Shaker Style Chicken Pot Pie Recipes

SIMPLE CHICKEN POT PIE

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to low-center position; heat oven to 400 degrees. Put chicken and broth in a dutch oven over medium heat. Cover and bring to simmer, simmer until chicken is done. Transfer meat to a large bowl and broth to another bowl.
• Increase heat to medium-high; heat oil in Dutch oven. Add onion, carrots, and celery and saute until just tender, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, shred chicken into bite-size pieces. Transfer cooked vegetables to bowl with chicken; set aside.
• Heat butter over medium heat in Dutch oven. When foaming subsides, add flour; cook for about 1 minutes. Whisk in reserved chicken broth, milk, any accumulated chicken juices and thyme. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low and continue to simmer, stirring, until sauce fully thickens, about 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper; stir in sherry.
• Pour sauce over chicken-vegetable mixture; stir to combine. Stir in peas and parsley, and adjust seasonings. Pour mixture into a 13-by-9 inch pan or any shallow baking dish of similar size or into six 12-ounce ovenproof ramekins or bowls. Top as desired. Bake until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly, about 30 minutes for large pies, 20 to 25 minutes for smaller pies

FAMILY-STYLE CHICKEN "POT" PIE

Steps:

• To make the pastry: Combine the flour and salt in a very large mixing bowl. Add the butter and mix with a pastry blender or your hands until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour in the ice water and work it in to bind the dough until it holds together without being too wet or sticky. Squeeze a small amount together, if it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Wrap the large ball of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate while preparing the rest of the recipe (feel free to make the dough the night before if you prefer.)
• To make the chicken broth: Put the chicken in a large stockpot and cover with 3 quarts of cool water. Add the vegetables and herbs and bring it up to a boil over medium-high heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour; skimming frequently as the oil rises to the surface. What we're doing here is not only cooking the chicken but also creating the base sauce for the pot pie. It's the old trick of killing two birds with one stone -- or one pot as the case may be. Remove the chicken to a platter to cool. When it's cool enough to handle shred the chicken meat, discarding the skin and bones, and set aside. Using a colander, strain the chicken broth into another pot and discard the solids; you should have about 2 quarts when you're done.
• To make the pot pie filling: Wipe out the stockpot and put it back on the stovetop over medium-low heat. Melt the butter and just as the foam subsides, add the flour, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or whisk to prevent lumps. This is a roux, which will act as a thickener. Cook and stir the roux until it's the color of a California blonde. Now, gradually pour in the reserved chicken broth, whisking the entire time to prevent lumps. Whisk and simmer for 10 minutes to cook out the starchy taste of the flour and thicken the broth; it should look like cream of chicken soup. Fold in the carrots, pearl onions, peas, garlic, rosemary, thyme, and lemon juice; stir to combine. Simmer for 10 minutes to soften the vegetables a bit; season the mixture with salt and pepper. Stir in the shredded chicken until incorporated, remove from the heat and cool to room temperature; it will get quite thick as it cools down.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Take the dough out of the refrigerator and set it out on the counter for 5 minutes to warm up a bit, making it easier to roll out.
• Sprinkle the counter and a rolling pin lightly with flour. Roll the dough out into a big 14 by 20-inch rectangle. Carefully transfer the dough to a large rectangular pizza stone or standard sheet pan, leaving about 1 foot of the pastry hanging off 1 end. Spoon the cooled chicken filling on the pastry that is on the pizza stone, leaving a border around the sides. Lightly beat the egg with 3 tablespoons of water to make an egg wash and brush it on the dough border. Fold the "free" dough over the filling like a blanket and crimp the ends with a fork to form a tight seal; it should look like a big pillow. Brush the top of the giant chicken pie with the remaining egg wash, sprinkle with the coarse salt, and cut tiny slashes in the top so steam can escape. Place the chicken pie in the oven and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until puffed and golden. Let the chicken pie rest for 10 minutes before moving it. Run a spatula underneath the pot pie to loosen it from the pizza stone. Scoop out the chicken pie with a large serving spoon.

SHAKER-STYLE CHICKEN POT PIE

Steps:

• For the crust: Whisk together the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and cream cheese and toss to coat with the flour. Using a pastry blender, two knives or your fingertips, work the fat into the flour until the mixture looks like moist cornmeal. Sprinkle in the water, a tablespoon at a time, gently working the mixture into a shaggy dough that just comes together when pinched. Gather the dough into a ball, then divide it in half and form into two disks. Wrap each disk in plastic and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.
• For the filling: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the potatoes and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes have softened, about 10 minutes. Add the green beans and bell peppers; cook for another 2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl with the chicken pieces and set aside.
• In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and whisk in the flour. Continue whisking over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes (it's OK if the roux colors -- I like the nutty flavor), and then add the cream, milk and vermouth. Continue stirring over medium heat until the mixture thickens, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmesan, thyme and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper, then pour the roux over the chicken-vegetable mixture. Stir to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cool.
• Roll out one of the disks of dough into a rough 12-inch round. Line a 9-inch pie plate with the dough so that it overhangs the edge by about 1/2 inch. Dock the dough in the pie pan by pricking the bottom with the tines of a fork. Add the filling to the lined pie plate. Roll out the second disk of dough into a 10-inch round and top the pie. Crimp the edges to seal. Cut slits in the top of the pie to vent. Place in the freezer until the crust feels frozen, 10 to 15 minutes. (At this point, the pie can be wrapped in plastic and then foil and frozen for up to a month. See Cook's Note for baking instructions.)
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Brush the pot pie with egg wash, place on a baking sheet and transfer to the oven. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling, about 40 minutes.

CHICKEN "POT AU FEU"

Steps:

• Season and brown chicken well in a hot saute pan in 1-ounce canola oil. Brown the carrots, celery, onion, garlic in the remaining oil. Arrange these ingredients tightly in a 4 quart stock pot. Add water so it just covers the ingredients, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, skim any foam fat or impurities with a ladle as they rise to the surface. After 10 minutes add bay and thyme. Simmer 15 minutes and add the potatoes. Simmer another 20 minutes until potatoes and chicken are just done. Remove vegetables, chicken and potatoes and arrange attractively on a platter. Strain broth.