Old-Fashioned Southern Ham Dumplings Recipe

Recreate old-fashioned Southern ham dumplings with this foolproof recipe for rolled "slicks" simmered in a rich, savory ham bone broth.

About Ingredients Instructions Servings Tips Substitutes

Why This Recipe Works:

• Resting the rolled dough for a full hour allows the gluten matrix to relax, ensuring the slicks turn out tender rather than rubbery.
• Cutting room-temperature butter into the flour creates tiny fat pockets that yield a delicate, laminated chew when hit with boiling broth.
• Starch gelatinization occurs rapidly as the raw flour on the outside of the slicks thickens the ham broth into a velvety gravy without cornstarch.

My grandmother’s kitchen always smelled of woodsmoke and salt on the day after Easter, a damp Tuesday morning when she would drag the heavy, chipped cast-iron Dutch oven out of the dark corner cabinet. She would stand over the stove, her forearms dusted with white flour up to her elbows, rolling out sheets of dough with an old wooden pin that had lost one of its handles.

This is how you honor a bone.

While many modern cooks default to fluffy dropped biscuits, true Southern purists know that ham demands "slicks"—thin, rolled squares of dough that slide down your throat.

Unlike chicken, which pairs beautifully with pillowy, leavened dumplings, the deep, salty intensity of a cured ham bone requires a noodle-like counterpart that can stand up to the heavy broth. These flat dumplings rely on a delicate balance of flour, butter, and milk, rolled thin enough to read a newspaper through, then dried on the counter until they feel like soft leather.

If you rush this drying process, your beautiful dough squares will disintegrate into a cloudy, gummy paste the second they hit the boiling liquid.

The science here is simple: resting the cut dough allows the gluten development to settle down, while the surface moisture evaporates, creating a skin that holds its shape. When dropped into the pot, the starch gelatinization on the exterior of the slicks naturally thickens the broth into a rich, silky gravy.

It is absolutely magical to watch.

I love pairing this comforting pot with a side of Southern Style Green Beans & Potatoes or some warm Spiffy Jiffy Cornbread to swipe up every last drop of the savory broth.

Old-Fashioned Southern Ham Dumplings

• Publisher RecipeVolt
• Cuisine Southern, American
• Category Main Dishes, Pork
• Prep Time 1 hour 10 minutes
• Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes
• Servings 12
• Calories 320 calories
• Rating 4.8 387
• Tags ham dumplings, slicks, rolled dumplings, leftover ham bone

Ingredients

• 1 ham bone (or 2 smoked ham hocks)
• 1 medium yellow onion, quartered
• 10 cups cold water
• 1 to 2 teaspoons ham bouillon (such as Better Than Bouillon) or Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup whole milk

Directions

1. Settle the ham bone and the quartered onion into a large, heavy-bottomed stockpot, then pour in the 10 cups of cold water. Bring the liquid to a rolling boil over high heat.
2. Clamp the lid on, drop the heat to low, and let the pot simmer gently for 1 hour to extract all the rich collagen and savory flavor from the bone.
3. Slide the pot off the heat source, crack the lid slightly, and let the broth rest for 15 to 20 minutes while you turn your attention to the dough.
4. In a wide mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour and fine sea salt until thoroughly combined.
5. Drop the room-temperature butter into the flour, then use your fingertips to rub the fat into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse sand with a few pea-sized clumps.
6. Pour in the milk and stir with a wooden spoon just until a shaggy, wet dough ball forms and no dry pockets of flour remain.
7. Dust a clean, spacious work surface generously with extra flour, turn the wet dough out onto it, and sprinkle more flour over the top of the dough to prevent sticking.
8. Using a heavy rolling pin, roll the dough out from the center until it is uniform and incredibly thin, aiming for about 1/8-inch thickness.
9. Run a sharp pizza cutter or chef's knife through the sheet of dough to create clean, 2-inch squares.
10. Leave the cut dumplings undisturbed on the floured counter to rest and dry out for exactly 1 hour.
11. Fish the cooled ham bone out of the stockpot, leaving the onion behind if you like a rustic broth.
12. Stir in the ham bouillon (or salt) and the black pepper, tasting the broth carefully to ensure it is robustly seasoned before the dumplings go in.
13. Shred any meaty bits off the ham bone with your fingers, discard the bone and excess fat, and slide the shredded meat back into the simmering broth.
14. Bring the seasoned broth back to a gentle boil over medium-high heat.
15. Working quickly, drop the rested dumplings into the bubbling liquid one by one, scattering them on opposite sides of the pot so they do not cling to each other and clump.
16. Once the last slick is submerged, immediately turn off the heat, leave the pot uncovered, and let it sit for 5 minutes until the dumplings are tender and the gravy has thickened.

