Double-Crust Chicken Pot Pie
Patience is more than just a virtue. That (and rotisserie chicken) are the key to a perfect pot pie. Homemade crust always tastes best, but it isn’t always easy to work with. Luckily, incorporating sour cream and egg into the dough made it remarkably malleable and easy to handle. Using rotisserie chicken streamlined the process of making the filling because it was already cooked and full of flavor and needed only to be shredded into the filling. Cutting the vegetables small allowed for the filling to be made in one pot in less than 20 minutes. We also found that letting the finished double crust chicken pot pie sit for 45 minutes before slicing it gave the filling time to set up.
Ingredients
Crust
- 1/2 cup sour cream, chilled
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
Filling
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 onion, chopped fine
- 2 carrot peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces (2/3 cup)
- 2 celery rib, cut into 1/4-inch pieces (1/2 cup)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup half-and-half
- 1 small russet potato (6 ounces/170 grams), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces (1 cup)
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
- 1 (2 1/2-pound) rotisserie chicken, skin and bones discarded, meat shredded into bite-size pieces (3 cups)
- 3/4 cup frozen pea
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
Instructions
- 1Note: The double crust chicken pot pie may seem loose when it comes out of the oven; it will set up as it cools. You can substitute 3 cups of turkey meat for the chicken, if desired.
- 2FOR THE CRUST: Combine sour cream and egg in bowl. Process flour and salt in food processor until combined, about 3 seconds. Add butter and pulse until only pea-size pieces remain, about 10 pulses. Add half of sour cream mixture and pulse until combined, 5 pulses. Add remaining sour cream mixture and pulse until dough begins to form, about 10 pulses.
- 3Transfer mixture to lightly floured counter and knead briefly until dough comes together. Divide dough in half and form each half into 4-inch disk. Wrap disks tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. (Wrapped dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling.)
- 4Let chilled dough sit on counter to soften slightly, about 10 minutes, before rolling. Roll 1 disk of dough into 12-inch circle on lightly floured counter. Loosely roll dough around rolling pin and gently unroll it onto 9-inch pie plate, letting excess dough hang over edge. Ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with your hand while pressing into plate bottom with your other hand.
- 5Roll other disk of dough into 12-inch circle on lightly floured counter, then transfer to parchment paper–lined baking sheet; cover with plastic. Refrigerate both doughs for 30 minutes.
- 6FOR THE FILLING: Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, celery, salt, and pepper and cook until vegetables begin to soften, about 6 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly stir in broth and half-and-half and bring to boil over medium-high heat.
- 7Stir in potato and thyme. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until sauce is thickened and potato is tender, about 8 minutes. Off heat, stir in chicken and peas.
- 8Transfer filling to dough-lined pie plate. Loosely roll remaining dough round around rolling pin and gently unroll it onto filling. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch beyond lip of plate. Pinch edges of top and bottom crusts firmly together. Tuck overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge of plate using your fingers. Cut four 2-inch slits in top of dough.
- 9Brush top of pie with egg. Place pie on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until top is light golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees, rotate sheet, and continue to bake until crust is deep golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes longer. Let pie cool on wire rack for at least 45 minutes. Serve.
- 10TO MAKE AHEAD: At end of step 6, transfer filling to bowl and refrigerate until fully chilled, about 1 1/2 hours. Continue with step 7, then wrap pie tightly in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 1 month. When ready to bake, unwrap frozen pie, cover with foil, and place on rimmed baking sheet (do not thaw). Place sheet on middle rack of cold oven and set oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 1 1/4 hours. Uncover pie and brush with egg. Rotate sheet and continue to bake until crust is golden brown and filling is beginning to bubble up through slits and registers at least 150 degrees, 55 minutes to 1 1/4 hours longer. Let cool for 45 minutes before serving.