Fancy-Ass Chicken Pot Pies (For Two)

I’m going to sound like a broken record when I tell you that, as a kid, all I wanted in the world were terrible-for-you foods. Unfortunately, the only thing fun my mama was willing to buy us were frozen pot pies. I took what I could get! I loved the flakey crust and rich filling. The overly cooked peas and carrots…not so much.

These two lil’ baby pot pies are a way better version than the mediocre pot pies that I’d devour after school while watching The Power Rangers. Here’s what makes them fancy:

1. Schmaltz. Yassss!! This crust is special. Instead of butter (you can totally use butter if you don’t have schmaltz) I used schmaltz and it resulted in a really delicious, more crumb-like, very chicken-y crust. Oh man. I like it a lot!

2. Goat cheese. Here’s the thing, I’ve had a good amount of pot pies and for me I need a bit of bite to cut through all of the richness. Most chicken pot pie recipes call for heavy cream. I say skip it and go with something that gives the perfect amount of tang. Goat cheese does just that!

3. No overcooked peas and carrots. This is soooo simple yet every single pot pie I’ve had has gross-ass, dark green peas. WHY! It’s so easy. Just don’t cook the carrots that long. Don’t throw the peas in until right before you fill the pies. Easy-peasy! <—Do you see what I did there?!

And lastly, the assembly. I imagine you probably don’t have these lil’ Staub pots at home and that’s ok. I like my pot pies to have an inside crust too, many recipes just tell you to give it tops). Of course you can, but I found it easiest to just do a press situation on the bottom and up the sides of these containers for the pie crust. It as soooo much easier than trying to roll it out and fill it because since the pots are narrow, it makes it somewhat awkward. Not exactly like a pie tin.

But for the tops, I rolled out a sheet and cut circles that were about 1-inch bigger, all the way around, than the pots. This way I was able to tuck the crust under and give it a mini crimp all the way around.

If you want to make this situation, it’s actually a good recipe to prep the day before.

You can make the pie crust up to 3 days in advance.

You can make the filling up to 3 days in advance. And you can assemble right before. It’s a good make-ahead situation!

Happy Valentine’s Day…or whatever.

No ratings yet

Print Recipe

Schmaltz Pie Crust

Author: Adrianna Adarme

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Serving Size: 1 (nine-inch) pie crust

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• 6 tablespoons cold schmaltz
• ¼ cup cold water

Filling:

• 2 chicken thighs
• 1 shallot, peeled and minced
• 1 small carrot, peeled and diced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 ¼ cup chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons goat cheese

Instructions

To Make the Crust:

• In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the cold schmaltz and working quickly, and using your hands, break the fat into bits until they're evenly distributed and resemble the size of small peas.
• Add the water and mix. The dough might seem a bit dry and shaggy but keep kneading it until it comes together. If needed add a tablespoon more of water. Flour your counter and dump the dough onto it. Knead a few times more until it comes together. Form into a disc. Wrap the disc in plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour, ideally overnight.

To Make the Filling:

• Preheat the oven to 375F. Sprinkle the chicken with a few pinches of salt and pepper. 

  In a medium pot pot, add the two tablespoons of smaltz or butter.  When melted and warm, add the shallots, carrot and garlic; cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the thyme leaves and flour; give it a mix and cook for about a minute. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the goat cheese. 

To Assemble the Pot Pies:

• Remove the dough from the fridge. Liberally flour your work surface and rolling pin. We’re going to start by making the tops. Begin to roll the dough, being sure to rotate it every so often, to avoid sticking. Place your small baking dish  face down on top of the dough, so you can get an idea of how big the circumference of the top should be. Using a paring knife, cut out two circles, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Press the dough onto the bottoms of cocottes and up the sides. If you like, you can use the extra dough to make a lattice or cut out little leaves—the possibilities are endless for the tops.

  Divide the filling amongst the baking dishes and place the dough tops on. Tuck the edges under and then crimp them all the way around. Brush the dough with egg wash and transfer to the freezer to chill for 15 minutes.

  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes (they’ll be super hot!). Eat immediately. 

Notes

If you don't have schmaltz, no worries, you can use duck fat, which they sell at most grocery stores in the deli section.

If you can't find duck fat, no worries, you can totally just replace the schmaltz with cold, diced butter!

To render your own schmaltz, here's how to do it:

1. Take chicken fat (you can get some from your butcher) and place it in a baking dish. Transfer to a 350 degrees F oven and bake for about 20 to 30 minutes, until the fat renders out and the leftover fat turns crispy. Remove the crispy bits and run the liquid fat through a sieve and into an airtight container. Transfer to the fridge until you're ready to use.

Nutrition

Serving: 2g

Did you make this recipe? Tag me today!

Tag @acozykitchen on Instagram & hashtag it #acozykitchen

No ratings yet

Print Recipe

Schmaltz Pie Crust

Author: Adrianna Adarme

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Serving Size: 1 (nine-inch) pie crust

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• 6 tablespoons cold schmaltz
• ¼ cup cold water

Filling:

• 2 chicken thighs
• 1 shallot, peeled and minced
• 1 small carrot, peeled and diced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 ¼ cup chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons goat cheese

Instructions

To Make the Crust:

• In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the cold schmaltz and working quickly, and using your hands, break the fat into bits until they're evenly distributed and resemble the size of small peas.
• Add the water and mix. The dough might seem a bit dry and shaggy but keep kneading it until it comes together. If needed add a tablespoon more of water. Flour your counter and dump the dough onto it. Knead a few times more until it comes together. Form into a disc. Wrap the disc in plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour, ideally overnight.

To Make the Filling:

• Preheat the oven to 375F. Sprinkle the chicken with a few pinches of salt and pepper. 

  In a medium pot pot, add the two tablespoons of smaltz or butter.  When melted and warm, add the shallots, carrot and garlic; cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the thyme leaves and flour; give it a mix and cook for about a minute. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the goat cheese. 

To Assemble the Pot Pies:

• Remove the dough from the fridge. Liberally flour your work surface and rolling pin. We’re going to start by making the tops. Begin to roll the dough, being sure to rotate it every so often, to avoid sticking. Place your small baking dish  face down on top of the dough, so you can get an idea of how big the circumference of the top should be. Using a paring knife, cut out two circles, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Press the dough onto the bottoms of cocottes and up the sides. If you like, you can use the extra dough to make a lattice or cut out little leaves—the possibilities are endless for the tops.

  Divide the filling amongst the baking dishes and place the dough tops on. Tuck the edges under and then crimp them all the way around. Brush the dough with egg wash and transfer to the freezer to chill for 15 minutes.

  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes (they’ll be super hot!). Eat immediately. 

Notes

If you don't have schmaltz, no worries, you can use duck fat, which they sell at most grocery stores in the deli section.

If you can't find duck fat, no worries, you can totally just replace the schmaltz with cold, diced butter!

To render your own schmaltz, here's how to do it:

1. Take chicken fat (you can get some from your butcher) and place it in a baking dish. Transfer to a 350 degrees F oven and bake for about 20 to 30 minutes, until the fat renders out and the leftover fat turns crispy. Remove the crispy bits and run the liquid fat through a sieve and into an airtight container. Transfer to the fridge until you're ready to use.

Nutrition

Serving: 2g

Did you make this recipe? Tag me today!

Tag @acozykitchen on Instagram & hashtag it #acozykitchen