Biscuit Chicken Pot Pie

Filed under Casseroles Poultry

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray. Poaching the chicken yields 2 1/2 to 3 pounds of picked meat and 2 quarts of concentrated stock. The filling can be refrigerated before baking for make-ahead dinners.

Ingredients

  • 1 Chicken, large, 5 to 6 pounds, for poaching
  • Kosher salt, or sea salt
  • 2 Onion, medium, peeled and halved, root end attached, for poaching
  • 4 rib Celery, 3 to 4, halved, for poaching
  • 1 Carrot, peeled and halved, for poaching
  • 1 bunch Herbs, large bundle of thyme, rosemary, parsley and fresh bay leaves, for poaching
  • 1 Lemon, thickly sliced, for poaching
  • 2 tbsp Olive oil, extra-virgin
  • 16 Mushroom, button, sliced or quartered
  • 2 Carrot, medium, peeled and diced
  • 1 Potato, peeled and chopped
  • 4 rib Celery, 3 to 4 small, chopped
  • 1 Onion, medium, chopped
  • Salt
  • Black pepper, freshly ground
  • 4 tbsp Butter
  • 3 tbsp Flour, all-purpose
  • 1 qt Chicken stock, homemade (from poaching) or store-bought
  • 4 sprig Tarragon, 3 to 4, leaves chopped
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard, rounded
  • 1 1/2 lb Chicken, poached, diced or shredded
  • 1 cup Pea, frozen
  • Biscuit mix, drop biscuit mix, prepared per package for 8 biscuits (recommended: Jiffy)
  • Chives, finely chopped, or parsley or dill, for the biscuits

Directions

  1. Poached chicken: wash and dry the chicken and season inside and out with salt. Put the vegetables in the bottom of a large pot with the herbs and lemon on top. Set the chicken on top and cover with water.
  2. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then poach at a low simmer 1 hour, skimming any foam. Turn off the heat and let stand covered 1 hour more.
  3. Remove the chicken. Strain the liquid, return about 3 1/2 quarts to the pot and reduce over low heat about 1 hour, to about 2 quarts of strong stock. Skin the chicken, pull the meat from the bones and dice or shred it. Refrigerate the stock and chicken until needed.
  4. Pot pie: heat the olive oil in a high-sided skillet over medium heat and cook the mushrooms until tender but not brown, about 8 minutes. Add the carrots, potato, celery, onion, salt and pepper, cover and cook 10 minutes more, stirring occasionally.
  5. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a pot over medium-high heat, whisk in the flour, then the stock. Season and cook 7 to 8 minutes, until it lightly coats a spoon. Stir in the tarragon and mustard.
  6. Stir the sauce into the vegetables, add the chicken and peas and transfer to a casserole or individual crocks.
  7. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Mix the biscuit dough for 8 biscuits with a little chives, parsley or dill. Drop the biscuits over the filling and set on a baking sheet.
  8. Bake until heated through and the biscuits are golden and crisp at the edges, about 10 minutes if the filling is still warm. If it's cold, bake the filling 20 minutes, add the biscuits, and bake uncovered 10 minutes more.