Dutch-Oven Chicken & Dumplings

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp Unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• 1.5 lb Boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 tsp Kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 tsp Black pepper
• 1 medium Yellow onion, diced
• 2 Carrots, sliced
• 2 Celery stalks, sliced
• 3 Garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup All-purpose flour
• 5 cups Low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tsp Dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp Dried sage
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1 cup Frozen peas
• 1/2 cup Whole milk or half-and-half
• 2 tbsp Fresh parsley, chopped
• 1.5 cups All-purpose flour
• 2 tsp Baking powder
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• 3 tbsp Cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 3/4 cup Whole milk

Instructions

1. Set a Dutch oven over moderate campfire grate heat or a camp stove.
2. Add butter and olive oil.
3. Season chicken with approximately half the salt and the black pepper. Add chicken in a single layer. Cook approximately 4–5 minutes until lightly browned.
4. Transfer chicken to a plate.
5. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Cook approximately 5–7 minutes until beginning to soften.
6. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds.
7. Sprinkle 1/4 cup flour over the vegetables. Stir constantly for approximately 1 minute.
8. Slowly pour in chicken broth while stirring to prevent lumps. Add thyme, sage, bay leaf, and remaining salt.
9. Return chicken and accumulated juices. Bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and simmer approximately 15 minutes until the vegetables are nearly tender.
10. While the soup simmers, prepare the dumplings. In a bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
11. Cut the cold butter into the flour using fingertips or a fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk. Stir only until a shaggy dough forms. Do not overmix.
12. Stir peas and milk/half-and-half into the soup. Bring the liquid back to a gentle simmer.
13. Drop heaping tablespoon-size portions of dumpling dough across the surface. Leave a little space between dumplings because they expand.
14. Cover the Dutch oven tightly. Cook approximately 15 minutes WITHOUT repeatedly lifting the lid.
15. Check the thickest chicken pieces for 165°F. Cut into one dumpling to verify its center is cooked and fluffy rather than wet/raw.
16. Remove bay leaf. Finish with parsley. Serve hot.

Nutrition

Chef's Notes

KEEP THE LID CLOSED: Steam is what cooks the dumplings through. THIGHS: Chicken thighs stay juicier than breasts when campfire heat fluctuates. DUMPLINGS: Overmixing makes them dense. CAMPFIRE: Use steady moderate heat rather than intense flames under the Dutch oven.

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