Someone asked me to share my Chicken Pot Pie recipe. I am happy to do so.
Poach some chicken parts at a very slow simmer, in a pot with water to cover and a few spices. 2tsp salt, several cracks of pepper, a little thyme and oregano. Should be done in 30 minutes or less.Tonight I used 3 large bone-in chicken breasts.
Remove chicken when barely done. 16o' with an instant thermometer is enough. Remember there will be more cooking when the pie is put in the oven later. Don't want the chicken to get tough. So don't freak over a little pink.
Chill chicken while working on the other ingredients. Then slice or shred into chunks.
Strain and save chicken water for gravy. You need a good 6-7 cups.
If you have a lot more, cook it down. This does not have a huge chicken flavor, but not bad, so I add 2 tsp of concentrated chicken paste, but canned broth or bouillon would be fine
Peel and boil 5 Idaho or fav potatoes and 1 lb whole carrots. Leave them a little under-done. Remember, more cooking in the oven later. Cut up in chunks when done.
Find some casserole dishes. I use a large oval corning ware and at least one small one for freezing.
Layer potatoes, then carrots, sprinkle a cup of frozen peas, then lay
down the chicken. Eyeball the layering so that there is an inch of headroom to the top.
Gravy/sauce
Over low heat melt 5 Tbl spoons of butter in the pot we cooked the chicken in.
Saute a small chopped onion until very soft. I like to caramelize the onion.
Wisk in 3/4 cup of flour. Stir a couple of minutes to change the flour taste, til a little golden, ( a light roux)
Now slowly pour the chicken broth and stir briskly and nonstop until all the broth is incorporated. Continue stirring and simmer until it thickens a bit
About 10 minutes. Taste and add any needed seasoning
Pour sauce over chicken and vegetables to almost top of dish.
(If you are going to freeze one,cover now, chill in frig, then put in freezer. I don't put the crust on until I am going to use the pie, but it can be done before freezing. To cook the frozen pie, I let it sit in frig for 3 hours, cover with crust, then bake at 400' for 45 min.)
I make the crust while chicken is cooking, so that it can be chilled before rolling out.
Crust
2 Cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cold shortening or lard cut up. I flatten it on a piece of wax paper and put in the freezer up front, so it hard before starting the crust
6 Tbl spoons cold butter cut up
6 Tbl spoons ice water
1tsp kosher salt
Recently, I've been making crust in my food processor, so I'll give directions both ways.
Put all ingredients except water in food processor. Run for about 30 seconds
Check it. Should feel mealy. Turn on again and drizzle water in. Shut off
Turn out onto floured wax paper, gather in a ball. Squash down into a thick rectangular slab. Bring in wax paper to cover and stick in frig to chill.
Alternate method. Dump flour, salt in bowl. Cut in butter and shortening with pastry blender, 2 knives or rub quickly with fingers. (finger method not recommended for newbies. Too much hand heat will cause tough crust.
Mixture should feel mealy. For a tender crust, think of it this way;
shortening must be suspended in flour, not mushed in it, in order for flaky layers to develop
Sprinkle cold water all over flour. Stir quickly with fork. Gather in a ball.
Flatten on flowered wax paper. Chill in frig
Ok, there is light at the end of the tunnel
Preheat oven to 400'. I do this while I'm assembling the pies.
Gently roll out the crust to fit pie top. I put a few strips of foil around edges
and remove them after 30 minutes so the edges don't burn.
Slice a few slits to let steam escape
Place casserole on a larger pan, like a cookie sheet, because it will bubble over
Bake in hot oven for approximately, 40 minutes, or until crust is a nice golden brown
Let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Store leftovers covered in frig
I make extra gravy that some family members like to use the next day, because the vegetables really soak it up while stored in frig
I tried to make the directions user friendly, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask