Chicken pot pie is one of my favorite meals to make throughout the fall and winter.
Some versions of the dish can be pretty affordable to cook at home, especially if you use Costco’s $5 rotisserie chicken. Although the wholesale retailer raised membership prices this year, its chicken still costs the same.
I usually follow my mom’s recipe since she’s been making chicken pot pie for as long as I can remember, but I was curious if it really was the best or if a celebrity chef might know better.
So, I pitted my mom’s recipe against one from American cookbook author and TV host Ree Drummond who makes a lot of comfort food.
Here’s how the Pioneer Woman’s recipe compared to my mom’s.
Drummond’s recipe called for store-bought crust and cream or half-and-half.
Drummond’s chicken pot pie seemed really decadent.
Her recipe calls for a store-bought pie crust and a quarter cup of cream or half-and-half to enrich the filling.
The recipe also requires 3 cups of precooked, shredded chicken. Instead of using a rotisserie chicken, I just cooked my own. I was a bit worried the added caramelized flavors and richness of a rotisserie one would overwhelm the otherwise delicate filling.
Additionally, Drummond’s recipe calls for 4 tablespoons of butter, half a cup of diced onion, half a cup of diced celery, a quarter cup of flour, 3 cups of chicken broth, a quarter teaspoon of turmeric, and an egg.
Adding a splash of white wine is optional, and she recommends using fresh thyme, salt, and pepper to taste.
I made the filling on the stove.
I preheated my oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit for later but cooked my filling in melted butter in a large pot, per Drummond’s recipe.
After cooking the veggies, I added the chicken. I sprinkled flour over everything, cooked it for a minute, and then added the broth and wine.
My filling didn’t thicken much.
I then added the turmeric, salt, pepper, and fresh thyme to the pot before adding my cream. Drummond’s instructions say to cook the filling for about three minutes until it thickens, but mine didn’t thicken much even after more than five minutes.
I didn’t want to overcook the veggies, so I moved on to the next step. Since Drummond’s filling is made in a pot, the recipe says to transfer it to a 2-quart baking dish.
After that, I topped the dish with a rolled-out pie crust and brushed the top with a beaten egg. The crust has to be pinned down to the sides of the baking dish, so I vented the top of the pie with a sharp knife.
I was disappointed by the flavor and texture of Drummond’s pie.
Per Drummond’s instructions, the pie is done when the crust turns brown and the filling gets bubbly, which should take about 25 to 30 minutes in the oven.
Unfortunately, my crust fell in the oven. It might’ve been the brand I chose, but either way, it cracked in several places.
Because it was sitting directly on the moist filling, the pastry stayed soggy instead of crisping up. However, I had to take the pie out of the oven after 30 minutes to prevent the edges from burning.
Even after baking, Drummond’s filling was quite soupy, almost as if I hadn’t added the flour at all.
In terms of taste, I’m not sure why she used turmeric in this recipe. It gave the pie a curry-like essence, which was a bit strange with the thyme, in my opinion.
My mom’s recipe uses puff pastry, uncooked chicken, and extra veggies.
My mom tops her chicken pot pie with a Pepperidge Farm puff pastry sheet since it’s lighter and crackles better than a pie crust.
In addition to the standard carrots, onions, and celery — which Drummond also calls for — my mom beefs up her pot pie filling with white mushrooms and frozen peas.
Her recipe says to use half a cup of diced onion, half a cup of diced carrot, a third cup of diced celery, a cup of frozen petite peas, and 10 ounces of sliced white mushrooms.
My mom also adds three garlic cloves and a quarter cup of fresh tarragon instead of thyme to her filling. The tarragon offers a bright note that’s uncommon in many winter meals.
Additionally, the recipe calls for a drizzle of olive oil, 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, 3 tablespoons of flour, 2 to 3 cups of low-sodium chicken broth, a quarter cup of dry white wine, a pound of chicken thighs cut into 1-inch pieces, and salt and pepper to taste.
I sautéed the vegetables on the stove before adding the chicken.
I first preheated the oven to 375 degrees. Then, I sautéed the veggies in olive oil in a cast-iron skillet.
Once the veggies started to soften, I added the uncooked chicken and let it brown. The chicken doesn’t have to cook through all the way at this stage, as it will finish cooking in the oven.
My mom’s recipe uses a microwave roux.
Making roux in the microwave may not be a method that’s taught at fancy culinary schools, but it works.
I melted the butter in a glass measuring cup in the microwave and then whisked in an equal amount of flour to make a thick paste.
I then added wine and chicken stock to the measuring cup and stirred to dissolve the roux into the liquid. I poured the mixture into the skillet, where it quickly thickened and coated the veggies and chicken nicely.
I then laid the puff pastry sheet over the skillet.
Since my mom’s recipe is made in an oven-safe cast-iron skillet, there’s no need to transfer my filling into a new pan.
The puff pastry sheet can easily be rolled out and draped over the pie directly in the skillet.
There’s usually a gap on one or two of the sides, but that’s fine since some space is needed to let air escape. However, if you’re using a smaller skillet, vent the pastry before baking.
I immediately knew my mom’s chicken pot pie was the winner.
Once I saw the pastry on top puff up and turn golden, I knew the chicken pot pie was ready.
Unlike the crust on Drummond’s pie, the puff pastry on my mom’s crisped up into beautiful layers, and the filling was moist but not watery.
Based on the looks of each pie right out of the oven, I could tell my mom’s pie already had the upper hand — and the taste test confirmed it was the winner.
I preferred the larger, meatier chunks of chicken to the small shredded bits in Drummond’s pie, as they became quite dry despite all the liquid in the filling.
After this side-by-side comparison, I realized there was no reason to stray from my mom’s tried-and-true chicken pot pie recipe.
The post I made Ree Drummond’s chicken pot pie, but my mom’s skillet recipe with a microwave roux has the Pioneer Woman beat appeared first on Business Insider.
