The Death of the Farmer's Almanac and the Cooking Traditions it Taught Us - Chicken and Dumplings

[music] For generations, the farmer's almanac told people when to harvest, when to plant, when a storm was coming. But the farmer's almanac is coming to an end now. Today, I want to show you one of the meals that quietly shaped, chicken and dumplings, and why the almanac mattered so much to kitchens in America. You know, we're filming this right before the big snowstorm is supposed to hit, and my culinary crew here might get a little cold. So, Ma says he wants to wear his sweater. And oh, don't he look handsome in it. Oh my gosh. You may hear a little pitterpatter on that canvas up there because it's raining pretty good. Supposed to turn into sleet. Then some snow. I think you've got fat. This don't fit as well as it used to. You know, this is one of the hardiest recipes and easiest recipes that I've ever fixed in my life. And I had it so many times growing up as a child. It was so easy to make. When you come in cold from being working outside on one of these old damp, dirty, cold days like today, and mama had chicken and dumplings in the pot, it didn't get no better than that. And it served generations and generations. Meat might have got a little scarce and dumplings might have been a little more when times were lean, but we're gonna show you how to put it together. Today, we're going to have us some butter, flour for our dumplings, buttermilk for our dumplings, heavy cream. Yes, we're going all out today. We are chicken broth, a little garlic powder, and the thing that has the most flavor on chickens, chicken thighs. Ingredients are very simple. We're just doing the basic chicken and dumplings we are. But so many times people wanted to make it a little something else. My mother said when you put vegetables in there like celery, carrots, onion, you wasn't making chicken and dumplings no more. You was making chicken soup. Now you can put in there whatever you like. But folks, we're going to keep it traditional today. How I was raised and how I think so many people might have done it back in the old days. Chicken and dumplings did not start in America long before cast iron kitchens and ranch cooks. [music] This kind of food was already being made across Europe, places like England, Scotland, and Germany. Back then, [music] cooks would simmer meat low and slow in a pot of broth, then drop in a simple dough made from flour and fat. When settlers came to North America, they brought the tradition with them. But the ingredients changed. Wheat flour became more common, and the chickens were easier to raise than larger livestock. Over time, chicken and dumplings took hold in South Appalachia. Is it Appalachia or Appalachian? I don't have a clue. You folks that's over there in that part of the country, tell me how you spell it, how you pronounce it. This wasn't fancy food. It was practical food. And that's exactly why it's stuck. [music] Today, I'm using chicken thighs because I think they have the most flavor of any part of the chicken, but a lot of people just use chicken breast. I've even known folks to cheat and use canned chicken. Just pour it in there. Don't do that. Don't let me catch you doing that. That is that is against the rules. But back in the day, my mother said when they were little, they used to hold chicken. They just boil a hen. They went out there to the hen house and got and then just go to peeling it off the bone. Sometimes they'd even put a few bones in there cuz they thought it brought about flavor. But it was all about getting that stomach full, fueling the body, and making it go to work. So, I'm going to take these chicken thighs right here. I'm going to put them in some boiling water over there. And we're going to let them boil probably around 20 minutes till they get fork tender. [music] >> [music] [music] >> chicken was tender. It was just get it out here on a plate and just let it cool while we go to put the rest of this together. Now, there was about 6 and 1/2 cups of chicken broth that was left from bowling the chicken. So, I want your opinion. Should we dump this out or should we use this stuff in the box? My mother always said, "You save that." And a viewer did tell me the other day cuz they'd be catching me using some KY Gold butter. And they said, "You should try this." Whoa. Danish creamers. So, we're going to try half a stick. Does that look like half stick? You don't get to eat no butter. We used to have a dog named Frank. He'd eat some butter. Just go ahead and put that butter in there and let it go to melting. In fact, we'll just set this over here on the warm side of the fire. We'll go to putting dumplings together. The farmer's almanac was never just about predicting [music] the weather. For generations of American families, it was closer to a survival manual. Early almanex gathered [music] everything people needed to plan a year. weather patterns, planning calendars, moon phases, home remedies, and cooking advice [music] tied directly to the seasons. They were printed cheaply, meant to be handled, folded, stained, and used, and they were trusted. In rural America, the Almanac often [music] became one of the only books in the house beside the Bible. It told folks when to plant, when to wait, [music] when to butcher meat, when storms were likely, when frost might come early, and when it was best to stay close to home and cook. >> [music] >> Time to put some dumplings together it is. And I got me some flour in here. Going to add a little bacon powder. And so many times people leave me a comment. Is he saying bacon powder? Like ba co n? I wish they did make bacon powder like that. It'd be all right. Now I like this in bread, but I also like it in my dumplings. And that is some coarse ground black. Whoa. Wrong side of the spot there. Mhm. We'll pull a little of that out. >> It happens. I'd say we was pretty close there. We're going to give that a little mixing. My mother is the one that told me instead of using oil or butter in these dumplings, get you some bacon grease. Yeah. So, that's what we got. Some bacon grease. And you don't have to worry about things spoiling out here today. It's probably about 37 38 degrees, so we're in pretty good shape. To that buttermilk. Yeah, I think that makes really good biscuits, but I think it makes really good dumplings as well. So, we going to stir