Skillet Chicken Pot Pie
By America's Test KitchenPublished on October 17, 2011
Time
2¾ hours, plus 1 hour chilling, 1 hour resting, and 30 minutes freezing
Yield
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
Dough
1 ⅔ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (8 ¼ ounces/234 grams), plus additional for work surface¾ teaspoon table salt 10 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 ¼ sticks), cold, cut into ½-inch pieces and frozen for 10 minutes2 tablespoons sour cream 4 - 6 tablespoons ice waterChicken and Vegetables
1 teaspoon vegetable oil 1 whole chicken (about 4 ½ pounds), cut into 4 pieces (2 breast pieces, 2 leg quarters, wings discarded) and trimmed of excess fat24 frozen pearl onions, thawed, drained, and patted dry, about 1 cup, or 5 ounces (142 grams), (to prepare fresh, see instructions below)1 medium onion, cut into ½-inch pieces (about 1 cup)4 medium carrots, cut into ½-inch pieces (about 1 ½ cups)3 medium ribs celery, cut into ½-inch pieces (about 1 cup)Salt and ground black pepperSauce
4 ¼ cups low-sodium chicken broth 4 tablespoons unsalted butter ½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour ¾ cup heavy cream ¾ cup frozen peas (unthawed, about 3½ ounces/99 grams)2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley leaves 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leavesBefore You Begin
Substitute 3 to 3 1/2 pounds of bone-in, skin-on chicken parts for the whole chicken, if desired. We recommend chilling the rolled and shaped dough in the freezer. The dough can be prepared the day before and refrigerated. The chicken and vegetables can also be prepared the day before.
Instructions
- Process flour and salt together in food processor until combined, about 3 seconds. Add butter and pulse until size of large peas, about six to eight 1-second pulses.
- Mix sour cream and 4 tablespoons ice water in small bowl until combined. Add half of sour cream mixture to flour mixture; pulse for three 1-second pulses. Repeat with remaining sour cream mixture. Pinch dough with fingers; if dough is floury, dry, and does not hold together, add 1 to 2 additional tablespoons water and process until dough forms large clumps and no dry flour remains, three to five 1-second pulses.
- Turn dough onto work surface. Shape into ball and flatten to 5-inch disk; wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm but not hard, 1 to 2 hours. (Dough can be refrigerated overnight.)
- Adjust oven racks to lower-middle and upper-middle positions; heat oven to 450 degrees. Heat oil in heavy-bottomed 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat until oil just begins to smoke; swirl skillet to coat evenly with oil. Brown chicken pieces skin side down until deep golden, 3 to 4 minutes; turn chicken pieces and brown until golden on second side, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to large plate; drain all but 1 tablespoon fat.
- Set skillet over medium heat. Add pearl onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 3 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and add onion, carrots, celery, and salt and pepper to taste; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Return chicken pieces to skillet skin side up and place in oven on lower-middle rack. Roast until thickest part of breast registers about 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer and thickest part of thigh and drumstick registers about 175 degrees, 18 to 25 minutes. Using potholder or oven mitt, remove skillet from oven. Transfer chicken to platter and let rest 1 hour. Set skillet with vegetables aside.
- (If dough has been chilled longer than 2 hours, let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before rolling.) Dust 16 by 12-inch sheet of parchment paper liberally with flour; roll, flute, and cut vent holes according to illustrations above. Transfer parchment and dough to baking sheet; chill in freezer until ready to use, at least 30 minutes (or refrigerate for 1 hour).
- While chicken rests, return skillet with vegetables to medium-high heat. Add chicken broth and any juices from chicken platter and bring to simmer, scraping sides and bottom of skillet with wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Pour contents of skillet through medium-mesh strainer set over large bowl; transfer vegetables from strainer to separate bowl and refrigerate. After fat rises to surface of broth, 15 to 20 minutes, skim with ladle or large spoon and discard. (You should have about 3 1/2 cups broth.)
