Eastern NC Chicken Pastry

This dish was traditionally made with a whole chicken and was very high in fat.  I have updated the recipe to reduce the fat and increase the richness of the broth to compensate.  Although the dish is quite easy to make, it requires a finesse of assembly that is best suited to side by side learning or pictures to indicate textures and details.  Making and dropping the pastry takes about 20 minutes.  The dish/stew will serve 6-8 people.  Children love it.

The pastry dough has nothing but flour and water and so must be handled lightly to avoid development of gluten.  I learned this from my mother who learned it from her mother who learned it from her mother.  It is a time honored classic and a means to feed 11 children with one bird and a portion of flour.  A recipe for hard times and empty bellys.

The key to this dish is the rich, savory broth.  Start with one gallon of cold water.  Add three chicken breasts with attached wings, bones and skin.  Add one tablespoon each of pepper, celery salt, and sea salt.  Add one teaspoon of onion powder and 3 chicken bouillon cubes.  Set to a low simmer and stew chicken for two hours, uncovered.  The broth will reduce to 1/2 gallon.  (Resist the temptation to add more water.  The quantity of flour used requires all of the salt recommended to achieve the full flavor of the dish. ) Remove breasts and wings and set broth aside for addition of pastry.  Discard wings and reserve breasts for deboning and return to the pot.

The shoe peg corn is added to balance the saltiness of the dish.  yellow corn may be used, but white shoe peg is preferred.  An acidic side dish cuts the richness of the dish and a light macerated cucumber and tomato is recommended.  Collards or other greens dressed with vinegar are also excellent accompaniments.

Measure 2 cups unbleached self-rising flour and 2 cups unbleached

all-purpose flour in a large bowl. 

Add 2 cups of water and stir to make a shaggy, wet dough.

Cut the dough into four pieces and dredge in regular flour and set aside.

Roll one portion at a time, turning halfway through, to 1/8 inch sheet.

Flour board liberally so that dough does not stick.

Cut into rough 2 x 3 rectangles and lift one at a time and add to broth simmering at a rolling boil.  As you add each layer, press down with a wooden spoon to coat each piece with broth.  They will not stick to each other if you allow enough broth to coat each one before adding the next piece.  You need to work quickly.  After each full sheet of pastry is added, the broth will come back to a boil as you roll out the next sheet. Roll, cut, add, and repeat for the remaining three portions of dough.  Each new sheet  should be slightly thinner than the last to allow for the different cook times for the batches of pastry.

You locate a spot where the broth is rolling through and lay the next piece of pastry over the rupture.  This coats each noodle with fresh broth.

When all of the pastry is added, stir the pot and it will show some of the pastry pieces are nearly done while others are raw.  They will all become semi-translucent when they are done.  While the pot simmers on low for ten minutes debone the 3 chicken breasts used for the broth.

Add the boned chicken and 1 cup of yellow or shoe peg corn.  Stir and simmer another five minutes.  Serve with collards or other greens and Sweet Tea.

Eastern NC Chicken Pastry, sometimes known incorrectly as chicken and dumplings.  Dumplings are not rolled flat, thus pastry is correct.  Variations on the name of this dish abound but I am going with how it is where I grew up.  Chicken and dumplings is usually referencing a dish similar to this but substituting risen corn meal dumplings, also delicious and filling.  Some southern women pride themselves on rolling super thin dough.  My kind refer to this as chicken slick.  We prefer the artisanal quality of slight variation in thickness for each bite, allowing a slight chewiness.  Each pastry should remain whole and not "gummy".  Allowing the dish to simmer too long on heat will cause this.  Adding a scant 1/4 cup of water at the end of cooking will loosen the broth if it is too thick.  The free flour remaining on the pastries as they are added will make a roux-like sauce from the broth.  After the pastries are glossy and semi-translucent, they should be served immediately, although any remaining pastries allowed to cool in the pot are usually eaten by happy men and children while standing over the pot in the secrecy of the quiet kitchen. 

This dish is always served at out family homecomings, along with fried chicken, pan-fried cornbread, collards, sliced tomatoes, and banana pudding.  At least when I am cooking !  Bon Appetit and good luck