that up in there. Just go to mashing that bacon grease right there at the first. Then just go to folding it in. We may have to have a little more moisture here in a minute, but I always start out with the least amount before I go any further. Now, speaking of dumplings, I've seen people use canned biscuits, seen people use just bought pie dough. I have even seen it made with tortillas. So, you pick your poison, whatever you want to do. Just make sure you make some of them. When you were on ranches, did you always make dumplings or did you use >> Well, we have to go back and tell this story about chicken and dumplings because when I was on a ranch, [snorts] them old-timers told me one time, it's a cow outfit. We don't raise chickens. We can have eggs of a morning, but we don't eat chicken. So, I had chicken and dumplings on the menu, and I aim to keep it. It's about 10° that day when I fix chicken and dumplings for supper. They all lined up to come down by the table and had two Dutch ovens full of chicken and dolphins. That old man pulled the lid off over there. He's about 80 something years old. Looked over there at me and he said, "Cookie, I thought I told you we didn't eat chicken. We going to hang you from a tree." I said, "I trapped some hybrid quail out here today. Made quail and dumplings." He said, "By God, I like some quail." Heat five bowlfuls at night. So, you can pass them off if you get a chance. [music] Now you can see we're getting in pretty good shape there. >> What What are we looking for? >> We just want it to be able to make a ball and not really stick to you so much. We'll fly our hands time we get it together. I think it'll be just right. So, let's get them out here on this cutting board. Get us a little fly on our hands. I'm [snorts] just going to go to balling this up and working it. Duke, you reckon you could help a little bit? Huh? [snorts] You're right here. Do Do you like dumplings? Now, this is not a biscuit dough. This is not a pie dough, but I want to keep it sort of to that texture and consistency. You can see there's a lot of moisture in there, but who likes a dry dumpling? Even if they're dry and you put them in there, they ain't going to swell up as good. So, keep them pretty moist. We'll work it four, five, six, eight, 10 times here. So, you make them however you see fit, flat, or you can pinch them off like this. We're going to add a little cream over there to that pot. Let it get hot. When it begins to boil, then we'll go to dropping our dumplings in after we got the chicken in there. Well, went back to boiling as we're going to add us [music] some cream. Now, back in the day, my mother would probably have used half and half, but I want this to be rich. How much? I'm going to add it all in there cuz it's going to be a full pot when we get it through. Next, I'm going to bring over the chicken. [snorts] I do know of folks that have made a lot of squirrel and dumplings and I have eat them and it is pretty good eating. But rabbit makes it same way too. You got you a good tender cotton tail, something like that. Get them bowled up, chopped them up. You can put any meat in there you want. But I think it needs to be something with feathers on it really myself. We're going to give that a stir. And you don't want to walk off and leave it when you're cooking over big open fire like this cuz you'll scorch that cream. A little bit of garlic powder. Now we just got to let it come back to [music] a pretty good boil. We'll go to dropping them dumplings in there. In the farmer's almanac, recipes were rarely written with exact measurements or instructions. They assumed the cook already knew the basics. [music] That's why no two families made dumplings the same. The almanac gave guidance, not rules. Almanax often warned that damp weather could affect bread and dough, advised butchering meat during colder months so it would keep longer, and recommended heavier, slow simmered meals during the winter. [music] We're going to get [music] all them dumplings in there. Stir them every once in a while as you're putting them in. Just keep things in a little motion. Probably going after we get everybody in there about another 5 minutes of cooking time. Then we'll stir it again. Then we'll thicken it. Then we're going to put it in a bowl and I'm going to eat it. I don't know what y'all going to do. Y'all going to watch, but I'm going to eat it. Yes, sir. Re. [music] So, why is the farmer's almanac disappearing? Over time, digital forecasting replaced long-term planning. Fewer people are cooking by the season, and fewer households need a single book to guide the entire year. Now, we may not need the farmer's almanac as much as we did way back then, but I'll guarantee you it sure taught us something, and we can live by it. done deal it is. I'm talking about I love me some dumplings. So, I'm not even going to talk to you no more for [music] just a minute. I'm I've been craving this for a long time. Hey, some dumpling. Nice some chicken. [music] Need some broth. Thank you, mama. Woo. God bless all them pioneers who read the almanac and made dumplings cuz I guarantee you they got them through some hard times. They are good. But hang on just a minute. Had a really good lot culinary helpers out here. They've been drowned wet today. Dumpling. Oh my gosh. Dumpling for the little snails. and a dumpling for Lulu. Good job. Now, you see me right there at the end, I mixed me up a little cornstarch and water just to thicken it. You go as you want to accordingly how thin, how thick you want it. But if you ever get it too thick, just thin it back with some cream or some chicken broth and you'll be in pretty good shape. But it is with pride and honor and privilege that I tip my hat to all the servicemen and women and all the veterans that have kept that old flag flying above camp. Rest of you, get on in here. Come on. [music] I'm gonna give you one of them oldtimer hugs. Just barely wrap this one around and wrap this around. God bless you each and everyone and I'll see you down in the chicken and dumpling trail. [music] Join us as we go down the trail here on this podcast and we share some humor, some [music] wit, and some wisdom and some real life lessons. So grab a cup of coffee, pull up a chair, and join us for our new podcast available [music] everywhere February 15th.

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