Turkey (or Chicken) Pot Pie

Whenever I make chicken pot pie, we have to call it chicken pot, chicken pot, chicken pot pie because of this show:

I know, I know I'm showing my age by posting all of these "old" youtube videos.

True Comfort Food

Well with all those turkey leftovers from Thanksgiving - I made turkey pot, turkey pot, turkey pot pie. I had also seen a tip on shredding the chicken (or turkey) and wanted to give it a go. It actually worked quite well. You just put the chicken (or turkey) in your KitchenAid with the paddle attachment and give it a whirl. I have to say there was a little bit of turkey flying out of the bowl at first but once I lowered the speed it worked well. Since this was leftover turkey, it was mostly the dark meet and it helped to find the sinewy pieces to remove.

Quick shred using a KitchenAid and the paddle attachment

Turkey (or Chicken) Pot Pie

For Crust:
1 c white whole wheat flour or 1 c regular whole wheat flour
2 c flour
1/2 t salt
1 t poultry seasoning
6T butter, chilled - cut into tablespoons
3-5 T ice water

To help this crust come along easier, place dry ingredients in food processor bowl and chill for 1 hour.
Buzz ingredients in food processor to mix. Add butter and pulse until there are still small pieces of butter; it should look like cornmeal. Add 3T of ice water and pulse. Add additional water as necessary. You should be able to press the "flour" together and it should stick. Separate the crumbly dough into two separate pieces of plastic wrap. Refrigerate dough rounds for at least 1/2 hour.

Filling:
1 onion, chopped
2-3 carrots, cubed
2 stalks celery, peeled* and chopped
olive oil
salt
1/2 c wine (optional)
1t dried thyme (if you're too lazy to go outside and get fresh as I was today)
1/2 t dried sage (ditto)
3 T butter
3 T flour
2 c chicken stock (or turkey)
2 c chopped or shredded chicken (or turkey)
1 c frozen peas
salt/pepper

In a large skillet saute onion, carrots, and celery in olive oil with a little salt until softened. If using wine add and cook until reduced (you will start to hear it sizzle again). Add thyme and sage.  Add butter. Once butter is melted stir in flour; stirring until absorbed. Gradually pour stock in, stirring constantly. Heat until thickened. Add chicken and stir in peas. Add additional seasoning to taste.

To assemble:

Remove 1 dough round from refrigerator. Roll out on floured surface to about a 12" round. Place in 10" round pie dish. Spoon in filling. Roll out other round to a 12" circle. Place lid on top of pie; seal and crimp. Cut vent holes in top. Place on rimmed pan to catch leaks. Bake at 350 for 1 hour until browned.

The filling recipe is a little loosey-goosey sort of thing. It's what you have on hand. Some leeks would be nice to add in or even some cubed potatoes. You can also make the crust early in the day and the filling. I would just warm the filling a little before using it.

I realized that I definitely used too much turkey and probably shouldn't have let the KitchenAid shred it so finely but I was desperate to use it up. I probably had almost 3 - 3 1/2 c of the turkey. Because I had so much turkey, I should've used a little more liquid. I prefer it a little more liquidy. The whole wheat flour adds a little extra flavor as do the herbs in the crust. I usually use fresh herbs but was just too lazy to go outside and get them. All in all it still turned out to be yummy turkey pot, turkey pot, turkey pot pie.

Definitely needed more liquid

*Peel your celery - it gets rid of that stringy stuff. You might not need to peel the inner stalks but the outer ones are definitely woody and need peeling.