(Kropps)
Yield: 4 dumplings
4 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut in half (for use in a food processor)
1 pound salt pork, cut into thin, 2-inch strips
2 or more cups of flour
1 teaspoon salt to taste
1 teaspoon pepper to taste
Fry salt pork until crisp. Cool and drain on a paper towel.
With a food processor, grate raw potatoes and then put them through the processor again to create a fine purée. Put puréed potatoes in a wire strainer to drain liquid into a bowl. Discard water, but reserve the white potato starch at the bottom of the bowl to use as a binder. Put puréed potatoes in the bowl with the starch. Mix. Add salt and pepper, and mix again.
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Add 1 1/2 cups flour to the puréed potatoes; mix. Add 1/2 cup flour at a time until a stiff breadlike dough is formed and no more flour can be added. Knead long enough to absorb the flour.
Form tangerine-size balls of dough. Create a pit in each ball and fill with 3 to 4 pieces of cooked salt pork. Close and seal the opening and reform into a ball.
Drop the balls into a medium Dutch oven of boiling water so the dumplings are covered. Lower heat to a slow boil. Cook uncovered for about 45 minutes. As they cook, move the dumplings so they don't stick to the bottom. They will float up as they cook. Once they float, cook another 10 minutes. Top with soft butter and serve immediately.
Dumpling tips
Here are some tips from Ray Ostrom:
● Use older potatoes, like russet or Idaho bakers that have dark, rough, heavy skins and contain more starch.
● Put peeled potatoes in a bowl of cold water so they don't discolor before you grate them.
● Use fresh salt pork; frozen salt pork gets watery.
● Use enough flour, or dumplings will be sticky and too soft.
● Before forming each dumpling, wet hands with cold water to keep the dough from sticking.
● Dumplings are better overcooked than undercooked (which makes them gluey).
● Leftover dumplings can be cut up and fried in butter the next day.
● The size of the dumplings doesn't matter; they all taste the same.