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There is nothing like beef stew and dumplings, yet I am trying to eat more healthily. Is there any way to make fat free or at least low-fat suet type dumplings for use with stews?

Foodcheats.com gives a way to make the dumplings without suet but the recipe still uses a large amount of fat.

Stephie
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Chris Rogers
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    Have you tried using Polish or Asian dough for dumplings. Asian don't usually use any fat while some polish recipe calls only for low fat milk. – SZCZERZO KŁY Jul 25 '18 at 09:20
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    It's beyond me why you think fat would be "less healthy" and why you would think dumplings have the most fat, but anyway: German potato dumplings are made without fat, just potatoes and some egg as glue. – Robert Jul 25 '18 at 17:02
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    "...without fat...some egg..."? – Lee Daniel Crocker Jul 25 '18 at 19:24
  • @Robert - the problem I am talking about is with suet dumplings and [1oz / 28.35g of beef suet contains](https://www.eatthismuch.com/food/view/beef-suet,2776) 26.6g of fat and 14.8g of it is saturated fat. That means the fat content of beef suet is 94% total fat, and 52% of the suet is saturated fat. Considering there is more weight in dumplings compared to the meat in stew and dumplings, that is a lot of fat in a meal. – Chris Rogers Jul 27 '18 at 03:45
  • Just a reminder: Seasoned Advice doesn’t do recipe requests and therefore answers that just give a recipe (*especially* of the “I read this somewhere on the Internet” type) are not helpful - and may even get the question closed as off-topic. Please focus on technique and principles over simply posting recipes. Adding a recipe to emphasize your point is ok. – Stephie Jul 28 '18 at 21:18

3 Answers3

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I don't know how Asian dough or Polish dough suggested in the comments will work but I might give it a try. I have found the following online.

Low-Fat Dumplings

Ingredients

  • 150g / 5½ oz self-raising flour
  • pinch salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley or thyme (depending on preference)
  • 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
  • 1 tsp olive oil

Method

  1. Put the flour in a mixing bowl with the salt and pepper. Mix in the herbs. Add the egg and oil and mix, adding just enough cold water to bring it together as a dough (about 4 tbsp). Be careful not to add too much water as this will make the dumplings heavy. Knead the mixture a little.

  2. Shape into eight golf-ball-sized pieces and put on top of the stew, pushing down a little to coat in the juices. Cover with the lid and return to the oven for 15 minutes, then remove the lid and cook for a further 15 minutes.

  3. When the dumplings are golden-brown, lift them out of the stew into serving bowls and stir the stew. Serve immediately.

Fat-free Dumplings

Ingredients

  • 2 cups / 473ml all-purpose flour
  • 2½ tsp baking powder
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • 1⅓ cup / 414ml skimmed milk (less than 0.3% fat)

Method

  1. Combine flour, baking powder and salt.
  2. Pour in milk. Mix with a fork until all ingredients are moistened.
  3. Drop dumplings by tablespoonfuls into the stew. It should be about 12 generously sized dumplings.
  4. Cover with the lid and return to the oven for 15 minutes, then remove the lid and cook for a further 15 minutes.
Chris Rogers
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  • Just for clarification: Is this an „I found a recipe that reads as if it might work, but haven’t tried it“ answer or an „I have made it and found that this method works“ answer? – Stephie Jul 28 '18 at 16:58
  • This is an "I found a recipe that reads as if it **should work in theory**, but haven’t tried it" answer. I will update when I have tried it. – Chris Rogers Jul 28 '18 at 17:06
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Chris, I was surfing for recipes this morning and ran across a link on a Polish site for what Google Tranlate calls Silesian Dumplings. But for the fat in the egg yolk, there is no other fat
https://crummblle.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/kluski-slaskie-z-miesem-i-sosem/

These may fill your requirements
potatoes cooked and whipped, cooled down potato flour 1 egg

We add flour as much as 1/4 of potatoes *. We simply separate 1/4 of the potatoes and pour flour into the place. We add an egg and knead the dough. We form small balls the size of a walnut and ask a little girl to press her little finger in each dumpling. If we do not have a girl, we use for this purpose our little finger or the other end of a wooden spoon. Cook the dumplings for 5 minutes in salted water, drain them. If we add wheat instead of potato flour, we will have ordinary potato dumplings. * I add a little more flour - probably the potatoes in France are less flour.

Cynetta
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Spätzle are defined as Bavarian Dumplings. It is also popular in other parts of Southern Germany and Alsace. You can use any kind of cow's milk (I have zero experience with vegatable 'milks'). There is also some fat in egg yolks

Just adapt the recipe technique to your stew gravy

Spätzle

Ingredients • 1 cup all-purpose flour • 1 pinch freshly ground black pepper • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg • 2 eggs • 1/4 cup milk • Hot water to cook • 2 tablespoons butter • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Directions 1. Mix together flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg 2. Beat eggs well and add alternately with the milk to the dry ingredients 3. Mix until smooth 4. Let stand 15 to 60 minutes to autolyse 5. Press dough through Spätzle maker or use a cake spatula to cut of ribbons of dough on a cutting board. (This vid shows the technique https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y6Ga9hMm4Y ) 6. Drop a few at a time into simmering liquid. Cook 5 to 8 minutes. Drain well. 7. Sauté boiled Spätzle in butter 8. Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley on top and serve

Cynetta
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    I am sorry, but Spätzle (also known as Spaetzle) is very different to what I am talking about. – Chris Rogers Jul 25 '18 at 14:42
  • That's fine. I don't do Southern-style (US) dumplings in the dough ball style I now think you are desiring. I do enjoy another southen-style that is also called slicks. The Sweet Sue company then in Alabama (now out of business) used to sell a Chicken and Dumplins in a can which I enjoyed. Those dumplings looked like wide, thick noodles, but weren't pasta. I've a recipe, but never made them low or no fat – Cynetta Jul 25 '18 at 15:44
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    While probably not the answer OP is looking for, one remark re. fat reduction: Spätzle can also be made with water instead of milk - that’s the authentic Swabian method. Boiling the Spätzle in the dish will make the dish “floury” or cloudy. They need enough room and liquid, or you will end up with a gluey mess. – Stephie Jul 25 '18 at 21:28
  • @Cynetta I've made the dumplings you refer to in chicken and dumplings both with and without fat or oil. Growing up I was taught to make them with just AP flour, salt, and water. In more recent years, I've added oil (just to see how different they would be). I couldn't tell any difference. – Cindy Jul 27 '18 at 14:33