Making a good crust for a chicken pot pie

[GotGarlic]

Good luck, pengyou!

While you're here, may I ask you a few questions? Thanks

What kind of cooking surface, cookware and fuel do most home cooks in China use? Is "wok hei" an important goal in home cooking? Do most Chinese home cooks do a lot of stir-frying, or are other techniques common as well?

Thanks so much [emoji2]

 

[Linda0818]

Chicken Pot Pie is one of my absolute favorite comfort foods and I often make a homemade pie, everything from scratch, including the crust. My crust is simple:

2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup Crisco shortening, cut in
A dash of salt

Then add water, a couple of tablespoons at a time, until the dough forms a fairly stiff ball and workable.

This makes a top and bottom crust. I separate the dough into 2 portions, leaving one (for the bottom) just slightly bigger than the other. Then I put the dough portions in between 2 pieces of wax paper and roll out to fit whatever casserole dish I happen to be using at the time.

 

[CharlieD]

Fallowing. Need to learn how to make one. My wife loves it. I never made it.

 

[GotGarlic]

I made pie crust for the first time a couple of years ago - I used lard. It was amazingly delicious and really easy to work with.

 

[Linda0818]

I made pie crust for the first time a couple of years ago - I used lard. It was amazingly delicious and really easy to work with.

My mom always used lard for her pie crusts, both sweet and savory. And you're right, it's amazing.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

We're near Amish Country right now, and I vow to not leave until we get a supply of lard to take back to MA! I've been making 1/2 butter-1/2 lard crusts lately, and they are the best I've made. I also use lard for frying potatoes, eggs, lots of foods that need a bit of "grease" in the pan.

Then again, maybe my hips don't really need me to buy that lard...

 

[GotGarlic]

We're near Amish Country right now, and I vow to not leave until we get a supply of lard to take back to MA! I've been making 1/2 butter-1/2 lard crusts lately, and they are the best I've made. I also use lard for frying potatoes, eggs, lots of foods that need a bit of "grease" in the pan.

Then again, maybe my hips don't really need me to buy that lard...[emoji38]

Hey, potatoes and eggs are good for you! Ya gotta fry them in something! [emoji16]

 

[taxlady]

We're near Amish Country right now, and I vow to not leave until we get a supply of lard to take back to MA! I've been making 1/2 butter-1/2 lard crusts lately, and they are the best I've made. I also use lard for frying potatoes, eggs, lots of foods that need a bit of "grease" in the pan.

Then again, maybe my hips don't really need me to buy that lard...

Hey, potatoes and eggs are good for you! Ya gotta fry them in something! [emoji16]

I'm reminded of my mother explaining why she used margarine when on a weight loss diet. "Margarine and butter have the same number of calories for the same amount of butter or margarine. But, when you are spreading butter on your bread, it tastes so good that you put a lot more."

Maybe those potatoes won't tempt you to eat quite so many if you don't have the lard for frying them in.

 

[GotGarlic]

I'm reminded of my mother explaining why she used margarine when on a weight loss diet. "Margarine and butter have the same number of calories for the same amount of butter or margarine. But, when you are spreading butter on your bread, it tastes so good that you put a lot more."

Maybe those potatoes won't tempt you to eat quite so many if you don't have the lard for frying them in.

But now we know that margarine is uniquely not good for you. Lard and butter also have the same number of calories, and similar amounts of yumminess.

As always, it comes down to moderation, eh? Willpower [emoji2]

 

[CharlieD]

Chicken Pot Pie is one of my absolute favorite comfort foods and I often make a homemade pie, everything from scratch, including the crust. My crust is simple:

2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup Crisco shortening, cut in
A dash of salt

Then add water, a couple of tablespoons at a time, until the dough forms a fairly stiff ball and workable.

This makes a top and bottom crust. I separate the dough into 2 portions, leaving one (for the bottom) just slightly bigger than the other. Then I put the dough portions in between 2 pieces of wax paper and roll out to fit whatever casserole dish I happen to be using at the time.

Do you refrigerate your dough?
What about the rest of the recipe? what do you use and how you make the filling?

 

[jennyema]

The key to a good pie crust is to use COLD ngredients. The flour, the liquid and the fat.

 

[Linda0818]

Do you refrigerate your dough?
What about the rest of the recipe? what do you use and how you make the filling?

No, I don't refrigerate it because I make the dough just before I put the pie together. As for the filling, well, I don't really use a recipe. Not anymore, anyway. It's a recipe I found years ago and fell in love with it. And I've made it so many times, I don't need the recipe anymore.

I put my pies, in most cases, in an 8x8 baking dish or a 9" deep dish pie plate. And basically I just get out a pot and melt butter to start making a roux. Once the flour is cooked down into the butter, I slowly add chicken broth, salt & pepper and, eventually, milk. I keep adding milk (and more flour, as necessary) until I feel I have enough gravy to fill the casserole dish and it has thickened. Then I add cooked chicken and peas and carrots. Sometimes I add diced cooked potato, but not always. I'll also sometimes add mushrooms (either canned or sauteed fresh) and I cook it just long enough to heat everything through, then put the pie together. I cut 3 slits in the top crust.

Then I toss it into the oven at about 375 until it's bubbly and the crust has a nice golden brown color.

 

[larry_stewart]

Although this doesn't offer any advice for a good pie crust, I had a chicken pot pie ( vegetarian) at a restaurant in NYC a few weeks ago. Instead of a traditional crust, they cut a home made biscuit in half ( a large one ). Put the bottom half on the plate, spooned over the pot pie filling, then topped it with the top part of the biscuit. Definitely not the same thing, but it was kinda of a nice ,easy quick way to make a similar dish. Ive actually made it at home several times since.

 

[GotGarlic]

Although this doesn't offer any advice for a good pie crust, I had a chicken pot pie ( vegetarian) at a restaurant in NYC a few weeks ago. Instead of a traditional crust, they cut a home made biscuit in half ( a large one ). Put the bottom half on the plate, spooned over the pot pie filling, then topped it with the top part of the biscuit. Definitely not the same thing, but it was kinda of a nice ,easy quick way to make a similar dish. Ive actually made it at home several times since.

That can be done with puff pastry, too, which is closer to pie crust.

 

[Linda0818]

Although this doesn't offer any advice for a good pie crust, I had a chicken pot pie ( vegetarian) at a restaurant in NYC a few weeks ago. Instead of a traditional crust, they cut a home made biscuit in half ( a large one ). Put the bottom half on the plate, spooned over the pot pie filling, then topped it with the top part of the biscuit. Definitely not the same thing, but it was kinda of a nice ,easy quick way to make a similar dish. Ive actually made it at home several times since.

That sounds a lot like Chicken a la King. I love that dish.