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Savory Chicken Pot Pies

Type: Chicken, Poultry
Serves: 4 people

Recipe Ingredients

2   Chicken breast halves
6   Chicken thighs
  Salt
  Pepper
2 tablespoons 30mlButter
2 tablespoons 30mlOil
1   Chicken broth - (49.5 oz)
1   Onion - cut into quarters (small)
1   Celery stalk - cut into
1   Carrot - peeled, cut into (small)
1/4 cup 49g / 1.7ozMelted butter
1/4 cup 15g / 0.5ozFlour
2 tablespoons 30mlMinced tarragon
1 cup 62g / 2.2ozPearl onions - peeled
1 cup 237mlPotato - peeled, cut into (medium)
  Chunks
4   Carrots - cut into 1/2" (small)
1   (~1 1/2 c)
2 cups 292g / 10ozBroccoli florets
1 1/2 cups 355mlQuartered button mushrooms
  Rich pastry crust
2   Egg yolks - beaten

Recipe Instructions

This refined version of an old American classic has a rich, flaky, meaty-tasting crust, thanks to its mixture of lard and chicken fat.

The latter is a handy byproduct of the precooking of the chicken the day before. Make sure the chicken fat is good and cold when making the crust.

Season chicken parts to taste with salt and pepper. Melt 2 tablespoons butter and oil together in soup pot. Add chicken and brown. Add chicken broth, quartered onion, celery chunks and carrot chunks and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is tender, 20-30 minutes. Let cool. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Next day, skim cold chicken fat off top of broth. Reserve 1/4 cup fat for making Rich Pastry Crust. (Keep reserved chicken fat in refrigerator.) Heat broth and remove chicken. Skin and bone chicken parts. Discard skin and bones. Cut meat into 2" chunks and set aside.

Strain broth. Reduce over high heat to 3 cups. Combine 1/4 cup melted butter and flour in saucepan and gradually stir in broth. Bring to boil and boil 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in tarragon.

Cook pearl onions, potato, sliced carrots and broccoli separately in boiling water until tender, 5-10 minutes each. Drain.

Toss together cooked chicken, cooked vegetables and mushrooms. Stir in chicken-tarragon sauce. Divide into 4 (2 cup) oval casseroles.

Make Rich Pastry Crust. Divide dough in half and gather into 2 small flattened rounds. Roll first half on lightly floured board to 1/4" thick Cut dough to fit tops of 2 casseroles, leaving enough dough to overhang edges by 1". Repeat with second half of dough.

Brush edges of casseroles with egg yolk and place crusts atop casseroles. Flute edges. Make 4 triangular cuts in center of each crust and fold back tips of triangles. Brush crust with egg yolk (save egg whites for another use). Bake at 400'F. until crust is golden brown and contents hot and bubbly, 20-30 minutes.

Source:
Cooking Light, October 1994, page 70

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