Chicken Pot Pie

I'm not very familiary with chicken pot pie except when I had the Pilgrim's kitchen version of it, which I wrote about here. That chicken pot pie was so flaky and the filling was full of flavor. After that experience I wanted to have chicken pot pie again, but homemade so that I could control what went into it.

Last night I made chicken pot pie from scratch and it turned out very well. In the beginning I had my doubts since the filling didn't quite taste flavorful enough and tasted too thick. My fears were put to rest, however, when Ming came home and said that it smelled wonderful outside the house :)

The chicken pot pies turned out lovely and I'm looking forward to having another batch in the near future.

Chicken Pot Pie Prep


Chicken Pot Pie


Chicken Pot Pie
Chicken and stock ingredients
1 (3 1/2 pound) chicken
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
1 small onion, halved
2 teaspoons salt

Pie crust ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chilled unsalted butter, diced into 1/2-inch cubes (best to chill cubes in the freezer for at least 15 minutes before using)
3 to 4 Tbsp ice water

Filling ingredients
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 large onion, diced
1 lb carrots, diced
4 celery stalks, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
3/4 cup green peas
1 Tbsp parsley
3 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 1/2 c chicken stock

Chicken Stock
1. In a large stock pot, add the vegetables into cold water. There should be just enough water in the pot to almost cover the chicken (but not completely). Bring the water to a boil and then add the chicken. Let the water barely simmer for 1 hour.
2. After 1 hour, remove the chicken and let it cool. Allow the rest of the stock to continue to simmer.
3. Remove all the chicken meat from the chicken carcass and dice it. Discard the skin. Place the chicken carcass into the stock and let it simmer for another 2 hours.

Pie Crust
1. In a food processor with the dough blade attachement, pulse the flour, salt, and butter together. Pulse the ingredients together until the butter is in pea-sized pieces
2. Slowly add the ice water to the food processor, pulsing after each tablespoon. Only add enough ice water until the dough starts to come together
3. Remove the dough and refrigerate until cold. This dough can be kept for up to 2 days in the refrigerator

Filling
1. Melt the butter. Add the onion, celery, and carrots. Simmer together for 10-15 minutes, until onion becomes translucent
2. Slowly add the flour and mix thoroughly so there aren't any clumps of flour
3. Add the chicken stock slowly, stirring well to incorporate it.
4. Add the milk and cream slowly. Let mixture simmer for 10 minutes on low heat, stiring to ensure it doesn't stick to the pan.
5. Add the chicken, thyme, parseley, salt and peper. Stir together and season again if necessary.
6. Add the peas and stir. Remove from heat.

Assembly
1. Place the filling into 15 oz ramekins
2. Roll the pie dough to 1/4" thick and place on top of ramekin. Use a decorative cookie cutter to cut a hole in the middle of the pie dough and place dough on top of ramekin.
3. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes or until crust is golden