An Eat'n Man: Smoked Chicken Pot Pie

It has been unseasonably cold this winter, so I figured it was time for a warm and comforting recipe on the ole food blog this month. And in this capacity, you can’t do much better than a good, hearty chicken pot pie.

This dish brings back memories of youth for me, as the steam rising from the fresh-cracked pastry shell of a pot pie hot from the oven always delighted me on a cold winter day when I was a kid. Of course, the pies in those days were usually of the frozen Swanson variety, but they did the job back then.

Of course, we love cooking, right? And homemade is almost always better, right? In this case, it is right, for the fresh veggies and cream (and homemade pastry dough) in this dish will win the Pepsi Challenge with those frozen pies any day.

Also, this recipe amps up the flavor a few notches by using smoked chicken in the pies. Yes, adding a tangy smoked flavor to these already creamy, buttery, savory pies really takes the flavor to a higher plane of existence. They might just be...the best chicken pot pies you’ve ever tasted. They are for me.

Pastry Dough

2.5 Cups Flour
2 Sticks Butter
2 Teaspoons Salt
2 Teaspoons Sugar
A Few Ounces Ice Water

Don’t skimp on the dough by using store-bought frozen dough. Making your own is quick and easy and sooooo much more flavorful.

Mix flour, salt and sugar in food processor. Cut in butter in cubes...

...and process until fine granules form. Slowly add ice water in drops until dough forms.

Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour, longer of you wish.

When you’re ready to make the pie shells, divide dough into thirds. Roll out one third for two pastry bases, the next third for two more, and one third for all four pastry tops.

When you roll out the bases dough, roll it into a rough rectangle, then cut in half with a knife or pizza cutter. Take these and press each into small, straight-sided soup bowls or large ramekins. Let excess dough drape over the edge, then cut or tear off excess dough, making sure to leave enough for the top to connect to.

You should refrigerate the dough-filled ramekins until your pot pie filling is done. Also, you can wait to roll out your tops until after you’ve filled the bases. Keep top dough refrigerated until you roll it out.

Filling

2 Smoked Chicken Breasts, cubed
2 Potatoes, chopped
3 Carrots, chopped
1 Cup Frozen Peas
Salt, Pepper and Celery salt to taste
4 Tablespoons Butter
1 Medium Spanish Onion, finely diced
3 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped
4 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
2 cups Heavy Cream, heated
2-3 cups Chicken Broth

Preheat oven to 400F

Chop the potatoes and carrots into half inch pieces...

...then parboil them for a few minutes.

Sauté diced onions in butter over medium heat until they turn clear and just start to look golden. Sift in flour, salt and pepper and celery salt, let this cook for a couple minutes.

Add garlic and continue to cook for one minute. Add the chicken stock and heavy cream.

Stir in frozen peas, then the parboiled carrots and potatoes.

While this is cooking, cube your smoked chicken...

...and then stir it in. Let mixture simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Retrieve your ramekins with the pastry dough bases inside, then ladle your chicken mixture into them. Make sure you get several pieces of chicken into each ramekin.