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Chicken and slicks


Doodad

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My dear mother is laid up after surgery and as she promised has transcribed her mother's recipe for chicken and slicks from the handwritten recipe she was given. Guess what is dinner this weekend? Enjoy everyone; I sure miss my Mimi.

Chicken and chicken slick dumplings

Cut up a reasonably fat stewing hen, salt and papper the pieces. put in good sized pot, cover with plenty of water so you'll have a good broth by the time the chicken has simmered tender. Place several strips of the dough (stretch remember) on top of the chicken in the boiling broth. Replace the lid, continue boiling till broth has boiled up over the strips. Then add another layer, let broth boil up again. Continue until all the strips are used. You will probably have 4-5 layers in all. If the broth starts to run low, heat sweet milk and add by pushing back the chicken and dumplings ever so gently to keep pieces intact. pouring the milk into the near side of the kettle. If you like, you can thicken the broth slightly before serving, but often that isn't needed. This believe me, is real eating

Slicks recipe

12 c plain flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

rounded Tablespoon shortening

about 2/3 cup whole milk

Sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Cut in shortening until the size of corn meal grains. Add milk all at once so it mixes into a pretty stiff dough. Divide into two portions and roll out dough on pastry cloth just as you would pie crust until less than 1/2 in thick. cut in strips (about 2 inches wide) and add to boiling chicken broth. Stretching and pulling off pieces. See details of cooking slicks above

:biggrin:

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That's 12 cups of flour? Wow.

I've never come across a recipe just like this. Whence it's origin -- sounds vaguely Amish or Jewish. And congratulations on getting your mitts on a treasured family recipe.

(And may your mother make a speedy recovery.)

Margaret McArthur

"Take it easy, but take it."

Studs Terkel

1912-2008

A sensational tennis blog from freakyfrites

margaretmcarthur.com

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That's 12 cups of flour? Wow.

I've never come across a recipe just like this. Whence it's origin -- sounds vaguely Amish or Jewish. And congratulations on getting your mitts on a treasured family recipe.

(And may your mother make a speedy recovery.)

I think that Doodad meant 2 cups, not 12 cups, of flour(?)

There are recipes similar in ingredients (e.g., chicken and slick dumplings recipe) but not technique. These recipes generally call for 2 cups of flour and a similar amount of salt,shortening and liquids.

I would love to see a demo!!!

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OK. I'm still thinking about this amazing recipe. Are the slicks separate when you serve the dish, or are they in a sorta lasagna layer? Or are they dumpling-like?

Margaret McArthur

"Take it easy, but take it."

Studs Terkel

1912-2008

A sensational tennis blog from freakyfrites

margaretmcarthur.com

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That's 12 cups of flour? Wow.

I've never come across a recipe just like this. Whence it's origin -- sounds vaguely Amish or Jewish. And congratulations on getting your mitts on a treasured family recipe.

(And may your mother make a speedy recovery.)

Well, my grandmother lived in a little foothills town in North Carolina called Forest City. Very Scotch-Irish in makeup so I can't fathom a Jewish connection although Jews were always a respected part of the South. I can say I do not recall a synogogue in that town or being introduced to anyone that I understood to be Jewish.

I grew up with this dish as my mother did too, so I suspect it is even older than my grandmother who was born in 1903. That sounds like a good research project to find a similar Scottish dish if I can. Note that in that day and age, people knew how to cook so there is more expected than is shown in the recipe. It was just a guide to start the broth and slicks going. It was always eaten in my memory as a thick stew with some veggies like celery and onion and parsley for example.

But the slicks are to die for. How something so simple can be so tasty. The 12 cups (I imagine) fits the bill assuming you are feeding at least 6-8.

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That's 12 cups of flour? Wow.

I've never come across a recipe just like this. Whence it's origin -- sounds vaguely Amish or Jewish. And congratulations on getting your mitts on a treasured family recipe.

(And may your mother make a speedy recovery.)

I think that Doodad meant 2 cups, not 12 cups, of flour(?)

There are recipes similar in ingredients (e.g., chicken and slick dumplings recipe) but not technique. These recipes generally call for 2 cups of flour and a similar amount of salt,shortening and liquids.

I would love to see a demo!!!

I cut and paste what Mom wrote. Maybe the meds turned 1-2 into 12?

I will try to get a pictorial when I see her next.

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OK. I'm still thinking about this amazing recipe. Are the slicks separate when you serve the dish, or are they in a sorta lasagna layer? Or are they dumpling-like?

You cook them on top as a dumpling and get a big bowl of the slicks and the stew. Not a composed dish at all, just a stew. Serve with greens, glazed carrots, a jello mold salad, iced tea....you get the idea.

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OK. I'm still thinking about this amazing recipe. Are the slicks separate when you serve the dish, or are they in a sorta lasagna layer? Or are they dumpling-like?

You cook them on top as a dumpling and get a big bowl of the slicks and the stew. Not a composed dish at all, just a stew. Serve with greens, glazed carrots, a jello mold salad, iced tea....you get the idea.

That's how I serve mine, too.

