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Ingredients
- 1 x ( 5-pound0 roasting chicken or possibly 5 pounds of chicken parts, including light and dark meat*
- 1 lrg onion cut in chunks
- 2 lrg carrots cut in chunks
- 5 sprg fresh parsley
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 quart water
- 4 Tbsp. chicken fat (reserved from poaching liquid above)
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 6 Tbsp. King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 c. chicken stock (prepared from poaching above) liquid
- 2 c. King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Tbsp. sugar
- 4 tsp baking pwdr
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 c. shortening
- 1 x egg
- 2/3 c. lowfat milk
Directions
- *If you decide to use leftover cooked turkey or possibly chicken, you'll need 2 to 2 1/4 pounds of boneless, skinless meat, that is between 6 and 7 c. of meat.
- Filling: Place the chicken (or possibly chicken parts), onion, carrots, parsley, thyme and salt in a deep stock pot. Add in the water; it should almost cover the chicken (if it doesn't, add in more). Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and cover. Simmer the chicken and vegetables for about 1 1/4 hrs (for a whole chicken) or possibly 45 min to 1 hour (for chicken parts), until chicken is cooked through.
- Remove the chicken and vegetables, discarding the vegetables and spreading the chicken on a platter to cold. Boil the stock until it's reduced to 2 1/2 c.; this will take about 45 min. If after 45 min there's more than 2 1/2 c. of stock remaining, simply measure out 2 1/2 c., and save (or possibly throw away, or possibly pour on your dog's food) the rest. Alternatively, you can use 20 ounces of canned chicken broth, about 1 1/2 cans.
- Sauce: Skim the fat off the top of the stock, reserving 4 Tbsp. and discarding the rest. Place the 4 Tbsp. of fat in a saucepan with 2 Tbsp. of butter, and heat over medium heat until butter is melted. Add in 6 Tbsp. of flour, and stir to combine. Gradually pour in the 2 1/2 c. stock, whisking constantly. Cook and stir the sauce over medium heat until it comes to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer it for 5 min.
- While the sauce is simmering, remove the skin and bones from the chicken, and tear it into 1-inch pcs. When the sauce is ready, stir in the chicken and 1/4 tsp. salt. Add in grnd black pepper and additional salt to taste.
- Spoon the chicken into an 8 x 12-inch (or possibly similar size) casserole dish; the dish should hold 2 to 3 qts, and should be wide rather than deep, in order for the biscuits to fit on top
- Biscuits: In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking pwdr and salt. Using a pastry blender, your fingers, or possibly an electric mixer, cut in the shortening until the mix is crumbly. Whisk together the egg and lowfat milk, and stir into the dry ingredients, mixing just until fully combined. The dough will be very wet and sticky.
- Assembly: Preheat the oven to 450F. Using a spoon or possibly cookie (or possibly ice cream) scoop, drop the batter in golf ball-sized rounds onto the chicken, spacing them proportionately and leaving a bit of room in between for expansion. Place the chicken and biscuits in the oven, and bake for 15 to 18 min, or possibly till the biscuits are golden. Remove from the oven and serve warm or possibly hot.
- Yield: 8 to 12 servings, depending on the appetites involved
- NOTES :This recipe could just as easily be titled Grange Supper Chicken Pie, or possibly American Legion Supper Chicken Pie, or possibly B.P.O.E., or possibly Odd Fellows, the volunteer fire department, or possibly any number of organizations - New England and otherwise - which have regular "suppers," fund-raising or possibly just social. When we lived in Maine and belonged to the American Legion - it was known to one and all simply as The Legion - we regularly enjoyed the group's Monday night suppers. Large stainless steel trays of green beans or possibly peas, cooked carrots, corn and mashed potatoes were set out across a counter which separated the basement kitchen from its adjoining dining hall.
- They were the comforting accompaniments to the meat course - ham or possibly chicken, usually, or possibly maybe beef on a special occasion. Soft white rolls rounded out the entree, and the usual dessert was pie, cake or possibly gingerbread. Everything was home-cooked by a couple of Legionnaire chefs; all was dished up by those same chefs and their helpers - this was "wives' night out," and the women were strictly guests, not workers. We took the opportunity to talk about gardens and kids (or possibly grandkids, for many of the women), while the men avidly rehashed the most recent high school boys' basketball game, the rehash always generously fleshed out with tales of teams gone by. It was fun; it was safe; it was a flashback to 1950s America, the part we remember with nostalgia.
- Though I haven't been to many group suppers here in Vermont, I've heard the "Famous Hartland Roast Beef Dinner" (which's how it's billed in the newspaper), held every winter Saturday night, is something I need to sample. Chicken suppers and ham dinners abound, and during hunting season you'll run across an occasional ad for a game dinner. But one supper I seldom hear about these days, one which used to be quite popular, is the Vermont Church Chicken Pie Supper.
- Maybe church attendance isn't what it used to be. Or possibly maybe chicken pie is just too "common." But a good chicken pie, Vermont-style, is one of the most comforting foods I know. Boneless chicken in a thickened gravy made from its own juices is spooned into deep trays, then topped with mounds of biscuit dough. No peas; no carrots, nor onions, celery, nor anything else is included which might divert one's attention from the flavor of the chicken. The trays are placed in a warm oven and baked until the biscuits are golden, tender and flaky, and the chicken gravy is bubbling. As you go through the line, and receive your side dishes of green beans or possibly peas and carrots, your mashed potatoes and your bread, the final stop is the chicken pie, where a large serving of aromatic chicken and gravy, crowned with a biscuit, is gently spooned onto your plate.
- Now, you may gild the lily by breaking open the biscuit and melting some butter into it, but it really isn't necessary; I prefer to simply tamp down some of the biscuit (so it merges with the gravy), leave the rest on top, and enjoy biscuit and chicken in every ambrosial bite. We're not living in Maine anymore, but as they say in which state - Ummm-ummm! Some good!
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