Can you substitute one kind of chicken for another?

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Puki

Assistant Cook
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I hope this question is in the right place.

I made these freezer Chicken Pot Pies (America’s Test Kitchen) and they are good. My crust sank in on about 1/3 of it and I’m not sure what I did wrong there, but the first one was tasty and I have five more in the freezer, which I love.

Next time, I would like to use some chicken thighs in there instead of all breast. I always have the thighs (I like them better) and recipes so often call for breasts. Not sure why.

It just seemed to me, in every bite of my pot pie, “Thighs would be better!”

Dare I swap the meats? ?
 
No question you can use thighs in place of breasts. Chicken breasts are most often used in recipes because most people prefer breasts to thighs because thighs are dark meat and contain more fat than breasts.
 
No problem with switching meats Puki. I do it all the time.

As the meat is browned and then poached in the broth - the amount of time to poach is really not longer.

Truth to tell, I think of all the times I've poached thighs - boneless and skinless, they don't take longer. The breast meat is often so thick, they are the ones that actually take longer.
 
dragnlaw said:
No problem with switching meats Puki. I do it all the time.

As the meat is browned and then poached in the broth - the amount of time to poach is really not longer.

Truth to tell, I think of all the times I've poached thighs - boneless and skinless, they don't take longer. The breast meat is often so thick, they are the ones that actually take longer.
Click to expand...


+1 dragn!

I rarely buy Chicken Breast, but I always have a 6.5lb.
bag of frozen Costco B/S Thighs in the deep freeze and they
are a snap to cook, anyway you like 'em.

Oh, and save that poaching liquor as Broth for another dish, I always poach them with a bunch of scrap veggies that I keep in the freeze, Celery hearts and nubs, Carrot peeling and stubs, Onion scraps, as well as some S&P, Bay Leaves, and Garlic Cloves ... ;)
 
... In fact, there's only two dishes that I make where I only use
Chicken Breast Meat

IMG_6553.jpg

CG's Smothered Chicken,
we had this just the other night
and DH was real happy with dinner!
DH: Have we had this before?
Moi: Yes dear, a number of times actually, it's that
recipe from my Food Forum
DH: YUM! Let's have this more often


william sonoma stuffed chicken.jpg
(photo courtesy of William-Sonoma)

and the other is William-Sonoma's recipe for
Provolone & Pancetta Stuffed Chicken Breast
https://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/provolone-and-pancetta-stuffed-chicken-breasts.html

Both dishes are A~MAZ~ING!!!
 
Oh my!
Just went over the Williams Sonoma recipe...

Kgirl - do you actually use 1.5 cups of Olive Oil to fry them?
 
I’m so happy to read all of these. Thank you!

Yes, the meat is cooked before freezing. First browned in a pan and then cooked (poached, I guess?) in broth.

They have me using the poaching broth in the recipe, so no waste there.

It is made to be frozen. They even say that if you don’t freeze it before baking, it’ll just be slop. It was hard to go through all that trouble and then just put them all in the freezer.

I love that I can have food in my freezer. No waste and no eating the same thing for every meal for 2.5 days!!

Next time, I’m doing thighs. Thighs will be better!!!!! Maybe I will try both and see how that goes.

Thank you so so much. :)
 
dragnlaw said:
Oh my!
Just went over the Williams Sonoma recipe...

Kgirl - do you actually use 1.5 cups of Olive Oil to fry them?
Click to expand...


Oh my gosh, NO dragn!
I shallow fry them in just enough Vegetable Oil,
maybe cup or so in my 10 inch SS pan ... I usually
only make 2 or 3 of the "Dolly" breasts when I
make this dish, but it's delicious, you gotta try it!
They're wonderful leftover as a sandwich the next day

https://www.discusscooking.com/forums/members/56875-albums1036-picture6402.html

https://www.discusscooking.com/forums/members/56875-albums1036-picture7896.html
 
You just rang a bell in my head! Yes, they said it would be sloppy if eaten right away... well, I actually did make that recipe quite a while ago and even with freezing I found it still sloppy.

Not one of my better attempts. :ermm: :(
 
For the sauce/gravy in chicken pot pie, make a Volute (chicken gravy). Simply melt 6 tbs. butter in a sauce pan, and add 6 tbs. AP flour. stir until well combined. Slowly stir in chicken broth until the desired gravy consistency is met. It should be slightly thicker than you want, as the veggies will release more water into the sauce. Season with salt, pepper, and sage.

Add the chicken, and par-cooked veggies into the volute. Fill your crust with the mixture. Top with crust, and cut small vent hole in the middle. Brush with milk, or egg wash. Bake until the crust is golden-brown.

There is no need to freeze anything.;)

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
Last edited:
Update to my response:

Just for grins, I found an ATK video for chicken pot pie. There was no freezing required, and they made the filling almost as
I described above. They filled the pie shell, brushed with egg wash, and baked it. They removed it from the oved and let it rest for a time, sliced it, cut wedges from it, and it was gorgeous. Here's that link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqESPpZhWQs

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
Yeah, I saw that video of the two crust chicken pot pie too. But, Puki stated that she wants freezer pot pies.
I love that I can have food in my freezer. No waste and no eating the same thing for every meal for 2.5 days!!
Click to expand...
I'm guessing that these are one or two serving pot pies, not large ones like in the video.
 
I would then suggest Making the filling veggies, adding the butter, flour, and liquid, the putting the pot pies uncooked into he freezer. When ready to use, pop them into a 350' oven and bake until the crust is done.

this would be like making an apple pie where the flour and sugar are mixed with the apples, put into the pie crust, and allowed to thicken while the pie is baking.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
I also prefer legs/thighs over breasts any time of the day and I've swapped these two on maaaany occasions with no problems. I'd say it's easier to cook things properly, compared to breasts. Wrongly cooked breasts are just dry, thighs are way more forgiving :)
 
Kaneohegirlinaz said:
... In fact, there's only two dishes that I make where I only use
Chicken Breast Meat

View attachment 46653

CG's Smothered Chicken,
we had this just the other night
and DH was real happy with dinner!
DH: Have we had this before?
Moi: Yes dear, a number of times actually, it's that
recipe from my Food Forum
DH: YUM! Let's have this more often


View attachment 46654
(photo courtesy of William-Sonoma)

and the other is William-Sonoma's recipe for
Provolone & Pancetta Stuffed Chicken Breast
https://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/provolone-and-pancetta-stuffed-chicken-breasts.html

Both dishes are A~MAZ~ING!!!
Click to expand...


You got the smothered chicken recipe here ? I missed it! Can you claw it up for me ?
 
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