8 servings
YouTube instructional video is below.
What you’ll need
2 pounds 13 ounces chicken thighs
1 large carrot
1 large red potato
Frozen green peas
All-purpose flour
Salted butter
Bacon fat
Whole milk
Seasonings
1 yellow onion
Celery
Garlic
Fresh parsley
Bay leaves
Salt
Black pepper
Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning
Chef Paul’s poultry magic
Granulated onion
Granulated garlic
Dried thyme
Tools you’ll need
Food processor or pastry cutter
Rolling pin
Potato peeler
Mesh strainer
9-inch round standard pie pan
Preparation of ingredients
Seasonings
Step 1- Chop 1/2 of a yellow onion, 2 ribs celery, a small amount of fresh parsley, and press 3 cloves garlic with a garlic press. Make sure you rinse the celery, parsley before chopping.
Vegetables
Step 2- Rinse 1 red potato, and 1 carrot with cold water. Peel the red potato with a potato peeler. Chop red potato into small cubes. Chop 1 large carrot into small cubes. Add the vegetables into separate bowls and place into the fridge.
Chicken thighs 1
Step 3- Add chicken thigh pieces into a strainer and rinse with cold water. Trim any excessive skin and fat off of the chicken thigh pieces.
Step 4- Place chicken thigh pieces into a large bowl and add, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 2 teaspoons Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning, 2 teaspoons chef Paul Prudhomme’s poultry magic, 1 teaspoon granulated onion, and 1 teaspoon granulated garlic. Coat the seasonings onto the chicken thighs.
Searing the chicken pieces
Preheat fire to medium heat.
Step 5- Let a large saucepan get hot for 1 to 2 minutes. Spread salted butter inside the bottom of the saucepan. Add chicken thighs. Sear the chicken thighs for 4 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken thighs and place them into a shallow bowl and set aside.
Sauteeing the seasonings
Step 6- Add 1 and 1/2 cups chopped yellow and 3 cloves of pressed garlic into the large saucepan. Stir all ingredients together. Let sauté for 4 to 6 minutes stirring occasionally.
Chicken stock
Note– At the 25-minute mark, remove the chicken thighs.
Step 7- Add 3 cloves pressed garlic, 5 cups water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, 1/8 or 1/4 teaspoon Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon chef Paul’s poultry magic, 2 tablespoon chopped parsley, 4 large bay leaves, and 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme into the same saucepan. Stir all ingredients together. Add your seared chicken thighs into the saucepan. Stir all ingredients together. Cover saucepan with a lid. Let simmer for 40 minutes stirring occasionally.
Step 8- Add the 25-minute mark, remove the chicken thighs from the liquid and place into a shallow bowl. Set the bowl on the side to allow the chicken thighs to cool. Cover the large saucepan with a lid and let simmer for 15 minutes.
Step 9- Pour the chicken stock into a mesh strainer with a medium sized bowl underneath it. Press the contents into the mesh strainer to allow the chicken stock to drain into the medium-sized bowl. From there you can discard the contents left over in the mesh strainer. Once done you should have 3 cups chicken stock left over. Let the chicken stock cool completely. Once the chicken stock has cooled, place into fridge to cool.
Chicken thighs 2
Step 10- Remove the skin from the chicken thigh pieces and discard. Remove the meat of off the bones of the chicken thigh pieces. Cut the chicken thigh meat into medium sized pieces. Add the chicken pieces into a medium-sized bowl and place into the fridge to cool.
Rendering the fat from the chicken stock
Step 11- Take a fork or spatula and remove the solid fat from the top of the cold chicken stock and place into a small bowl. Make sure you drain any excessive liquid from the bowl with the sold fat in it.
Preheat fire to medium heat.
Step 12- Heat a small or large frying pan for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the solid chicken fat into the frying pan. Once the fat melts, turn your fire off and let the fat cool completely. Once done you should have 2 tablespoons melted chicken fat left over.
Chicken pot pie filling
Preheat fire to medium heat.
Step 13- Heat a large saucepan for 1 to 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons chicken fat, 2 tablespoons salted butter and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour. Stir continuously for 1 minute.
Step 14- Add 3 cups chicken stock, 1/3 cup whole milk, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon chef Paul’s poultry magic, and 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme. Stir all ingredients together. Let simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Turn your fire off and let the gravy mixture cool until it’s warm.
Setting the filling
Step 15- Add 12 ounces of chicken thigh meat, 4 ounces of cubed red potatoes, 3 ounces of cubed carrots, and 3 ounces of frozen green peas. Stir all ingredients together. Place the filling in the freezer for 30 minutes to allow the filling to set or until you make and prepare your pie crust.
Making the pie crust
Step 16- Add 2 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt into a food processor. Pulse 3 times.
Step 17- Add 6 tablespoons salted butter (Cold) and 6 tablespoons bacon fat or lard (Cold). Pulse 12 to 15 times or until the flour and fat are cut into the flour.
Step 18- Transfer the flour mixture into a large bowl and add 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon cold water. Stir all ingredients with a sturdy spoon until the mixture starts to come together.
Step 19- Form the mixture into a dough with your hands and form into a ball. Place into the fridge for 20 to 30 minutes. Once done Cut the dough into 2 halves.
1st dough half
Step 20- Lightly flour the surface of your table. Add the first half of the dough on top of the table. Press the dough down with your hands forming a flat circle. Sprinkle a small amount of flour onto the dough. Roll the dough out into 15 or 16 inches in diameter circle. Make sure you roll the dough out thin.
Step 21- Carefully roll the dough onto the rolling pin. Sprinkle flour onto the dough as you are rolling it onto the rolling pin to prevent the dough from sticking onto itself.
Step 22- Unroll the dough onto a 9-inch round pie pan. Lift the ends of the dough up while pressing the dough into the baking pan with your hands.
Step 23- Spread a small amount of water onto the edge of the pie pan where the pie dough is located.
2nd dough half
Step 24- Lightly flour the surface of your table. Add the 2nd half of the dough on top of the table. Press the dough down with your hands forming a flat circle. Sprinkle a small amount of flour onto the dough. Roll the dough out into 15 or 16 inches in diameter circle. Make sure you roll the dough out thin.
Step 25- Carefully roll the dough onto the rolling pin. Sprinkle flour onto the dough as you are rolling it onto the rolling pin to prevent the dough from sticking onto itself.
Assembling the pot pie
Step 26- Add prepared chicken pot pie filling into the pie pan. Make sure you add the filling more towards the center of the pie pan before spreading it out toward the sides.
Step 27- Unroll the 2nd half of the flattened pie dough on top of the pie pan. To seal the pie dough. Press the dough where the edges on the pie pan are.
Step 28- Trim off the excess dough using kitchen scissors. Leave 1/2 or 1 inch of pie dough hanging from the sides of your pie pan.
Step 29- Tuck the hanging dough under the inside edge of the pie pan and press down with your fingers to seal.
Baking the pot pie.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Step 30- To crimp the pie crust, push the pie crust inward with your middle and index finger while pushing the edge of the pie crust outward with your opposite index finger. Go all around the edge of the pie crust with this. Picture demonstration is below.
Step 31- Place into a preheated 375-degree oven on the middle rack. Bake for 1 hour. Once the baking time has ended, remove the pot pie from the oven. Let the pie cool for 2 to 4 hours before serving. For best results, serve the next day so the flavors can settle and increase overnight.
YouTube instructional video