# Making a good crust for a chicken pot pie



## pengyou (Nov 3, 2018)

Not sure whether to put this in with the chicken questions....or the pastry.  I have good recipes for cpp fillings...but I always have trouble with the crust on top.  It usually comes out too hard.  What am I doing wrong?  Is there a recipe out there that calls for pouring a batter on top of the filling and letting it cook into a bread top?  Does cpp usually have a bottom crust also?  I really love eating this meal...beef pot pie...the veggies...gravy...bread...meat...hmmmmmm oh!  I spilled some gravy on my shirt!


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## GotGarlic (Nov 3, 2018)

Please post your recipe. It's much easier to troubleshoot that way.

Do you have access lard? It makes the *best* pie crust. Pot pie does usually have a bottom crust.


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## Sir_Loin_of_Beef (Nov 3, 2018)

I make an 8-inch, deep dish  turkey pot pie right after Thanksgiving. I just buy Pillsbury pie crusts from the refrigerated or frozen foods section of the supermarket. 

Some pot pies have a bottm crust, such as Marie Callender's, while some don't, for example Kentucky Fried Gerbil's and Boston Market's chicken pies. 

It is also common to place the filling in an oven safe container such as a casserole dish, drop dollops of biscuit batter or refrigerated biscuits on top, and bake it in the oven.


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## GotGarlic (Nov 3, 2018)

Sir_Loin_of_Beef said:


> I make an 8-inch, deep dish  turkey pot pie right after Thanksgiving. I just buy Pillsbury pie crusts from the refrigerated or frozen foods section of the supermarket.
> 
> Some pot pies have a bottm crust, such as Marie Callender's, while some don't, for example Kentucky Fried Gerbil's and Boston Market's chicken pies.
> 
> It is also common to place the filling in an oven safe container such as a casserole dish, drop dollops of biscuit batter or refrigerated biscuits on top, and bake it in the oven.


He lives in China. I'm not sure they have frozen pie crusts there.


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## Steven c (Nov 3, 2018)

I use the old Betty Crocker’s pie crust recipe and it always seems to work out well for me. I use a crust on top and bottom for pot pie using crisco shortening, but lard is the way to go as my mother always swore by that. 

Most of the time I do chicken pot pie but this one I made a beef pie  since I used a skillet and beef I left the top more rustic looking instead of usual pinched edges. I think I did a egg wash and just folded it over and let them sit to cool a bit and firm up some.


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## letscook (Nov 3, 2018)

I have used puff pastry sheets on the top only at times , but always like regular pie crust for bottom and the top.


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## Addie (Nov 3, 2018)

letscook said:


> I have used* puff pastry sheets* on the top only at times , but always like regular pie crust for bottom and the top.



So do I. Only, I do brush each layer with melted butter. Or sometimes when I am feeling lazy, I just put nice chunks of cold butter between the layers. for the times I make my own crust, I use a combo of ice cold lard and butter. Nice flaky crust!


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## Cooking Goddess (Nov 4, 2018)

*Addie*, I think you're talking about sheets of phylo dough, not puff pastry. Puff pastry is more like an airy pie crust rather than thin sheets of paper.


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## pengyou (Nov 4, 2018)

GotGarlic said:


> He lives in China. I'm not sure they have frozen pie crusts there.




Bingo!  Can't do the instant mode.


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## pengyou (Nov 4, 2018)

Pie crust recipe is pretty basic: 


                             In  a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in butter until mixture  resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water, a tablespoon at a time, until  mixture forms a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours or  overnight.                             
                             Roll  dough out to fit a 9 inch pie plate. Place crust in pie plate. Press  the dough evenly into the bottom and sides of the pie plate.                             
Have the same problem with pie crusts...of course, this is a pie crust


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## GotGarlic (Nov 4, 2018)

The only thing I can think of is that maybe you're working the dough a bit too much. Can you get lard? I've only made pie crust a few times and I used all lard. It was delicious and really easy to work with.


