½ lb. Thick Cut Bacon, (about 6 slices), cut into four pieces
4 Chicken, legs (drumsticks with thighs, bone-in; about 2 lb.)
1½ pound mixed whole Mushrooms , (de-stemmed if needed (eg. shittakes, baby bellas, etc.), quartered or halved if large)
1 large yellow Onion, chopped
6 cloves Garlic, crushed
¼ cup Dry White Wine
6 sprigs Thyme
2 Bay Leaves
8 cups low-sodium Chicken Broth
1 cups all-purpose Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
1 tsp. Salt
¼ tsp. Pepper
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons Buttermilk
3 tbsp. Butter
Pat chicken dry. Season all over with salt and pepper and under the skin. Allow chicken to come to room temperature for an hour.
Cook bacon in large Dutch over low. Season with pepper. Deglaze with water as necessary. When most of fat has rendered, increase heat to medium for a minute or two until bacon is golden brown. Careful not to burn, remove bacon from pot and transfer to a large bowl.
Cook chicken skin-side down over medium until skin is golden brown. Flip after about 6 minutes and then cook another 6 minutes. Put chicken in bowl with bacon.
Deglaze pot with water if necessary. In two batches, add mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook over medium heat, delgazing as needed. Once mushrooms have released most of their water and are tender, remove to a second bowl. Deglaze pot with water if necessary.
Add onions and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook over medium high heat until soft and translucent.
Add wine to pot; simmer until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add chicken, bacon, thyme, bay leaves, and broth; season with pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and gently simmer, partially covered, skimming occasionally, until chicken is falling off the bone, 2–2½ hours. Transfer chicken to a bowl, remove skin and shred the meat. Return to pot with mushrooms. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
After adding chicken and mushrooms back to soup, whisk baking powder, baking soda, 1 tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper, and remaining 1 cup flour in a medium bowl. Whisk buttermilk and remaining 3 tbsp. butter in a small bowl. Fold buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients just until dough comes together (be careful not to over-mix or dumplings will be tough). Drop tablespoon-sized portions of dough into stew (lightly form into balls so they don't fall apart; don’t worry if they aren’t perfect, they will puff up as they cook). Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 10 minutes. Uncover and check dumplings for doneness: they should be about 5 times larger and should cover entire surface of stew. To be extra sure, you can remove a dumpling and cut it in half to see if it’s cooked through; the interior should look like a soft dinner roll. If they’re not fully cooked, cover and cook 2 minutes more. Divide chicken soup and dumplings among bowls.