The party’s over…
Or is it? For many, the best part of Thanksgiving dinner are leftovers. By now, you’ve probably had sandwiches galore but what’s next? Here’s an idea for using up the few extra leftovers… Good with cranberry sauce and a green salad on the side.
Turkey and Dumplings is a rich and delicious hot supper that’s great for cuddling up at home.
Different people make their “Something and Dumplings” in different ways. Tradition, regional differences, and personal preferences impact how we make what we call dumplings. In the middle Atlantic, my friend Jeff’s Chicken and Dumplings uses flat, wide almost noodle-like pastry that he submerges in the chicken, vegetable, and gravy.
I’m likely to make either a biscuit crust or a dropped dumpling that simmers and steams under the lid. Shown above is the biscuit version that relies on cold fat, cold buttermilk and Maine’s wonderful Bakewell Cream.
So, let’s begin.
Step one is to make and refrigerate the tangy and rich biscuit dough that will top the savory stew. Next, we prep the ingredients that will make up the poultry and vegetable mix that’s cooked until rich and tasty, bound together with a luscious gravy that’s neither gloppy nor sniveling.
There are two ways to do this…with leftover meat or with fresh. Either way is good, but the first is thriftier. (And a practical way to use a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.)
Bakewell® Cream Buttermilk Biscuits
(Make these before you start the poultry and vegetables and refrigerate.)
4 C. All Purpose Flour (I like King Arthur)
4 t. Bakewell Cream
2 t. Salt
8 T. cold butter (I like Cabot’s Unsalted or Kate’s Maine)
1.5 C. Cold Buttermilk (shaken to blend)
Method:
Run the dry ingredients through a sieve or sifter. Place into food processor fitted with a steel blade.
Plop the cold butter, cut into 8 cubes into the dry mix. Run the food processor until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal.
Add half the buttermilk and pulse until blended. (DO NOT OVER MIX the dough once you begin adding liquid.) Stream in the rest buttermilk, a little at a time and pulse once or twice between additions. Only add as much more buttermilk as it takes for the mixture to form a ball.
Wrap the ball in plastic film and refrigerate for up to a day in advance of assembling the dish.
Poultry and Vegetables
Preheat Oven to 350º F.
Ingredients:
Three or four cups of cooked, diced white and dark meat, (no skin, no cartilage, no bones.)
2T butter and 2T good neutral oil (grape seed or canola are good.)
8 c. homemade poultry broth.
4 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inches discs.
4 ribs of celery sliced 1/4 inches thick.
1 large diced onion.
2 T. Parsley, roughly chopped and 5 sprigs of thyme.
1/2 c. All Purpose Flour.
Diamond Kosher Salt and Pepper.
Method:
In a Dutch Oven, melt butter and oil over medium heat. Add carrots, celery and onion. (You can use a mix of onions, leeks and shallots, if you like.) Sauté about 6 minutes until softened but not browned.
Stir 4 C. of poultry stock into the vegetable mix and cook at a slow boil until the vegetables are soft. Mix in the poultry meat and continue to cook another 6 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, in a glass measuring cup, put together the thickener: mix 2 cups of broth with 1/4 t. each of Diamond Salt and fresh ground pepper. Whisk in about 1/2 C. of All Purpose Flour making sure there are no lumps.
Bring the poultry and vegetable mixture to a boil and stream in the flour and broth mix. Reduce heat to medium and stir occasionally for between 8-10 minutes until the mixture is thickened. Taste and adjust seasonings.
When you’re ready to assemble the dish, dump it onto a generously floured work board and knead once or twice. Pat flat and about 1 inch thick with your hands. (I never use a rolling pin with biscuits.) Fold in half. Pat to about an inch thick again, rotate the dough a quarter of a turn to the left and fold in half gain. Repeat once. Work fast and keep the dough from warming up too much.
Re-flour the board and flip the folded dough onto the space. Now flatten to an inch and a half thick.
Using a round metal cutter, make biscuit shapes.
Place the biscuit rounds atop the poultry and vegetable stew. Dot the biscuits with soft butter and put the pot, uncovered into the preheated oven. Bake until the biscuits have risen and are golden brown and crisp on top and the stew bubbles beneath. (About 25 minutes)
When done, take out of the oven and sprinkle the biscuit tops with Maldon Flaked Sea Salt and a little extra parsley if you like. Let the dish rest for five minutes or so to “settle.” Serve at the table in the dutch oven. Spoon into warmed bowls.