Don't Be a Chicken (or Turkey), Try This Recipe

While Josh is getting you prepared to make a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, I have started thinking of ways to get rid of all those leftovers.  I know – the thought of seeing a half-eaten turkey carcass doesn’t bring culinary ideas to mind but this recipe may help.  It seems like a long process but it happens in stages and the result is worth it.  I made this pot pie with chicken but you can use the leftover turkey meat as a substitute.

Okay, kids, we are leaning a new culinary term today.  A bechamel is the “mother” of all French sauces.  This is a classic white sauce.  A bechamel sauce is a cooked flour and butter mixture (roux) with scalded milk slowly added to it to make a thick and creamy sauce.  Add cheese to it to make a Mornay sauce for mac & cheese.  Another variation is to add hot chicken stock to the roux rather than milk – that’s what we will be doing for this recipe.

The ingredient list

Chicken Pot Pie
1 rotisserie chicken, skinned and de-boned
3 carrots, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 10oz package frozen sweet peas
2 8oz containers baby bella mushrooms
1 stick + 2 tablespoons of butter
8 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons thyme
2 boxes prepared pie dough
Olive oil
Kosher salt and cracked pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.  De-bone chicken and discard skin and bones. Shred or dice chicken and set in a large bowl.  In a large sauce pan add the stick of butter and melt over medium high heat.  Gradually add the 8 tablespoons of flour and stir with a wooden spoon.  Stirring constantly, cook the butter & flour mixture until it darkens.

My batch of goo

Gradually add the hot chicken stock, whisking constantly to avoid lumps.  Keep whisking until mixture thickens.  Remove from heat.

Finished "bechamel"

In sauté pan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter.  Add onion and carrots.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Add thyme and sauté until onions and carrots are soft but not mushy.  Remove and place in bowl with chicken.

Heat another tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter to the sauté pan.  Add mushrooms, sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook until the mushrooms release their liquid and evaporates.  Add to bowl with the other along with green peas and sauce.

This Is Where I Cheat
I admit that didn’t have time to make my own dough.  Mainly because my food processor is on the fritz and I didn’t want to stand there and cut in butter for an hour; so I invested in some pre-made pie dough.  Good thing: pre-made, Bad thing: it is round, my dish is square.  For the dish I was using I needed two pie rounds for the bottom of the pie and one for the top.

Bottom Crust – Flour your board and lay the two pie rounds side-by-side, overlapping a little.  With a rolling-pin, roll the two rounds together.  Turn a 1/4 turn after each roll, making sure the dough doesn’t stick to the board.  We are making rounds into square.  Once you have gotten the dough big enough for the dish.  Use the rolling-pin the transport to the dish.

FYI - that's French rolling-pin

Lay the dough in the dish and carefully tuck in place.

Tucking my dough

Now fill the prepared dish with your filling.

Looks as if the peas decided to gather on the left side of the dish

Top Crust – use one of the pie crust from the second package.  Use the same technique as before.  Roll out the dough and place on top of the filling.  Using the excess from the bottom crust, crimp the bottom and top crust together.  Cut a few vent holes in the top crust.  Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes or until top crust is brown.  Then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and back 20 more minutes or until filling is bubbling.

Finished product

I know that this seems like a hard process because of the turkey coma you may be in after Thanksgiving, but don’t let those good leftovers go to waste.  With a little work you can make a great meal  from that carcass – give that turkey one more chance!

Cheat Like Me
Don’t want to roll out dough?  Get two deep-dish, pre-made pie crusts.  Fill them with the filling and cover with the pre-made, round pie crust mentioned above.  No rolling!

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