilk
Mix all the above together. It will one a stick dough. Heavily flour counter and roll dough out to about 1/3 inch to 1/2 thick. Use a pizza wheel or a sharp knife and cut into 1 inch squares.
Bring the broth up to a boil and drop the dumplings in and try to minimize how much flour is transferred. When all the dumplings are in the broth, turn down to low. Add the chicken. If the soup is too thick just add water. Season with black pepper, a dash of cayenne, and 1/2 tsp turmeric. Taste and salt to preference. When reheating will need to add a few tablespoons water, the dumplings will soak up the broth.
You can add cooked diced carrots, but my family prefers it plain and heavy on fresh black cracked pepper.
Sassafras Kitchen 