Remember This Tip For Thicker Homemade Chicken And Dumplings

In cooking, "less is more" is the general rule. Add only a pinch of salt and no more; let the batter drip off when dipping chicken in egg wash — it's all about precision. For chicken and dumplings, however, the excess is integral to the dish. Rather than making sure the dumplings are free of flour before dropping them into the pot, hold onto the powder for the best texture in your chicken and dumplings.

There are a number of factors that go into a good pot of chicken and dumplings, like tender, savory chicken and a mouth-watering flavor, namely. Most important, though, is the consistency of the soup. The comfort meal is nothing without its velvety broth, and a little bit of flour helps to achieve this. To get a delicious texture in chicken and dumplings soup, start with a thin broth. The lightweight liquid helps to steam the dumplings, lending them their pillowy, sticky texture. Although its thinness serves a purpose in the beginning, it's not something you'll want to carry over in the end result.

With each dumpling added to the pot, a bit of flour washes away into the broth, thickening it a little at a time. The method works especially well since you shouldn't sprinkle flour right into the broth. By letting a dusting of flour from every dumpling thicken the broth, you'll come out with a more even, luscious soup.

While you shouldn't dust off the flour from the dumplings, you don't need to completely coat them in the powder either. An excessive amount of flour is the fastest way for your broth to be filled with little lumps of flour that hover around the top. If this is the case, use a small whisk, like one you would use to mix vinaigrette, and carefully stir the lumps into the broth without disturbing the dumplings. Once they've been dissolved, the soup may turn too thick. Just add in some extra chicken broth or warm water and let the mixture simmer slowly.

If you're having the opposite problem and your soup is too thin, that can also be remedied. Mix some flour with water to make a slurry and stir it into the broth. If you're out of flour, opt for cornstarch like we did in our slow cooker chicken and dumplings recipe. Either way, choosing that method over directly putting your thickening agent into the broth will ensure that the broth remains cohesive. Although a hearty bowl of chicken and dumplings is great, the soup should be as smooth as it is thick.