The Greatest Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients

• 2.5 lbbone-in, skin-on chicken thighs(bone-in for flavor — the bones do the heavy lifting in the broth)
• 1.5 tsp, plus more to tastekosher salt
• 1 tspblack pepper
• 4 tbspunsalted butter
• 1 mediumyellow onion, diced
• 2 largecarrots, diced
• 2celery stalks, diced
• 3 clovesgarlic, minced
• 1/4 cupall-purpose flour
• 6 cupschicken stock, low-sodium
• 1/2 cupheavy cream
• 1 tbspfresh thyme leaves
• 1bay leaf
• 3/4 cupfrozen peas
• 2 tbspfresh parsley, chopped (for serving)
• 2 cupsall-purpose flour (for dumplings)
• 1 tbspbaking powder (for dumplings)
• 3/4 tspkosher salt (for dumplings)
• 4 tbspcold unsalted butter, cubed (for dumplings)
• 3/4 cupwhole milk (for dumplings)
• 2 tbspfresh chives, chopped (for dumplings)

Steps

1. 1

   Pat the chicken thighs dry and season all over with salt and pepper.

2. 2

   Melt the butter in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken thighs skin-side down and sear 5-6 minutes until the skin is deeply golden. Flip and sear another 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

3. 3

   Reduce heat to medium. Add the onion, carrots, and celery to the rendered fat. Cook, stirring, until softened and lightly browned, 7-8 minutes.

4. 4

   Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds.

5. 5

   Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir constantly for 2 minutes until pale gold and nutty.

6. 6

   Slowly whisk in the chicken stock, scraping up the fond from the bottom. Add the thyme and bay leaf.

7. 7

   Return the chicken thighs (and any juices) to the pot, skin-side up. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook 25 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked and tender.

8. 8

   While the stew simmers, make the dumplings. Whisk the 2 cups flour, baking powder, and 3/4 tsp salt in a bowl. Add the cold cubed butter and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.

9. 9

   Stir in the chives, then pour in the milk and stir just until a shaggy dough forms. Do not overmix.

10. 10

    Lift the cooked chicken thighs out of the pot onto a cutting board. Discard the bay leaf. Stir the cream and peas into the broth.

11. 11

    Pull the chicken meat off the bones in large chunks, discarding skin and bones. Return the meat to the pot. Taste the broth and adjust salt and pepper aggressively — the dumplings are unseasoned and will pull flavor from the broth.

12. 12

    Bring the stew back to a gentle simmer. Drop heaping tablespoons of dumpling dough across the surface of the stew, spacing them out — they will puff up significantly. You should get 10-12 dumplings.

13. 13

    Cover with a tight-fitting lid. DO NOT lift the lid for the next 15 minutes. Steam is what cooks the dumplings.

14. 14

    After 15 minutes, lift the lid. A toothpick inserted into a dumpling should come out clean. If not, cover and steam another 2-3 minutes.

15. 15

    Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately in deep bowls.