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## Rocklobster (Nov 4, 2018)

GotGarlic said:


> The only thing I can think of is that maybe you're working the dough a bit too much. Can you get lard? I've only made pie crust a few times and I used all lard. It was delicious and really easy to work with.


Yes..I was going to mention this..be gentle..the secret to a good crust is the spaces in between the flour...when you work it too much, you create a compressed dough that get's hard when cooked..


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## Sir_Loin_of_Beef (Nov 4, 2018)

GotGarlic said:


> He lives in China. I'm not sure they have frozen pie crusts there.



If they have Buicks, they have frozen pie crust!


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## Rocklobster (Nov 4, 2018)

Sir_Loin_of_Beef said:


> If they have Buicks, they have frozen pie crust!


Here in Canada we have frozen Buicks..


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## Just Cooking (Nov 4, 2018)

Rocklobster said:


> Here in Canada we have frozen Buicks..


Do they say, "Sorry" for being frozen??
Ross


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## Sir_Loin_of_Beef (Nov 4, 2018)

Just Cooking said:


> Do they say, "Sorry" for being frozen??
> Ross



Only if they're eating a Milky Way


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## jennyema (Nov 4, 2018)

pengyou said:


> Pie crust recipe is pretty basic:
> 
> 
> In  a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in butter until mixture  resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water, a tablespoon at a time, until  mixture forms a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours or  overnight.
> ...



Make sure your butter and water are ice cold.

For a flaky crust, make sure you work the fat into the flour until it resembles peas — not coarse crumbs.  Coarse crumbs will give you a short crust, which is harder and crumbly.

Also, you can add a teaspoon or so of vinegar to the water.

I make chicken pot pies a lot and my pie crust is usually pretty spot on.  I often flavor it lightly with rosemary.


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## taxlady (Nov 7, 2018)

jennyema said:


> Make sure your butter and water are ice cold.
> 
> For a flaky crust, make sure you work the fat into the flour until it resembles peas — not coarse crumbs.  Coarse crumbs will give you a short crust, which is harder and crumbly.
> 
> ...


I agree, butter and water ice cold, and the teaspoon or so of vinegar helps too. I used to make horrible, tough pie crust, so I went on a mission to learn to make good pie crust. Those were the things that helped. I also use pastry flour, but I'm weird and I make whole wheat pie crust.


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## pengyou (Nov 8, 2018)

Just Cooking said:


> Do they say, "Sorry" for being frozen??
> Ross


  Canadian........eh?


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## pengyou (Nov 8, 2018)

They have Buicks...a foreign brand car in China is a status symbol, so they are willing to buy Buicks, Ford, Cadillacs....frozen pastry...I would say that 95% of all households in China do not have a real oven.  A good number may have something like a big toaster oven...but not what I would consider a tool to participate in the fine art of western cooking.  After your post about frozen pastry dough I did some searching...I think I may have found one.  Thanks for all of your input!  I hope to attempt this masterpiece this weekend...will let you know.


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## GotGarlic (Nov 8, 2018)

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]


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## Linda0818 (Jan 1, 2019)

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.


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## CharlieD (Jan 4, 2019)

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


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## GotGarlic (Jan 4, 2019)

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.


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## Linda0818 (Jan 4, 2019)

GotGarlic said:


> 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.


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## Cooking Goddess (Jan 4, 2019)

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...


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## GotGarlic (Jan 5, 2019)

Cooking Goddess said:


> 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]


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## taxlady (Jan 5, 2019)

Cooking Goddess said:


> 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 said:


> 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.


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## GotGarlic (Jan 5, 2019)

taxlady said:


> 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]


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## CharlieD (Jan 9, 2019)

Linda0818 said:


> 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
> ...



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


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## jennyema (Jan 9, 2019)

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


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## Linda0818 (Jan 9, 2019)

CharlieD said:


> 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.


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## larry_stewart (Jan 9, 2019)

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.


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## GotGarlic (Jan 9, 2019)

larry_stewart said:


> 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.


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## Linda0818 (Jan 9, 2019)

larry_stewart said:


> 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.


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