Notes

Keep these essential tips in mind to guarantee perfect, silky slicks every single time:

• For seasoning the broth, I highly recommend Better Than Bouillon Ham Base. If using kosher salt instead, use Diamond Crystal kosher salt (1 tsp = ½ tsp table salt, because the flakes are larger and lighter) to avoid over-salting the naturally briny ham broth.
• Do not skip the 1-hour drying rest for the cut dough. This crucial step allows the starch molecules on the surface to dry out, forming a protective skin that prevents the dumplings from dissolving into mush when they hit the hot broth.
• When dropping the slicks into the pot, work quickly but gently. Do not dump them in all at once; dropping them individually on opposite sides of the pot prevents them from fusing into one giant, undercooked dough ball.
• Leftovers will thicken significantly as they sit in the fridge. When reheating, splash in a little extra water or chicken stock to loosen the gravy back to its original silky consistency.
• If you do not have a leftover holiday ham bone, two smoked pork hocks from the butcher counter work beautifully to create the smoky, gelatin-rich base.

Serving Suggestions

To balance the rich, savory depth of this classic Southern dish, pair it with sides that offer bright acidity, bitterness, or a satisfying crunch:

• Serve alongside a crisp, acidic green salad tossed with a sharp vinaigrette to cut through the rich, fatty mouthfeel of the ham gravy.
• Pair with a side of smoky Southern-Style Collard Greens, whose bitter, earthy notes balance the sweet, salty profile of the pork.
• Offer a basket of warm, crusty bread or Better Than Homemade Cornbread with Jiffy Mix to mop up the velvety starch-thickened broth.
• Top each bowl with a generous sprinkle of freshly cracked black pepper and sliced green onions for a sharp, fresh bite against the soft dumplings.
• Serve a side of pickled okra or bread-and-butter pickles to provide a bright, crunchy contrast to the tender, comforting slicks.

Storage and Reheating

Store any leftover ham and dumplings in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.

As the dish cools, the starch gelatinization continues, and the dumplings will absorb a massive amount of the remaining liquid, turning the broth into a thick, gelatinous gravy overnight. Do not panic when it looks like a solid block of cold starch the next morning; this is completely normal and easily fixed with a little heat and moisture.

To reheat, scoop the desired portion into a small saucepan, add a splash of water or unsalted chicken broth, and warm it over low heat while stirring gently so the bottom does not scorch.

Avoid using the microwave if possible.

Microwaving heats the dish unevenly, which can cause the delicate slicks to blow out and become rubbery, whereas a slow stovetop warm-up coaxes the protein matrix back to its original, silky glory.

Ingredient Substitutes

If you need to adapt the recipe based on what is in your pantry, these swaps will keep your dinner on track:

1. Ham Bone → Smoked Turkey Wings: Swap the ham bone for 2 large smoked turkey wings in a 1:1 ratio to get a similar deep, smoky undertone, though you may need to add an extra pinch of salt to match the brine of pork.
2. Unsalted Butter → Lard or Bacon Grease: Substitute the butter with chilled bacon grease or lard at a 1:1 ratio, which adds an incredible depth of savory pork flavor to the dough; reduce the added salt in the dough by half to compensate.
3. Whole Milk → Buttermilk: Replace the whole milk with buttermilk at a 1:1 ratio, which introduces a subtle tang that cuts through the richness of the broth, though you must handle the dough gently to avoid over-activating the gluten.
4. All-Purpose Flour → Pastry Flour: Swap the all-purpose flour for pastry flour at a 1:1 ratio to yield an even tenderer, melt-in-your-mouth slick, though you will need to handle the delicate dough with extra care when rolling it out.

There is something deeply grounding about standing over a floured counter, cutting dough into neat little squares just like generations of cooks did before us. It is a slow, quiet ritual that turns humble leftovers into pure, soul-warming comfort. Pull up a chair, ladle out a steaming bowl, and let the afternoon drift away.