Entree -- Chicken Pot Pie (Home Style)
Submitted by dvdlee on August 27, 2004 at 9:51 am

DESCRIPTION
Entree -- Chicken Pot Pie (Home Style)

SUMMARY
Yield 0 File under Misc. Recipes & Requests
INSTRUCTIONS

This recipe is one I have customized - but has elements taken from my mother, Craig Claiborne's (the 1st great well-known Southern cook) cookbook "Southern Cooking", Cook's Illustrated, and Mark Bittmans "How to Cook Everything". This is one of those dishes where everyone has "their" version -- however, those based on modern bases (such as cream of mushroom soup) are not fit to be called true chicken pot pie!

This is a no-shortcuts version recipe that takes two days - but it tastes wonderful, fairly rich and has a deep taste and texture. (Of course, you must like old fashioned "creamed" dishes to like this!)

One of the main factors I had in mind in customizing this version was to achieve something somewhat lower in fat but with out sacrificing taste (compared to others recipes) since it does not depends on major amounts of heavy cream - only some whole milk. Of course you can use cream, more butter, etc. Faster versions can be prepared using this basic recipe by using low-sodium chicken broth, chopped frozen onions & celery, etc. etc. -- but it will affect the taste. I use fresh herbs (since I grow them), but you can use dried.

The basic concept of chicken pot pie is to prepare a thick veloute sauce (based on a roux of flour & butter cooked together combined with flavored and seasoned stock). Milk or cream is added to enrich and thin the veloute. The balance between the dairy and the stock-based sauce can vary considerably and also determines the richness of the sauce. Meat and seasoned parboiled vegetables are then added to this sauce. (Aside from a biscuit crust, see other serving options below.)

The basic seasoning of chicken pot is rather subtle - that of stock, dairy, with a background of fresh herbs. I find that I have to be very aggressive in using black pepper to ensure that the sauce is flavorful. Also, be careful not to use too much salt until the filling is finished. (I normally don't use a lot of pepper, so if you're a heavy pepper user you may not need to increase the amount unduly. The important thing is to make the sauce taste good to you.)

In making pot pie you should never have a bottom crust -- as it will be soggy and doughy. Only a top crust should be used. Be sure the oven is preheated well and that the bottom of the pan is protected from hot heat (use a baking stone) as the sauce will burn fairly easily.

This may make too much depending on the size desired. You can bake the pot pie in a 8x8 baking dish or individual servings, and use the rest of the filling for lunch or leftovers, but the biscuit topping does not keep. This dish should not be frozen as the sauce will break after defrosting.

Other serving options are 1) spoon over biscuits (per "a la king" style), serve over rice, serve over toast (especially for lunch) or even over a baked potato.

1 whole fryer chicken (around 4 lb., cut into major pieces or just hacked into hunks) (Note: You can remove the breasts for use in the Pot Pie tomorrow, but with whole chickens so inexpensive, I don't bother. Chicken breasts after stewing will have no flavor and poor texture, so if you use them in making stock, do not save the white meat.)
1 cup rough cut onion (do not peel, yellow onion is best)
1 cup rough chopped carrot (peeled)
1/2 cup rough chopped celery (add leaves but do not chop)
2 - 3 large sprigs of fresh thyme (1/4 teaspoon dried)
3 - 4 large sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons salt
8 cups of water (approx.)

1. Place all ingredients in a Dutch oven or stockpot.
2. Bring to a slight boil.
3. Adjust heat so the mixture does not fully boil, but just a few bubbles are seen -- a "heavy simmer")
4. Cook until the meat falls off the bone and the bones separate from each other (around 3 hours +)
5. Remove meat onto a platter.
6. Pour remaining stock through a colander to strain out large chunks and pieces. Then pour stock through a sieve to further remove solids from the stock. Clean the colander and line with a double thickness of cheesecloth. Pour stock through the cheesecloth. (The stock must be well strained so that when the stock is reduced no off-tastes are produced.)
7. Boil stock until reduced by 1/3. (If you don't want to take time to reduce the stock you can add chicken bouillon cubes at half-strength (a 1 cup cube per 2 cups stock)
8. Chill stock overnight in fridge.
9. When meat is cool remove dark meat (no skin & do not use white meat), place in bowl, cover and chill.

