Bakin With Bacon and the King

Hello Visitors to the Castle Baconia!   It’s ME – King Teddy with two Assistants today!   These ladies have a Mom who sent in a fabulous recipe that we’re sharing today……Miss Ellen of 15andMeowing is the “Mom” and these are two of her crew, Miss Penny and Miss Joanie who routinely help out at home in the kitchen. 

How lucky am I this week to have two beautiful ladies assisting in the kitchen.    We’re surrounded by bacon too – which is great because we can snack while we cook!    This recipe I’m sharing has a LOT of ingredients and sounds a bit complicated but it is worth it.   Trust me.   Ready?

Photos of SMALL pot pies and a full size pot pie

 

Chicken, Mushroom and Bacon Potpie

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds chicken pieces (2 whole legs and 1 whole bone-in breast) 
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 5 ounces thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 10 ounces sliced button mushrooms (about 4 1/2 cups)
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 leeks, white and light-green parts only, sliced and well washed (1 1/2 cups)
• 2 carrots, cut into a 1/2-inch dice (1 cup)
• 2 celery stalks, sliced (3/4 cup)
• 1 medium Yukon Gold or white potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (1 1/4 cups)
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup fresh or frozen peas
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• Package of two “ready to go” pie crusts or of course you can make your own
• 1 large egg, beaten

DIRECTIONS

• Step 1

  Place chicken in a medium Dutch oven or large saucepan, skin-sides down. Cover with broth and 2 cups water; add 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until chicken is just cooked through, about 20 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate; let cool about 30 minutes. Strain broth, discarding solids (you should have about 3 1/2 cups).

• Step 2

  Remove chicken from bones and shred meat into bite-size chunks. Discard skin and bones. You’ll need 2 1/2 cups chicken; save the rest for salads or sandwiches.

• Step 3

  Wash and dry Dutch oven or saucepan; add bacon and cook over medium heat until crisp, 7 to 9 minutes. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Discard all but 1 tablespoon fat from Dutch oven.

• Step 4

  Add mushrooms to pot and cook over high heat until golden brown and liquid has evaporated, about 6 minutes. Add butter, leeks, carrots, celery, potato, 1 teaspoon salt, and some pepper. Cook, stirring, until leeks are translucent, about 4 minutes. Add wine; cook until mostly evaporated, about 1 1/2 minutes.

• Step 5

  Stir in flour; cook 20 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in 2 3/4 cups broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring often, until potato is just barely tender, about 5 minutes (mixture will look very thick; that’s okay, as the vegetables will release liquid in the oven).

• Step 6

  Stir in chicken, peas, reserved bacon, and thyme. Season to taste; divide filling into to four small baking dishes or ramekins (with about 2 cups capacity), and let cool 30 minutes, or refrigerate, covered, up to 1 day. (See note below for baking dish dimensions for one large potpie instead.)

• Step 7

  Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll each prepared pie crust 1/8 inch thick; cut out rounds just larger than the diameter of individual baking dishes. Drape rounds over dishes with cooled filling; cut 5 vents in each crust and brush with beaten egg. Transfer dishes to a rimmed baking sheet and bake until golden brown and bubbling in center, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool 20 minutes before serving.

  Cook’s Notes

To make one large potpie, roll out one (or two “joined together”) prepared crusts into a 1/8-inch-thick round or rectangle that’s slightly larger than a 2 1/2-quart baking dish (such as a 9 1/2-to-10-by-2-inch-deep round one). Drape it over the cooled filling. Cut 5 vents in dough and brush with egg before baking.    Another alternative is using puff pastry for the top!

Penny and Joanie – you graced my kitchen with your beauty and please thank your Mom for allowing you to visit the Castle kitchen and help me make this yum recipe with your help for our guests!

Now let’s eat!

Your King………….tune in next week for more bacon fun!