Turkey Pot Pie

If there is something you might want to know about my wife, it is that she loves chicken pot pie. As the thanksgiving holiday slowly passes by, I thought I would do my thing to the turkey pot pie to keep her happy, and comfortable.  The pie itself is really quiet simple to make, but the only time consuming part is making the dough for the pie crust. Lets get started, as I am sure you have plenty of turkey left over from the thanksgiving feast.

For the pie crust:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 stick of unsalted butter, cubed, and chilled in the freezer
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 4 tbsp of ice water
• 1/4 cup of vegetable shortening, chilled alongside your butter

For the pie stuffing:

• 5 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 cups of turkey stock
• 2 cups of turkey, cooked and cubed
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 3 celery stalks, cleaned, and thinly diced
• 3 carrots, cleaned, skinned, and thinly diced
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 tsp of thyme
• 1/4 cup dry sherry
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 1 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 egg, beaten, for top of pie

Start by making the crust. To your food processor, or kitchen aid, combine the flour and salt. Next pulse in the butter to combine. Do the same with the shortening. Slowly add in the ice water (Not the ice). You want this dough to come together just a bit before removing. Once you have that, remove the dough and form it into a ball. Push it down a bit and lightly flour, cover with plastic wrap and place this in the refrigerator as you get the filling ready, roughly 30 minutes.

For the filling, to a large pot add the butter, and slowly melt. Next, add in your onions, celery, can carrot and cook down for about 10 minutes, stirring on occasion. Add in your flour, and stir, cooking for another couple of minutes. Whisk in your milk and continue to whisk until smooth. Stir in the turkey stock  and diced turkey as well. Lower the heat to low, and cook down for another 10 minutes. Next, stir in the thyme, parsley, peas, and season with salt and pepper. You will want to taste this a couple of times, getting your salt and pepper right on point before adding to your deep pie pan.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Now, lets get the crust ready. Lightly flour a clean surface, and remove the dough from the refrigerator. Roll this down to between a quarter to half inch thick, wide enough to overlap the pie pan. Add your filling to a deep pie dish, then top with the crust.  With a fork, press the edges against the pan. Cut a slot in the middle of the crust to release the pressure of the filling as it cooks. Next, brush the egg wash to the top of the crust as this makes a nice golden and shiny crust.

Put in the oven and cook for nearly 25 minutes until golden brown. It’s tempting, but let this set for roughly 5 to 10 minutes as this will let the pie cool down a bit, and hold together a bit better when slicing.

This recipe makes a great leftover, and allows you to get rid of more of that turkey! Enjoy.