Granny Wireman’s Chicken and Dumplings

by Gracelyn Neal

The Empowerment of Southern Cooking…

Chicken and dumplings are a comfort food for many, but for my family and me, they represent strength, perseverance, and strong women.

In 1950, my papaw, Orville Wireman, climbed an electric pole to restore power to a local business. He worked for the Clark Energy Company, making enough to support my Granny Wireman and their five young children. They were perfectly content with their life. Then he was electrocuted on a summer day in 1950. This accident left him hospitalized for an extended time and disabled. He lost the use of his left arm. He was no longer able to work, and no disability funds were offered to him.

My Granny Wireman abruptly became the primary caregiver and provider for her and her husband, as well as their five children. She took it with a stride, she never faltered, she never yielded. Granny worked multiple jobs at a time, provided care for her family, and grew fresh crops for their consumption. She taught her children how to collect wild berries, fruits, and other materials that they could potentially sell. She worked from dawn to dusk, all while maintaining her good nature, faith, and love for her family. She was an inspiration to everyone in my family, especially to the women who struggle daily and often feel defeated by life’s turmoil. Granny is our reminder that we do not falter; we do not yield.

Each time I make her chicken and dumplings, I’m reminded of the strong, sturdy hands that first kneaded the dough to feed her family, now replaced by my small, intermediate hands. Granny passed away in 2018. I did not know that it would be my last time eating her always delicious, flawless cooking. Although when I use her recipe, I suppose I can be close to Granny once more. With that first bite, I can smell her floral scent and feel her warm embrace as she wraps me in a hug, squeezing with the hands that worked, sacrificed, and kneaded dough to feed every mouth at the table. Is she ever truly gone, if I can still feel her presence each time, I tie up my apron and coat my hands in flour?

Ingredients:

1. 2 Large Chicken Breasts, Boneless and Skinless
2. Chicken Broth (3 containers, 32oz each)
3. Milk (1-1 ½ cup Whole Milk)
4. Cream of Chicken Soup (2 cans, 10.5oz each)
5. Room Temperature Butter, Softened (2-3 tbs)
6. All-Purpose Flour (2 cups)
7. Baking Powder (1/2 tsp)
8. Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Materials:

1. Medium Cooking Pot
2. Large Cooking Pot
3. Forks
4. Rolling Pin
5. Pizza Cutter

Cooking Instructions:

Making the Soup Base:

1. In a medium-sized pot, fill ½ with water and the other ½ with chicken broth. Bring to a boil.
2. Add both chicken breasts to the pot, along with a dash of salt and pepper.
3. Cook on a medium heat until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees.
4. Once cooked, remove the chicken from the pot. Do not discard the contents of the remaining pot. Set aside for later use.
5. Shred both chicken breasts into thin strips. Use two forks to shred them, or any other shredding tool. Set aside.
6. In a large pot, add the contents from the first pot, as well as the shredded chicken. Put on the stove at a low/medium heat

Making the Dumplings:

1. Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl: 2 cups flour, ½ tsp of baking powder, a dash of salt, and pepper.
2. Cut 2-3 tbsp of butter into the mixture of dry ingredients
3. Stir in 1-1 ½ cups of milk into the mixture, very slowly. Refrain from adding all the milk at once if the mixture is becoming too wet.
4. The dough is ready when it is slightly sticky, but dry enough to roll into a ball. If the mixture is too wet/sticky, add flour as needed. As milk as needed if too dry.
5. Sprinkle flour onto a clean countertop and roll the ball of dough in the flour. Break the dough ball into small portions, 3-4 even portions. Then roll the dough out with a rolling pin.
6. Rolled dough should be thin, smaller than the size of a fingernail. The dough is too thin if you can see through it.
7. With a pizza cutter, cut the dough into small squares, about 1-1 ½ inches in length and width.

Creating the Finished Product:

1. In the large pot filled with shredded chicken and soup mixture, add one container (32oz) of chicken broth and both cans of cream of chicken soup (21oz total). Mix the contents and bring them to a boil.
2. When boiling, begin adding the dumplings one at a time. It’s important to continuously stir them.
3. After 8-10 minutes, check the inside of a dumpling to ensure its cooked thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Remove from heat, cool slightly, serve, and enjoy!