One of the things I really enjoy about chicken pot pie is how incredibly versatile it is. Two crusts? Awesome. Just the top crust? Great. Pie crust or puff pastry? You decide! Biscuits instead of crust? Bring it on! Change up the filling? Sure, go for it. It means that you pretty much can’t lose, as long as you’ve got something warm and gooey and a little bit bread-y in front of you. I’ve been favoring the biscuit-topped pot pies myself – mainly because I can’t be bothered to deal with rolling out pie or pastry crust. I’m not good at making crusts to begin with, and the patchwork job that would ensue would basically ruin my day. Drop biscuits, on the other hand – are delightfully simple. And hey, you know what? If you’d rather use a box mix or those canned biscuits or premade pie crusts? Do it! The end goal is not something painstakingly homemade (though by all means, do the work if you really want to) — the goal is to have a chicken-y, gravy-loaded pile of love with some sort of carb-y topping, to shovel into your face. Do it however it feels right to you. Heck, buy an entirely premade frozen pot pie, for all I care. Basically, I support pot pie in all forms.
The Goods:
chicken, cooked, shredded and/or chopped (drumsticks are cheap from my supplier, but you can us whatever you like. I have a particular fondness for those cooked rotisserie chickens from the supermarket.)
carrots, diced
celery, diced
onions, diced
parsnips, peeled and diced (optional but highly recommended)
peas, frozen (NOT CANNED.)
chicken stock
flour
milk (optional)
butter or olive oil
garlic, minced
salt & pepper, to taste
biscuit dough, however it comes (box, can, or whatever. I’m a fan of this recipe: https://www.findingzest.com/so-easy-drop-biscuits-recipe/)
The method:
Get your fat heating up on the stove. I recommend an oven-safe dutch oven type thing, but a soup pot will do. I wouldn’t recommend a skillet unless you are *very* confident that you won’t overflow it as you add like a billion things.
Oh, and preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Drop your onions, celery, and carrots (mirepoix!) in and cook them until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and cook that until fragrant. Add your chicken, and just barely enough liquid to almost-but-not-quite cover. Bring it all to a simmer. Adjust seasonings. Give that whole mess a light dusting of flour and stir that in.** Let the flour cook for a moment, stirring all the while. Add more flour, a bit at a time, until you’ve reached a your desired gravy consistency. (And remember, this will thicken up more once it goes into the oven) Now would be a great time to stir in your peas. Give your goop a taste. Good? Sweet, let’s move on. Oh, do you want something creamier? You can splash in some milk right now.
If you’re using an oven-safe vessel, just start putting blobs of your biscuit dough on top of your pile of chicken and gravy and love. If you are not in an oven-safe pan at this point – transfer your lovely pot of goo into a casserole dish, and then start putting blobs of dough on top.
If you want extra beautiful browning, you can hit those blobs of dough with a brushing of melted butter or egg wash or milk but honestly, it’s not necessary.
Bake for… uh… half an hour or so, until biscuits are cooked and the whole thing is bubbly and amazing and delicious.
Enjoy!
Vickie's Food Ramblings 