Deep-Dish Chicken Pie
Submitted by imtek2
Deep-dish chicken pie from scratch with poached chicken, carrots, celery, baby lima beans, and mushrooms in a creamy half-and-half sauce, under a hand-rolled egg-washed pastry lid. Sunday supper royalty.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
2 hrsREADY
2 hrsThis is deep-dish chicken pot pie done the old-school way, no canned cream-of-anything soup in sight. Start by poaching whole cut-up chickens with marjoram and pepper, which builds real chicken broth as the meat cooks. That homemade broth becomes the backbone of the sauce and the reason this tastes so much deeper than any shortcut version.
Babylima beans are the classic American pot-pie vegetable, giving a distinct creamy-starchy bite that frozen peas or corn can’t match. Don’t skip them or the whole character of the dish shifts.
The sauce builds through a cold-slurry technique. Whisking half of the flour into cold half-and-half before stirring into the hot broth is what prevents lumps, a critical step most old recipes gloss over. Cook the sauce to just-thickened, it continues to thicken in the oven.
The hand-rolled pastry is a classic butter-less shortening crust, which gives you that flaky, old-fashioned pie-shop texture. Egg-yolk wash brushed on before baking delivers the deep golden colour that makes this a centerpiece.
Chef Tips
- Keep the shortening and water ice-cold, warm fat makes a tough crust.
- Cut slits in the top crust (the recipe calls for several), they vent steam and prevent a soggy undercrust.
- Let the pie rest 15 minutes after baking so the filling sets up and slices cleanly.
- Save extra broth from poaching the chicken for soup, it’s liquid gold.
Variations
Ingredients
Directions
In 5-quart Dutch oven or saucepot over high heat, heat chickens, pepper, marjoram, 4 cups water, and 2 teaspoon salt to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 35 minutes or until chicken is fork-tender.
When chicken is done, reserve 1 cup broth. Cool chicken until easy to handle; remove and discard bones and skin; cut meat into 1” pieces.
In 3-quart saucepan over high heat, heat carrots, celery, onions, and reserved 1 cup chicken broth to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 minutes or until vegetables are almost tender. Remove from heat. With slotted spoon, remove vegetables to medium-sized bowl.
In small bowl, blend ½ cup flour with ¾ cup half-and-half; gradually stir into broth in saucepan; stir in remaining half-and-half. Over low heat, cook, stirring until sauce thickens slightly. Stir in chicken, cooked vegetables, thawed lima beans, mushrooms, and 1½ teaspoon salt. Spoon mixture into 13×9” baking dish .
Prepare pastry: In medium-sized bowl, stir 3 cups all-purpose flour and 1½ teaspoon salt. With pastry blender or two knives used scissors fashion, cup shortening into flour to resemble coarse crumbs. Sprinkle about ½ cup water, a tablespoon at a time, into flour mixture, mixing lightly with a fork until pastry is just moist enough to hold together; shape pastry into a ball.
On lightly floured surface with floured rolling pin, roll two-thirds of dough into 15×11” rectangle. With knife, cut several small slits in center of pastry. Place pastry loosely over chicken mixture. Trim pastry edge, leaving 1” overhang; fold overhang under and press gently all around baking dish to make a high stand-up edge. Roll and cut remaining dough to make decorative design for top of pie.
In cup, beat egg yolk with 1 teaspoon water. Brush pastry with egg-yolk mixture. Bake pie in 350’F oven 1 hour or until crust is golden and chicken mixture is heated through.
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