1 & 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breast (NOT pieces; skin on or skin off is OK)
3 & 1/2 cups homemade chicken stock
1 medium-large onion, chopped finely
3 - 4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch rounds
2 celery ribs, split in half lengthways and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1/2 to 1 pound button mushrooms sliced medium thick
1 1/2 cups diced new red potatoes (diced into 1/4 inch cubes, skin on)***
3 sprigs fresh parsley
4 whole cloves
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme (scant 1/2 teaspoon dried)
10 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup flour
1 & 1/2 cups whole milk
3 tablespoons dry sherry
1 cup frozen green peas (thawed, but uncooked)
2 "dashes" of Tabasco sauce
1 & 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (Lee & Perrins)
Salt and pepper

(A dash is defined as where you take a small or mid-size bottle of Tabasco and hold it right-side-up over the pot. You quickly tip the bottle (so the top is facing downward) and, in one smooth hard motion, plunge the bottle downward then up, forcing a "dash" of sauce out. Do not shake, do not hold the bottle downward to dribble, just a quick jab down and up.)

***Potatoes - this ingredient is slightly untraditional, but I like to add the potatoes to make this more substantial as a one-dish meal. I think my mother added the potatoes to "stretch" the dish. You may omit with no problem. You can also substitute or add other non-liquid vegetables (parsnips, fennel is nice, turnip root). Do not add leafy vegetables or any type of squash, tomatoes, eggplant (yuck!) or vegetable that gives off water as it cooks. Parboil the root vegetables per treatment of potatoes.

Remove the chilled stock prepared the day before and remove the fat on top. (I reserve the fat and use a little bit when making the filling and the extra for making matzo balls later - a very non-Southern dish, but tasty!)

In a pot that will just barely hold the chicken breasts, place the stock, parsley, cloves and thyme. Bring liquid ingredients to a mild boil. Add the breasts, cover, and reduce heat to low and poach the breasts until done (around 145-150F internal temperature). Turn the breasts in the liquid every so often, (If there is not enough stock to cover, add a little more stock, but no more than 1/2 cup.)

In a small pot, boil the diced potatoes in salted water until just tender, but not soft and mushy (to your taste). Drain, rinse with cool water and reserve.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet until hot and the foam subsides, sautý the mushrooms. Salt and pepper the mushrooms (use pepper aggressively). Cook until they give up their liquid. Continue to cook until the liquid evaporates. Do not stir the mushrooms too much since you want them to sear until lightly brown. Reserve.

Melt 1 tablespoons of butter in the same skillet (I also add 1 tablespoon of chicken fat) and sautý onions, carrots, and celery until just tender (around 10 minutes for me). Salt and pepper the vegetables (use pepper liberally). When cooked, remove and reserve (I dump the potatoes, mushrooms and vegetables in one bowl, then add the peas to the same bowl.)

After chicken breasts have poached, remove from heat and let cool. Strain broth to remove spices and herbs. Stock should be warm.

In a Dutch oven melt 8 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. When foaming subsides add flour and cook around 3 minutes (You can substitute chicken fat for butter, but no more than 2 tablespoons chicken fat.) You can also increase the butter 1 or 2 tablespoons if you want. After flour is cooked whisk in stock, then milk. Whisk until smooth. Reduce heat to very low and let simmer, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, dice chicken breasts into large pieces (you can also shred the breasts by hand.). To the simmering white sauce, add all vegetables and all chicken (including the dark meat from the day before.) Add Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce. Add salt and pepper as needed. Stirring very frequently heat all ingredients until very hot. Remove from heat until ready to bake. You may need to adjust the thickness of the sauce by adding more stock or milk. The sauce will slightly thicken during baking.

TO BAKE:

Preheat oven to 400F. Prepare a batch of any standard biscuit dough and roll out to fit a 13x9 inch baking pan. Pour filling into pan, top with dough, being sure that the dough very slightly overlaps the edges of the dish. Lightly press the dough around the edge of the pan. With a knife, cut several holes in the crust to let the steam escape while baking. Bake until top is brown and done. Cover edges with foil if they are browning too quickly. (I love the crisp and crackly edges!).