Recipe: Old Fashioned Texas Style Chicken Pot Pie

So very good!

OLD FASHIONED TEXAS STYLE CHICKEN POT PIE

CHICKEN

5-6 lb hen

Water (to cover hen)

1 medium onion, quartered

1 stalk celery with a few leaves

1 bay leaf

Salt, to taste

1 tsp peppercorns

Simmer chicken, covered, in water to cover with all other ingredients, about 1 ½ hours or until tender. Remove chicken from pot and, when cool enough to handle, cut up all the meat in bite-sized pieces, discarding skin and bones. Strain and reserve stock, and skim off and reserve chicken fat. (If not enough chicken fat re mains, substitute an equal amount of butter for the chicken fat called for in the recipe below.)

Sauce, crust recipes and assembly instructions below

 

SAUCE

3 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp reserved chicken fat (if available—or use enough additional butter to make 3 Tbsp)

6 Tbsp flour

5 C reserved chicken stock

1 C heavy cream

Salt, pepper, to taste

Melt together butter and chicken fat, and stir in flour to make a smooth roux. Add chicken stock and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens. Add cream and let cook gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in salt and pepper to taste.

CRUST

2 C flour

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

3 Tbsp butter, softened

1 egg, beaten

1 C rich sweet milk

½ tsp rubbed sage

Fresh parsley, minced (up to ½ C)

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt, blending well. Cut in butter. Add egg and blend, then add milk, sage, and parsley, mixing lightly.

PIE

Preheat oven to 350^o. Arrange cut-up chicken in a wide, shallow casserole. Cover with hot sauce. Drop crust by spoonfuls on top of chicken and sauce to make an almost complete layer (bits of sauce should be able to bubble up between spoonfuls of batter). Bake 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Serve from casserole.