Old-Fashioned Dumplings
This heirloom recipe and method has been passed down for generations in my Pitts family. Rolled, cut, and cooked in a turkey stock broth. It looks labor-intensive, but it's not, and you're going to want leftovers!
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups cups organic unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading and dusting the counter
- 1 tsp fine sea salt, such as Morton's Iodized Sea Salt See Notes
- 1/3 cup *pure lard, exactly See Notes
- 1 cup grass-fed organic buttermilk (is best), **to make buttermilk in a pinch See Notes
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 egg, organic pasture-raised, well-beaten
- all the broth from a freshly roasted pasture-raised turkey seasoned only with butter, salt, & pepper OR 32 oz turkey stock
- 32 oz organic chicken stock
- 32 oz organic chicken Better Than Bouillon broth (only if necessary)
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, cut lard into flour with a pastry blender or your hands until pea-sized balls form. It may look somewhat powdery, but will hold together when pressed between your fingers.
- Add the baking soda, salt, and egg to the buttermilk and stir together.
- Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour in the buttermilk and quickly stir together bringing the flour in from the outside edges.
- Turn the sticky dough out onto a well-floured surface. Dust with more flour and gently knead into a ball bringing flour in from the counter as needed. Don't over-knead or the dumplings will be tough.
- Work with one half of the dough at a time.
- Flour rolling pin and roll dough out to about an 1/8-inch. A perfect rectangle would be ideal, but not necessary.
- Cut dough into 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" squares. A pizza cutter works great for this. Dust a jellyroll pan with flour and transfer dumplings to pan. Lightly dust with more flour to keep them from sticking together.
- If cooking right away, no need to cover. If cooking the next day, cover tightly with beeswax cloth or non-toxic parchment paper and leave on counter. Do not refrigerate and do not leave out for more than 12-16 hours. The dumplings may darken, but will turn back to their normal tan while cooking. You can also freeze in an airtight container with non-toxic parchment paper between the layers. You can cook them straight from frozen. Shake off excess flour.
- In a stock pot, bring broth/stock to a rolling boil. Drop each dumpling into a boiling spot in the pot one at a time, gently stirring with one hand while the other drops the dumplings in. Once all are in the pot, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and let cook, stirring occasionally to make sure they don't burn on the bottom of the pot, for 25-30 minutes, or until dumplings are cooked through, tender, and broth has thickened.
- Served with mashed potatoes.
Notes
* I recommend South Chicago Packing Traditional Lard
**Make buttermilk by adding 1 tbsp. white vinegar to 1 cup whole or 2% milk in a 2-cup measuring cup. Let sit for 5 minutes or more.
There are many salts available on the market today, but some are loaded with heavy metals. Here is a good list of independent lab tested salts from best to worst. https://mamavation.com/food/sea-salt-himalayan-salt-heavy-metals-lead.html
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!