Chicken Pot Pie Recipe – Cooking Up a Story

From the TwoJunes, Lisa Bell and Nicole Rees, comes this mouth-watering twist on the traditional chicken pot pie recipe.

Four of the pie dough disks from our All-American Pie Dough Recipe are used to make 2 double-crust 9″ pot pies. Roll each of these 4 disks into an 11″ circle. Use 2 circles as bottoms and 2 circles as tops.

The amount of filling in this recipe will make either another 9″ double crust pie or you can choose to make 5 mini pot pies which are great for lunches.

If you choose to make the mini pot pies, divide one of the pie dough disks into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into 6″ circle. Repeat with another pie dough disk to get 3 more circles, 6 total. Use 5 of the pastry circles to top 5 mini (5″) pot pies. Mini pot pies are top-only since 2 crusts would overwhelm the amount of filling.

Use the remaining rolled out 6″ piece of pie dough to make cinnamon-sugar crunchies.

Ingredients: Chicken Pot Pie

1 large (7 lb.) leftover roasted chicken, picked over to yield approximately
3 to 4 cups of shredded chicken, bones and scraps reserved separately
4 ribs celery, diced, 2 cups
4 carrots, peeled and diced, 2 cups
2 large baking potatoes, peeled and diced, 2 cups
3 cups of frozen peas
2 Tbs. bacon fat or olive oil
¾ lb. mushrooms, sliced
1 ½ cups chopped parsley
½ cup unsalted butter
2 large onions, diced, 4 cups
¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. salt
2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 cup white wine
3 Tbs. minced fresh thyme
5 cups of chicken stock (see directions in recipe)
3 cups of milk (I use 2%)

Instructions:

In a large (at least 6 quart) stock pot, cover the chicken bones and scraps with water up to within 2” of the top of the pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 3 and up to 5 hours. Lift out bones and then strain stock through fine mesh sieve into another pot or large bowl. (I pick over the scraps when cooled and usually get 2 or 3 cups of perfectly nice scraps for the dog.) Let the stock stand in a cold place until fat rises to surface; skim fat and reserve for another purpose.
Return the stock to the large pot and bring to a boil. Add the carrots and potatoes. Cook 6 minutes and then add the peas. Cook 3 minutes. Lift all vegetables out with mesh strainer and set aside. Set aside 5 cups of the stock for pot pies and freeze the remainder. (I got just a little over 3 quarts of stock total, so I froze about 2 quarts.)
In a large skillet, heat the bacon fat or olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushroom and cook, stirring occasionally, until nicely browned, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper, about 8 minutes. Set aside.
In a very large bowl, combine the shredded chicken, the mushrooms, the carrot-potato-pea mix and the parsley. Set aside.
In a large skillet, over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle the flour, salt and pepper over the vegetables. Cook, stirring until the flour is absorbed, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and thyme. Stir, scraping up the browned bits for about 1 minute. Add the reserved 5 cups of stock and the milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil and continue cooking for another minutes or until the mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon. Add the white sauce to the chicken-vegetable mixture in the bowl and mix well.
Cool the filling in a cold place (deck or porch or window sill all work great in the winter, better than heating and overfilling your refrigerator…) until no longer hot, stirring occasionally.
Fill the large pies with 6 cups of the filling and top with vented top crust. Trim edges and crimp as desired. Fill small pie tins or soufflé dishes with 1 ½ cups filling and top with a top crust only, sealing edge of dough to rim of tin or dish with water, forking down to secure and then crimping if desired. Brush tops with melted butter.
Preheat oven with baking sheet(s) to 400 F. Bake pies on the baking sheets until the pastry is browned and the filling is bubbling from the vents and thickened. Large pies will take about 1 hour and 10 minutes, small pies will take 45-50 minutes. If the edges or top become too brown, cover with foil during baking. Cool 20 minutes before serving.
Cut the last mini pie dough top into strips and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar. Bake at 400 F. until golden, 4-5 minutes. Eat!

Yield: This recipe makes 3 dozen squares (6X6 rows, roughly 1 1/4″ each.), and each one is quite rich!

Note: Assembled pies can be frozen; wrapped in plastic and then foil and keep well in the freezer for up to 2 months. Bake on preheated baking sheet in 375 F. oven for 20 minutes; increase heat to 425 F. and bake until filling is bubbly and thickened, about 1 hour and 15 minutes more.

Recipe courtesy of TwoJunes, Lisa Bell and Nicole Rees