I made a batch around Christmas time and used a star shaped cookie cutter for my noodles. It was kinda fun! :smile:

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My late MIL made these often although she didn't layer them in. Just dropped them into the boiling broth. As I recall she added an onion to the broth. My two oldest still love them and make them on occasion.

For the record, Maw was born in Arkansas in 1903.

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We do something similar that, being originally from PA, is probably PA-Dutch or Amish in origin, but we call it chicken pot pie. Instead of strips of dough we use 'patches' of dough. The same can be made with left over ham gravy, ham, and a ham bone.

Ham pot pie is one of my favorite 'comfort foods!'

Bob R in OKC

Bob R in OKC

Home Brewer, Beer & Food Lover!

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have never heard of this or tried it but I have a friend leaving the hospital today after a miserable time....she requested "suck your thumb twirl your hair comfort food"

this sounds perfect thank you so much Doodad for sharing your recipe hope I can do it justice!

Edited by hummingbirdkiss (log)
why am I always at the bottom and why is everything so high? 

why must there be so little me and so much sky?

Piglet 

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Well, my grandmother lived in a little foothills town in North Carolina called Forest City.  Very Scotch-Irish in makeup so I can't fathom a Jewish connection although Jews were always a respected part of the South.  I can say I do not recall a synogogue in that town or being introduced to anyone that I understood to be Jewish.

I grew up with this dish as my mother did too, so I suspect it is even older than my grandmother who was born in 1903.  That sounds like a good research project to find a similar Scottish dish if I can.  Note that in that day and age, people knew how to cook so there is more expected than is shown in the recipe.  It was just a guide to start the broth and slicks going.  It was always eaten in my memory as a thick stew with some veggies like celery and onion and parsley for example.

But the slicks are to die for.  How something so simple can be so tasty.  The 12 cups (I imagine) fits the bill assuming you are feeding at least 6-8.

Holy crap Doodad, I grew up in Spindale, the next town over from Forest City :) Small world!

I'd be really interested in what you could find out about the recipe's origins. In fact, I may quiz my grandparents, one side of the family is firmly rooted in that county, the others from coastal NC and see if they recall having anything similar. There's a bit of a Jewish community in the county now as far as I know, but I don't know about the era when your mom or grandmother were growing up.

If your mother's still in the area and you head that way to visit, shoot me a PM, perhaps we can meet for a bite :cool:

(Edited: Need better reading comprehension)

Edited by Malkavian (log)
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Well, my grandmother lived in a little foothills town in North Carolina called Forest City.  Very Scotch-Irish in makeup so I can't fathom a Jewish connection although Jews were always a respected part of the South.  I can say I do not recall a synogogue in that town or being introduced to anyone that I understood to be Jewish.

I grew up with this dish as my mother did too, so I suspect it is even older than my grandmother who was born in 1903.  That sounds like a good research project to find a similar Scottish dish if I can.  Note that in that day and age, people knew how to cook so there is more expected than is shown in the recipe.  It was just a guide to start the broth and slicks going.  It was always eaten in my memory as a thick stew with some veggies like celery and onion and parsley for example.

But the slicks are to die for.  How something so simple can be so tasty.  The 12 cups (I imagine) fits the bill assuming you are feeding at least 6-8.

Holy crap Doodad, I grew up in Spindale, the next town over from Forest City :) Small world!

I'd be really interested in what you could find out about the recipe's origins. In fact, I may quiz my grandparents, one side of the family is firmly rooted in that county, the others from coastal NC and see if they recall having anything similar. There's a bit of a Jewish community in the county now as far as I know, but I don't know about the era when your mom or grandmother were growing up.

If your mother's still in the area and you head that way to visit, shoot me a PM, perhaps we can meet for a bite :cool:

(Edited: Need better reading comprehension)

I know Spindale very well. We always passed through it on the way to see Grandma. My brother was born in Rutherfordton when we lived in FC while Dad was in Vietnam. Grandparents lived in FC until the 80s. None of us have been back since.

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thank you for the recipe I had no idea what to expect because chicken and dumplings I am sad to say have never been a great part of my culinary history...the few times I have had this dish it was actually awful! so I never even tried to make them

....these noodles/dumpliings whatever are really nice..tender...fluffy and held together perfectly!

I put some saffron (and other seasonings in the broth). and onion, celery and carrots for added nutrition for my recovering friend... and it looked and tasted lovely

my friend thanks you as well ...she is German and told me what they were called when she was growing up in Germany but I can not pronounce much less spell what she said ...

she is 80 years old was a volunteer firefighter for out town well into her 70s this lady is a dynamo when finally she reitred ..not because she could not do it but because she wanted more time with her great grand kids! ..and this is the first time she was seriously ill ..ever

she said the dish "is going to fix me right up!"

that along with a huge batch of sugar saucers from the recipe gullet made a huge smile on this wonderful lady's face ..

so thank you so much again for sharing it was perfect!

I wish your mom a full/speedy recovery

Edited by hummingbirdkiss (log)
why am I always at the bottom and why is everything so high? 

why must there be so little me and so much sky?

Piglet 

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