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Mo arrived at the inn with a flour sack over one shoulder and frost on his whiskers. “First cold night of the year,” he said. “That means pot pie.” He dropped the sack on the counter, and a small white cloud rose up and settled on Gerzsi’s nose.
Pippa took charge of the filling. She diced the carrots, celery and potato into neat little cubes and lined them up by color. Gerzsi got the chicken and two forks. He shredded with great energy. Some of it even reached the bowl.
Mo rolled the crust himself. “Cold butter, cold hands, quick work,” he said, and nobody else was allowed to touch it.
Then the kitchen went dark. Clyde had pushed his head through the window again. “Is that a pie?” he asked. “With apples?” “Chicken,” said Pippa. Clyde thought about this for a long time. “Then I will just smell it,” he said. He smelled it for the whole hour it was in the oven.
When the crust came out deep golden, with gravy bubbling up through the slits, Mo cut the first slice. Clyde got a carrot from Pippa’s pile. He said it was the best carrot of his life.
Why this one works
The chicken poaches in broth with garlic, bay leaf, lemon peel and whole spices, so the meat and the broth both pick up flavor, and that broth becomes the gravy. A spoonful of cider vinegar keeps the creamy filling from tasting flat. The filling cools before the crust goes on, so the butter in the dough stays cold until it hits the oven.
Chicken Pot Pie with a Thyme and Chive Crust
Poached, shredded chicken and vegetables in a creamy broth gravy under a buttery thyme and chive crust.
Ingredients
- For the crust:
- 1 1/4 cups (155 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives
- 1 stick (1/2 cup / 113 g) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) apple cider vinegar
- 2 to 4 tablespoons (30 to 60 ml) ice water
- 1 large egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water, for brushing For the filling:
- 5 garlic cloves (crush 2, mince 3)
- 1 fresh bay leaf
- 1 wide strip lemon peel
- 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 1/2 lb (680 g) boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs (about 2 of each)
- 4 cups (950 ml) low-sodium chicken broth
- 4 tablespoons (57 g) unsalted butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 1 russet potato, diced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup (30 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy cream
- 1/2 cup (about 15 g) chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 cup (70 g) frozen peas
Directions
- Start with the crust, because it needs an hour in the fridge. Pulse the flour, sugar, salt, thyme and chives in a food processor. Add the butter cubes and pulse until the pieces are about the size of peas. Add the vinegar and 2 tablespoons of ice water and pulse again. If the dough won’t clump, add more water a spoonful at a time. Press it into a flat disk, wrap it and chill for at least 1 hour.
- Make a spice bundle: put the 2 crushed garlic cloves, the bay leaf, lemon peel, peppercorns and coriander seeds on a square of cheesecloth and tie it shut.
- Put the chicken, broth and bundle in a saucepan and bring it to a gentle simmer. Cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Lift the chicken out, strain the broth, throw away the bundle and keep the broth warm on low heat. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it with two forks.
- Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook the onion, carrots and celery, stirring now and then, until soft, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the potato, season with salt and pepper and cook about 5 minutes more. Stir in the minced garlic and the thyme for 1 minute. Pour in the vinegar and let it cook away.
- Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir until it disappears. Add 1 3/4 cups (415 ml) of the warm broth and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, until the gravy thickens.
- Take the pot off the heat. Stir in the cream, shredded chicken, parsley and peas, then taste and season. Spoon the filling into a 9 1/2-inch (24 cm) deep-dish pie plate and let it cool for about 20 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). On a floured counter, roll the dough into an 11-inch (28 cm) circle about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick. Lay it over the filling, tuck in the overhang and crimp the edge. Cut a few slits in the top and brush it with the egg wash.
- Set the dish on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown. Let it rest for 20 minutes before you serve it.
🛒 Worth buying for this recipe
- Cuisinart Custom 14-Cup Food Processor. The winner of America’s Test Kitchen’s food processor test. A few short pulses cut the cold butter into the flour without warming it in your hands. About $230 at the time of their review. See it on Amazon
- J.K. Adams Plain Rolling Dowel Pin. America’s Test Kitchen’s best dowel-style rolling pin. A straight dowel makes it easy to roll an even 11-inch circle. About $25 at the time of their review. See it on Amazon
- Cuisinart Chef’s Classic 5 qt enameled cast iron casserole. The Best Buy in America’s Test Kitchen’s Dutch oven test. It holds the vegetables, gravy and chicken with room to stir. Check price. See it on Amazon
- Victorinox Fibrox Pro 8″ Chef’s Knife. The chef’s knife on ATK’s list of editors’ top kitchen tools. It makes quick work of dicing the onion, carrots, celery and potato into even cubes. Check price. See it on Amazon
- TempPro Lightning TP622 instant-read thermometer. Highly Recommended by America’s Test Kitchen: quick, accurate and backlit. Use it to check that the poached chicken has reached 165°F (74°C). Check price. See it on Amazon
How Chef Tamás makes it
At his restaurant, Chef Tamás serves pot pie as a seasonal starter, baked in small individual dishes and served with the salad of the season. He makes a few changes to the recipe above: he tops it with puff pastry, uses only chicken thighs, roasts or sears the chicken instead of poaching it, and adds mushrooms to the filling.
He also says almost anything can go in with the chicken. Even the odds and ends in your fridge that you wouldn’t eat on their own make a good ragout for a pie.
Tools we use
- His hands. Chef Tamás rubs the butter into the flour by hand instead of using a food processor.
- A rolling pin for the crust.
- A deep pie dish or baking dish for a family-size pie.
- Small individual cocottes for single portions. Shop similar on Amazon
- A muffin tin, for mini pot pies. Shop similar on Amazon
Chef Tamás’s tricks
- Cold butter and ice water go into the crust.
- Let the filling cool before the crust goes on.
- Keep the liquid the chicken cooked in. It becomes the sauce.
- Brush the top with egg, and let the pie rest after baking.
- Always cut a small hole in the top. The steam from the filling has to escape. The most common mistakes he sees are a raw, sticky crust on the bottom or edge, a runny filling, and no steam vent.
- Serve it with a green salad.
Adapted from Chicken Pot Pie on Food Network. Cooked our way at the inn.
Sources
- Food Network Kitchen: Chicken Pot Pie
- America’s Test Kitchen: The best food processors
- America’s Test Kitchen: The best rolling pins
- America’s Test Kitchen: The best Dutch ovens
- America’s Test Kitchen: Editors’ top kitchen tools
- America’s Test Kitchen: The best instant-read thermometers
- USDA: Safe minimum internal temperatures
🛒 Shop this recipe
Mo and Pippa’s tools for this pie, sorted by job.
For the crust
For prep
For the filling
For checking the chicken
Affiliate links. Test results from America’s Test Kitchen, linked under Sources.
🎁 While it bakes: Mo’s surprise pick
The pie needs about an hour in the oven and 20 minutes to rest. Gerzsi wanted to open the oven door every five minutes. Mo sat him down, pushed his spectacles up his nose and handed him something to read instead. “Pies bake faster when nobody watches,” he said. That is not true. But the door stayed shut.
Mo’s pick for the wait is the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition (32 GB), a waterproof e-reader with an adjustable warm light that is easy on the eyes in a dim kitchen. Check today’s price.
Not kitchen gear. Just a better way to spend the wait. Affiliate link.
Meet the cooks: Mo, Pippa and Clyde
Mo, Pippa, Clyde and Gerzsi are made up. The recipe, the gear and Chef Tamás’s notes are real.
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