How to Make the Perfect Chicken Pie _ Life and Style _ the Guardian

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How to make the perfect chicken pieChicken pie is the ultimate winter comfort food. But should you roast or poach the bird, top it withshortcrust or puff and what goes into the sauce?

Felicity CloakeThursday 16 January 2014 08.00 GMT

If a roast chicken, golden and glistening with festivity, is a show-stopping stiletto of adish, the pie that inevitably follows is a comfortable slipper not as glamorous, perhaps,but innitely nicer to slip into on a cold January evening.

The chickenThough it is an ideal send-o for the remainder of the Sunday roast, chicken pie is a dishdelicious enough to sacrice an entire bird for. For all the wonderful avour in a roastchicken, the cooking process makes a certain dryness inevitable; instead, followingAngela Boggiano in Pie, I'd suggest poaching the bird in an aromatic broth, so you getjuicy meat and a well-avoured stock to make the base of the sauce. If you're usingleftovers, any surplus gravy will serve the same purpose, though you may have to setthis aside in advance before it disappears on to the roast potatoes.

Brining the bird before cooking, as Heston Blumenthal suggests, just masks the avour ofthe meat denitely not worth the hassle.

The vegetablesVegetables not only serve to bulk out the dish, but should add a welcome contrast ofavours and texture. Many of the varieties I try meet only one of these criteria:mushrooms, used by Bon Apptit magazine and Rachel Allen, taste good but end upslimy, while Bon Apptit's peas and carrots are mushy and overcooked (although I quitelike their idea of adding any more robust leftovers: spuds or parsnips would no doubtwork better).

Most popular of all, and for good reason, are leeks, deployed by Jamie Oliver, Blumenthaland Boggiano. As one of the few vegetables that laugh in the face of fashionably al dente,they cook down to a silky richness in the sauce. Softening them in butter or evenBlumenthal's chicken fat rst is vital. I don't think you need onions as well, unlessyou've got one that needs using up I certainly can't detect them in Boggiano's version.

Oliver sticks chestnuts in too, but presumably only because his is a version designed tosee o the last of the Christmas turkey the mealy texture doesn't sit well here.

The porkHam is popular in poultry pies, adding a savoury note missing from the creamy chickenor turkey. It is something else you might still have in the freezer from the recentfestivities, but if not, I advise going for Oliver's bacon instead. It renders more fat into



the sauce, which infuses it with porky loveliness use big, fat chunks (often fancilydubbed lardons) rather than his chopped rashers, which are too weedy for the task.

The sauceThis is what makes or breaks a chicken pie and I have to do battle with several claggy,bland pretenders in my quest for perfection. All the sauces I try, with the exception ofBon Apptit's version, are dairy-based. If properly seasoned, they work well with poultry but I think they need more than Blumenthal and Boggiano's white wine to pep themup. The stock used by Boggiano, Allen and Oliver is a start, but Bon Apptit's gravy yieldsby far the best avour. Easy enough if you've had a roast; harder, admittedly, if you'repoaching the bird. However, reducing the cooking liquor until it is intensely chickeny,then adding traditional gravy accompaniments such as madeira or a nice round sherry,will do the trick. Dairy-wise, I nd Allen and Blumenthal's double cream too rich andthick, and Oliver's creme fraiche aggressively tangy; Boggiano's single cream proves ahappy medium.

Oliver and Boggiano thicken their sauces with our, while Blumenthal goes for theseaweed-based agar agar on the basis that "it ensures a really smooth nish withoutmasking avour as starch does." To be honest, I don't think the starch does mask theavour, but I do nd all the cream sauces too thick (with the exception of Oliver, whoserves his separately to pour over at the table). The llings are dense and almost solid bythe time they get to the table, whereas I'd prefer a gravy consistency, so I'm leaving outthe thickener altogether.

