Texas Moses Hughes Chicken and Pate a Choux Dumplings

Everyone has a family Chicken-n-dumplings recipe, especially if your from the south.  Being a military brat, I wasnt so lucky. Atleast, I thought I wasn’ t.  I  just hadn’t had the pleasure of  meeting the most wonderful 86 year old that told me she used to cook camping outside of Texas Ranger Moses Hughes’ ranch.  I must have spent hours talking with her.  She even spoke Cherokee and taught me a few words, hand signs and hieroglyphics. Cant recall her name now and only met her that one time, but she is definitely in my heart.

Well,  I just happened to be camping and cooking Chicken-n-dumplings over the campfire using Pillsbury biscuits cut up (you know that short cut way that so many of us want to take).  She laughed at me and then she shared her amazing recipe with me. The dumplings were made from pate a choux dough, which is what cream puffs are made of.   Let me try to describe it to you.

The aroma of chicken stewing in a pot is so down home that it can literally transport you back in time to grandma’s house.  There is something so relaxing about it. Maybe that is why it’s so good for you when your sick. When your eyes look down at the bowl, the little pillows of dough just look like they will float right out of the bowl and the little dots of orange carrot and green celery just seem to dart in and out like fairies in the white of the broth and dumplings.  As you take a big spoonful and slowly put it in your mouth, as to test the heat and not burn your tongue,  the rich broth coats you mouth and the dumpling are so soft and seems to just melt like it was made solely of butter.  Now if that doesn’t make you want to cook up a pan and share, nothing will.

It’s Orgasmic!!!!!!

5 from 2 votes

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Texas Moses Hughes Chicken and Pate a Choux Dumplings

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 2 hours

Servings 8 bowls

Author Lashawna Moxley

Ingredients

• 1 large Whole Cut-up Chicken *see notes
• 2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp black or white pepper
• 10 cups Water
• 2 small carrots sliced
• 1 small Onion chopped
• 1 stalk Celery chopped
• 1/2 cup Margarine
• 1/4 cup Real Butter
• 2 cups Water
• 2 cups Flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 large Eggs
• 1/4 cup Flour for rolling dumpling
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup Flour for gravy

Instructions

1. 1. Boil chicken, salt, pepper, carrot, onion and celery in water till chicken is tender and juices run clear. 

   2. Remove chicken to cool. After cooled enough to handle, remove bones and either shred in large or cube.  Add back to the homemade broth.

   3. In a sauce pan, melt butter and margarine in the 2 cups of water.

   4. Add flour and salt and stir till combined and it pulls away from the side of the pan. Remove from heat and let cool.

   5. After flour mixture cools, combine one egg at a time (this is not easy).

   6. Remove from sauce pan onto a floured board and knead in a little flour till easier to handle, then roll out to 1/4 thickness and cut into strips/rectangles.

   7. Mix 1/4 flour with 1/2 cup water and add to broth with chicken and stir.

   8. Add dumplings one at a time to broth and cook for approximately 10 minutes.  The dumplings are so lite they will float to the top of the pan. 

   

Recipe Notes

If  you dont want to cook a whole chicken from scratch, the store bought roasted chickens can be used also. Just debone and shred or chop. Add to atleast 8 cups of chicken broth along with the vegies.

Dont forget to adjust your salt, because store bought prepared foods are a little saltier than homemade.