Turkey Pot Pie
OK, you've made a beautiful chicken or turkey, and now you've got tons of leftovers! There are so many things you can do to use up leftover chicken or turkey, but one of my favorites is a nice deep dish pot pie. This is a dish where a lot of personal taste comes into play. I have always preferred my stews quite thick, and my pot pies even thicker - not at all runny.
Another thing that is great to accomplish is learning how to make a pie crust from scratch. It's a chore, but once you realize how much cheaper it is than the store-bought pie crusts, you'll be amazed. File this kind of recipe under the "love to cook" category. You're going to make a mess. Check out the pie crust page for more information. |
Ingredients:
Filling: 2 cups cooked turkey or chicken (a little less than a pound) 1 cup peas 1 cup sliced carrots 1 cubed potato 4 cups thick gravy (see below) Gravy: 4 cups turkey or chicken broth 12 Tbsp butter or margarine 12 Tbsp (3/4 cup) flour Crust: 2 2/3 cups flour 1 tsp salt 6 - 12 Tbsp ice cold water Flour for working dough Directions: (Filling) 1. Slice potatoes and carrots as needed, and pre-boil until almost cooked. Pre-boil peas. Cool vegetables down with cold water so they stop cooking. Put aside. 2. Measure out about 2 cups of cooked, diced or cut turkey or chicken. 3. Make roux for gravy by melting butter or margarine, then whisking in the flour. Keep heat low enough so that it doesn't burn. Cook for about 5 minutes to cook the flour. 4. Add some of the broth to the roux and whisk to avoid lumps. 5. Add remaining broth and continue cooking and whisking or stirring often so bottom does not burn. Season to taste as needed. 6. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the thick gravy does not taste like "raw flour." 7. Mix together gravy, vegetables, and meat. Put aside. (Continue on to pie crust.) Potatoes, carrots, peas, and meat are mixed with the double-thick gravy.
This thick gravy uses twice as much flour and margarine as a "medium" sauce.
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(Pie Crust) 1. Pre-measure shortening and put in refrigerator until ready to use. 2. Put some ice cubes in a cup or glass then fill with water to have ice water ready. 3. Sift together flour and salt. 4. Add some of the ice water to flour mixture and stir around with a fork to begin mixing 5. Continue adding water, tablespoon by tablespoon and mixing with a fork until a lump of the dough squeezed together with the thumb and index finger doesn't crumble away. (It will still look a bit too dry.) 6. Turn dough out onto flour work surface and form into a ball. Cut ball in almost-half, the share for the dish being a bit MORE than the share for the top. 7. Put the top share back into the fridge. 8. Roll out the dough to about 2 inches larger than the pie plate, so it will cover the edges. 9. Place the crust gently into the pie plate, making sure the crust goes at least to the edge and overlapping by about 1/2 inch. ****PUT FILLING IN THE CRUST**** (Top the pie) 1. Roll out the remaining dough to about 3/4 inch bigger than the plate. 2. Carefully place dough on top of filling and bottom crust. 3. Trim to just a bit larger than bottom crust. 4. Roll top crust under bottom crust and tuck it in so it will seal when crimped. 5. Crimp with thumb of one hand (inside rim) and index and middle fingers of the other hand (outside rim) to seal. 6. Cut slits or vents in the top crust to allow steam to escape. 7. Brush top with egg to help browning. 8. Refrigerate pie until it's time to bake, then bake at 350 for an hour or so. Keep everything as cold as possible when making a pie crust.
Overlap and roll the top edge over the bottom to seal by crimping.
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