Chicken and Slicks (Appalachian Rolled Chicken and Dumplings)
Browned chicken thighs and breasts simmered in broth with onion, thyme and bay, then flat strips of rolled chicken-fat dough cooked right in the pot and the broth thickened with toasted flour, finished with shredded chicken and parsley.
Chicken and dumplings is the American dumpling with no filling: biscuit-style dough cooked in chicken broth. Wikipedia says it is common in the South and the Midwest, gives the dumplings as rolled flat, dropped or formed into balls, and lists the regional names: chicken and pastry, chicken and sliders, and, in Appalachia, chicken and slicks, for the flat noodle kind. Its origin is argued over. Wikipedia attributes it to French Canadian cooks during the Great Depression, and also says some sources put it in the Antebellum South as a hard-times staple.
This version is America's Test Kitchen's chicken and slicks, from Cook's Country. The test kitchen kept the old idea (strips of dough rolled thin and simmered in the broth) and fixed the problems: broth instead of water, browned chicken, a little of the chicken's own fat in the dough instead of lard, and a short trip to the freezer so the slicks hold together in the pot.
Why it works the kitchen science
Toasted flour, added late
ATK cooks the slicks in thin broth and thickens it only at the end with flour toasted in a dry pot, so the slicks cook evenly and the gravy tastes nutty, not pasty.
Freezing the strips
10 minutes in the freezer firms the dough so the slicks hold their shape in simmering broth instead of dissolving into paste.
Step by step
- Step 1
Pat the chicken dry and season it. In a Dutch oven over medium heat, toast 6 tbsp flour, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes, until it just begins to brown. Tip it into a bowl and wipe out the pot.
- Step 2
Heat 1 tbsp oil in the pot over medium-high heat until just smoking and brown the chicken well on all sides, about 10 minutes. Move it to a plate, and when cool enough, pull off and discard the skin. Pour about 2 tbsp of the fat into a small bowl and save it.
- Step 3
Add the onion and 1 tbsp oil to the pot and cook over medium heat about 5 minutes, until soft. Stir in the thyme for 30 seconds. Add 7 cups broth, the chicken and the bay leaves and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat 20 to 25 minutes, until the breasts read 165°F and the thighs 175°F. Move the chicken to a plate, shred it into bite-size pieces and discard the bones.
- Step 4
Mix 1/2 cup broth with the reserved fat and 1 tbsp oil. Process the 2 cups flour and salt in a food processor, then with the machine running pour in the broth mixture and process until it looks like coarse meal. Knead it smooth on a floured counter and halve it.
- Step 5
Roll each half into a 10-inch square and cut it into twenty 5 by 1-inch strips. Layer the strips on a parchment-lined plate with parchment between the layers and freeze until firm, 10 to 30 minutes.
- Step 6
Bring the broth back to a simmer, add the slicks and cook 12 to 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until nearly tender.
- Step 7
Whisk 1 cup of the hot broth into the toasted flour, stir it gently back into the pot and simmer 3 to 5 minutes, until slightly thickened. Add the chicken and parsley, cook about 1 minute until hot, season with salt and pepper and serve.
Chicken and Slicks (Appalachian Rolled Chicken and Dumplings)
Serves 5 · about 3 quarts · 2 hr 15 min total
Chicken and broth
- 3 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 lb), trimmed
- 2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 lb), halved crosswise
- Salt and pepper
- 6 tbsp all-purpose flour, for toasting
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 tsp minced fresh thyme
- 7 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Slicks
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 tbsp reserved chicken fat (from browning)
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Method
- Pat the chicken dry and season it. In a Dutch oven over medium heat, toast 6 tbsp flour, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes, until it just begins to brown. Tip it into a bowl and wipe out the pot.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in the pot over medium-high heat until just smoking and brown the chicken well on all sides, about 10 minutes. Move it to a plate, and when cool enough, pull off and discard the skin. Pour about 2 tbsp of the fat into a small bowl and save it.
- Add the onion and 1 tbsp oil to the pot and cook over medium heat about 5 minutes, until soft. Stir in the thyme for 30 seconds. Add 7 cups broth, the chicken and the bay leaves and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat 20 to 25 minutes, until the breasts read 165°F and the thighs 175°F. Move the chicken to a plate, shred it into bite-size pieces and discard the bones.
- Mix 1/2 cup broth with the reserved fat and 1 tbsp oil. Process the 2 cups flour and salt in a food processor, then with the machine running pour in the broth mixture and process until it looks like coarse meal. Knead it smooth on a floured counter and halve it.
- Roll each half into a 10-inch square and cut it into twenty 5 by 1-inch strips. Layer the strips on a parchment-lined plate with parchment between the layers and freeze until firm, 10 to 30 minutes.
- Bring the broth back to a simmer, add the slicks and cook 12 to 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until nearly tender.
- Whisk 1 cup of the hot broth into the toasted flour, stir it gently back into the pot and simmer 3 to 5 minutes, until slightly thickened. Add the chicken and parsley, cook about 1 minute until hot, season with salt and pepper and serve.
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen, "Chicken and Slicks" (Cook's Country; published May 2, 2013), serves 4 to 6. We follow it as written: 6 tbsp flour toasted about 5 minutes; chicken browned about 10 minutes, skinned and 2 tbsp fat reserved; onion about 5 minutes and thyme 30 seconds; 7 cups broth and bay leaves; a covered simmer of 20 to 25 minutes; a food-processor dough of 2 cups flour, the fat, oil and 1/2 cup broth; two 10-inch squares cut into forty 5 by 1-inch strips and frozen 10 to 30 minutes; the slicks simmered 12 to 15 minutes and the broth thickened 3 to 5 minutes. ATK takes the white meat to 160°F and the dark meat to 175°F; we take the breasts to 165°F, the FoodSafety.gov poultry minimum, and keep ATK's 175°F for the thighs. We use 5 servings. America's Test Kitchen. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (2)
Tips
- Make it ahead in stages: ATK refrigerates the broth and chicken up to 2 days and the dough up to 1 day.
- Stir gently after the slicks go in; they tear while they are soft.
- If you are short of chicken fat after browning, make up the difference with oil.
- Leftovers thicken overnight; loosen with broth and reheat to 165°F.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Chicken and dumplings began in the South. Disputed: Wikipedia attributes it to French Canadian cooks during the Great Depression and also cites sources placing it in the Antebellum South.
- Real dumplings are dropped, not rolled. Disputed: Wikipedia lists rolled, dropped and ball-shaped dumplings; Appalachia's "slicks" are rolled.
- "Slicks" is an Appalachian word. Documented as Wikipedia's account.
- Chicken and dumplings is Southern food. Documented in part: Wikipedia says it is common in both the Southern and Midwestern United States.
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