Recipe(tried): Savory Chicken Pot Pies with Rich Pastry Crust

SAVORY CHICKEN POT PIES

2 chicken breast halves (with skin and bone)
6 chicken thighs (with skin and bone)
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 (49.5 oz) can chicken broth
1 small onion, cut into quarters
1 celery stalk, cut into chunks
1 small carrot, peeled, cut into chunks
FOR THE GRAVY:
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoon minced tarragon
FOR THE FILLING:
1 cup pearl onions, peeled
1 medium potato, peeled, cut into 1/2 chunks
4 small carrots, cut into 1/2 diagonal slices (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 cup broccoli florets
1 1/2 cup quartered button mushrooms
FOR THE PIE:
1 Rich Pastry Crust (recipe follows)
2 egg yolks, beaten

THE DAY BEFORE SERVING:
Season chicken parts to taste with salt and pepper. Melt oil and 2 tablespoons butter together in soup pot. Add chicken and brown.

Add chicken broth, quartered onion, celery chunks and carrot chunks and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is tender, 20-30 minutes. Let cool. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

THE NEXT DAY:
Skim cold chicken fat off top of broth. Reserve 1/4 cup fat for making Rich Pastry Crust. (Keep reserved chicken fat in refrigerator.)

Heat broth and remove chicken. Skin and bone chicken parts. Discard skin and bones. Cut meat into 2-inch chunks and set aside.

TO MAKE THE GRAVY:
Strain broth and return to pan. Over high heat, reduce the broth to 3 cups.

Combine 1/4 cup melted butter and flour in saucepan and gradually stir in broth. Bring to boil and boil 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in tarragon.

TO MAKE THE FILLING:
Cook pearl onions, potato, sliced carrots and broccoli separately in boiling water until tender, 5-10 minutes each. Drain.

Toss together cooked chicken, cooked vegetables and mushrooms. Stir in chicken-tarragon sauce. Divide into 4 (2 cup) oval casseroles.

TO MAKE AND BAKE THE PIES:
Make the Rich Pastry Crust. Divide dough in half and gather into 2 small flattened rounds. Roll first half on lightly floured board to 1/4-inch thick. Cut dough to fit tops of 2 casseroles, leaving enough dough to overhang edges by 1-inch. Repeat with second half of dough.

Brush edges of casseroles with egg yolk and place crusts atop casseroles. Flute edges. Make 4 triangular cuts in center of each crust and fold back tips of triangles. Brush crust with egg yolk (save egg whites for another use).

Bake at 400 degrees F until crust is golden brown and contents hot and bubbly, 20-30 minutes.

RICH PASTRY CRUST
"This refined version of an old American classic has a rich, flaky, meaty-tasting crust, thanks to its mixture of lard and chicken fat. The latter is a handy byproduct of the precooking of the chicken the day before. Make sure the chicken fat is good and cold when making the crust."

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup lard
1/4 cup chicken fat, cold
6 tbsp water

Combine flour and salt. Cut in lard and reserved cold chicken fat until size of small peas. Add water by tablespoons, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and dough forms ball.

Makes 4 servings
Source: Tuscon area newspapers, 1994