FlavouringsBon Apptit uses thyme and parsley; Oliver parsley and sage; Allen marjoram ortarragon; and Blumenthal and Boggiano tarragon alone. Thyme and sage, those oldfriends of all things feathered, will do, but I love the sweet, anise avour of tarragon,especially when paired with Boggiano's lemon zest both lift the dish without stealingthe show, unlike Blumenthal's double mustard combo.

ToppingAllen tops her pie with a rich mashed potato, but that feels wrong with chicken. I think ithas to be pastry, and pu at that Boggiano and Bon Apptit's shortcrust is too dry andcrumbly for my liking. I won't judge you for buying it, but if you're poaching a chicken,you may as well go the whole hog and make the pastry too: a nice aky rough pu wouldbe perfect. Special but not too special for a Monday evening relaxing with the Sundaypapers.

The perfect chicken pie(Serves 4-6)1 small chicken, about 1.4kg, or 550g cooked chicken meat (in which case you'll need500ml gravy and to start at step 2, missing out step 5, or 500ml stock, starting at step 2)1 large carrot, washed and quartered but not peeled1 onion, quartered but not peeled2 sticks of celery, quartered1 bay leafA few black peppercornsBunch of tarragon



Slug of madeira or sweetish sherry40g butter100g bacon chunks or lardons, chopped into cubes2 leeks, roughly chopped200ml single creamZest of 1 lemonFor the pastry (or use 500g puff pastry)225g plain our225g very cold butter100ml iced water1 egg, beaten with a little milk or water

1. Put the chicken, if poaching, in a large pan with the carrot, onion, celery, bay leaf,peppercorns and a few sprigs of tarragon. Cover with cold water, bring to the boil, thenskim any scum o the surface. Turn down the heat and simmer gently for about 45minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

2. Meanwhile, start the pastry. Sift the our and a generous pinch of salt on to a coldsurface. Cut the butter into 1cm cubes and stir it in, then gently squidge the twotogether, so the our combines with the lumps of butter the aim is not to mix itcompletely, so it turns into crumbs, but to have small lumps of butter coated with our.Like the name, it should look quite rough, even unnished.

3. Sprinkle a little of the water over the top and stir it in. Add enough water to bring itinto a dough (unless your kitchen is very dry, you probably won't need it all), withoutoverworking the mixture, then cover with clinglm and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

4. Lightly our a work surface and shape the dough into a rectangle. Roll it out untilthree times its original length. Fold the top third back into the centre, then bring thebottom third up to meet it, so your dough has three layers. Give the dough a quarter turnand roll out again until three times the length, fold again as before, and chill it for 20minutes.

5. Remove the bird from the pan and set aside. Turn the heat up and reduce the stock byabout three quarters to about 500ml this should take about 20 minutes. Add a goodslug of madeira or sherry, and season to taste. Once the chicken is cool enough, strip othe meat.

6. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark four. Melt the butter in a large frying panover a medium heat and add the lardons. Cook until golden, then scoop out of the panand set aside. Add the leeks to the pan and fry for about seven minutes until silky, thenturn the heat up and, once the pan is hot, add the stock to the pan; it should sizzle. Allowto bubble for a minute or so, then stir in the cream, lemon zest and the leaves of theremaining tarragon, roughly chopped, plus the bacon. Season to taste, then stir in thechicken.

7. Pour the chicken and sauce into a large pie dish and allow to cool. Roll out the pastryon a lightly oured surface to about 5mm thick. Brush the rim of the pie dish with eggwash, then place the pastry on top, pressing down to seal. Crimp the edges if you like,then cut a small hole in the top and brush the whole lot with egg wash.



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8. Bake for about 30-40 minutes until the pastry is risen and golden, and allow to coolslightly before serving.

Chicken pie: pastry or mash, cream or gravy or, indeed, curry sauce? And if not pie,what else do you do with a leftover roast fowl of any stripe?

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How to Make the Perfect Chicken Pie _ Life and Style _ the Guardian