- When chicken has rested, remove and discard skin. Using fingers or fork, pull chicken off bones into 2-inch shreds and 1-inch chunks; refrigerate until ready to use (you should have about 4 1/2 cups chicken). Wipe skillet clean; melt butter over medium-high heat until foaming. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture darkens slightly and becomes fragrant, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in broth and cream and bring to boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring constantly, until sauce is thickened and coats back of spoon, 8 to 10 minutes. Off heat, add chicken, reserved vegetables, peas, lemon juice, parsley, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste; gently stir to combine. Remove dough from freezer, lift off parchment paper, and place dough on top of filling. Bake on upper-middle rack at 450 degrees until crust begins to brown around edges, about 15 minutes; reduce heat to 375 degrees and continue to bake until crust is golden brown and filling bubbles, 15 to 20 minutes more. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.
to make the dough
to roast chicken and vegetables
to roll out the dough
to make sauce and assemble pie
Time
2¾ hours, plus 1 hour chilling, 1 hour resting, and 30 minutes freezingYield
Serves 6 to 8Ingredients
Dough
Chicken and Vegetables
Sauce
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Dough
Chicken and Vegetables
Sauce
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Dough
Chicken and Vegetables
Sauce
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
To make sure that our skillet chicken pot pie delivered real chicken and vegetable flavor, we built flavor, layer by layer, all in the same skillet. We seared the chicken, developing a deep brown fond (brown bits in the pan bottom), before moving the skillet to the oven, where we roasted the chicken and vegetables. Before topping the pie with our homemade all-butter pie dough, we deglazed the fond to gather up all of its flavor and use it as a building block for the gravy.
Before You Begin
Substitute 3 to 3 1/2 pounds of bone-in, skin-on chicken parts for the whole chicken, if desired. We recommend chilling the rolled and shaped dough in the freezer. The dough can be prepared the day before and refrigerated. The chicken and vegetables can also be prepared the day before.
Instructions
- Process flour and salt together in food processor until combined, about 3 seconds. Add butter and pulse until size of large peas, about six to eight 1-second pulses.
- Mix sour cream and 4 tablespoons ice water in small bowl until combined. Add half of sour cream mixture to flour mixture; pulse for three 1-second pulses. Repeat with remaining sour cream mixture. Pinch dough with fingers; if dough is floury, dry, and does not hold together, add 1 to 2 additional tablespoons water and process until dough forms large clumps and no dry flour remains, three to five 1-second pulses.
- Turn dough onto work surface. Shape into ball and flatten to 5-inch disk; wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm but not hard, 1 to 2 hours. (Dough can be refrigerated overnight.)
- Adjust oven racks to lower-middle and upper-middle positions; heat oven to 450 degrees. Heat oil in heavy-bottomed 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat until oil just begins to smoke; swirl skillet to coat evenly with oil. Brown chicken pieces skin side down until deep golden, 3 to 4 minutes; turn chicken pieces and brown until golden on second side, 3 to 4 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to large plate; drain all but 1 tablespoon fat.
- Set skillet over medium heat. Add pearl onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 3 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and add onion, carrots, celery, and salt and pepper to taste; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Return chicken pieces to skillet skin side up and place in oven on lower-middle rack. Roast until thickest part of breast registers about 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer and thickest part of thigh and drumstick registers about 175 degrees, 18 to 25 minutes. Using potholder or oven mitt, remove skillet from oven. Transfer chicken to platter and let rest 1 hour. Set skillet with vegetables aside.
- (If dough has been chilled longer than 2 hours, let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before rolling.) Dust 16 by 12-inch sheet of parchment paper liberally with flour; roll, flute, and cut vent holes according to illustrations above. Transfer parchment and dough to baking sheet; chill in freezer until ready to use, at least 30 minutes (or refrigerate for 1 hour).
- While chicken rests, return skillet with vegetables to medium-high heat. Add chicken broth and any juices from chicken platter and bring to simmer, scraping sides and bottom of skillet with wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Pour contents of skillet through medium-mesh strainer set over large bowl; transfer vegetables from strainer to separate bowl and refrigerate. After fat rises to surface of broth, 15 to 20 minutes, skim with ladle or large spoon and discard. (You should have about 3 1/2 cups broth.)
- When chicken has rested, remove and discard skin. Using fingers or fork, pull chicken off bones into 2-inch shreds and 1-inch chunks; refrigerate until ready to use (you should have about 4 1/2 cups chicken). Wipe skillet clean; melt butter over medium-high heat until foaming. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture darkens slightly and becomes fragrant, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in broth and cream and bring to boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring constantly, until sauce is thickened and coats back of spoon, 8 to 10 minutes. Off heat, add chicken, reserved vegetables, peas, lemon juice, parsley, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste; gently stir to combine. Remove dough from freezer, lift off parchment paper, and place dough on top of filling. Bake on upper-middle rack at 450 degrees until crust begins to brown around edges, about 15 minutes; reduce heat to 375 degrees and continue to bake until crust is golden brown and filling bubbles, 15 to 20 minutes more. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.
to make the dough
to roast chicken and vegetables
to roll out the dough
to make sauce and assemble pie
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