Recipe Mini Chicken Pot Pies

[The Late Night Gourmet]

I've made so many variants of chicken for my family that I wanted to do something different. I wanted to make chicken pot pie, but I didn't want a full-sized pie that had to be cut up. I decided to make individual pies. Pillsbury Grands Flaky Layers come 8 biscuits to a pack. i don't know if this saved me that much time, since I still had to roll them out individually. But, the result was fantastic. For the soupy part of the filling, I could have used cream of chicken soup, but I didn't have any, I like what I did (using liquids and flour) much better. And, I used duck fat to cook the chicken...something I'll do again if the opportunity presents itself.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds chicken breast, cut in chunks
Famous Dave's Chicken Rub
2 tablespoons duck fat
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup chicken bone broth
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup white wine
5 ounces canned peas, drained
herbs de provence
salt
pepper
2 packs Pillsbury biscuit grands (16 biscuits total)
1 egg

Directions

1. Trim chicken breasts and cut into chunks. Season with chicken rub. Melt duck fat into a pan. Cook chicken until done, then set aside.

2. Heat carrot slices with 1 cup of broth until softened. Drain the carrots, but save the broth.

3. Melt butter in a pan (I used the same one I used for the chicken). Stir flour into the butter until pasty.

4. Top off broth from step 2 to ensure there's a full cup. Whisk into the pan along with milk and wine. Season with herbs de province, salt, and pepper to taste. The mixture should be thick, but not pasty. Add flour or liquids as needed to achieve desired consistency.

5. Stir chicken, carrots, and peas into the pan with the sauce until fully coated and evenly distributed.

6. Using a muffin tin or cupcake tin, coat compartments with cooking spray and dust with flour.

7. On a well-floured surface, flatten out biscuits one at a time with a rolling pin. Place in a compartment in the cupcake tin, and continue with the remaining biscuits.

8. Fill a biscuit shell with filling from the pan. Pull dough over to seal the filling, then pinch closed. Repeat for remaining pies.

9. Whisk an egg with some water, and use to brush the tops of the pies. Bake in an oven at 375°F (190°C) for 15-20 minutes, rotating halfway through, until golden brown. Use a butterknife to carefully remove pies from the tin. Serve immediately.

 

[detroitdad]

That is a fantastic idea. It looks great!

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

That is a fantastic idea. It looks great!

Thank you!

 

[badjak]

I struggle a bit with the biscuit part.
Is that a ready made dough like shortcrust pastry?

 

[TastyReuben]

I struggle a bit with the biscuit part.
Is that a ready made dough like shortcrust pastry?

Canned (American) biscuit dough is hard to describe, as the finished product is really nothing like a homemade biscuit, except in shape. Different feel, different texture.

Canned biscuit dough is a lot more like a standard bread dough, so the dough can be stretched and rolled fairly easily, making it a popular shortcut for lots of different quick recipes.

Canned biscuit dough is rather iconic here, too. There are comedy routines and sitcom scenes, passages in stories about it - usually centered around the muffled WHUMP! that the tube-like can of biscuits would make when you opened them. The “can” is really a cardboard tube under a slight bit of pressure, so to open them, you have to peel off the paper labeling, find the seam, then give it a good whack on the edge of the countertop or table, and if you hit it just right, it pops open in your hand, expanding by about a third, and with a very distinct and satisfying WHUMP!

 

[badjak]

Your description of opening it reminds me of danone croissant dough.
Not danone, danerolles Products - Danerolles

 

[medtran49]

I really like this, though think I might try it in the larger size muffin tins.

On a side note, several years ago, Craig started complaining about an after taste with the Pillsbury biscuits and crescents. At the time, on another forum I believe, several people agreed. So, we haven't been buying canned biscuits, either making them ourselves or getting frozen ones. Recently, I decided to try Annie's (i think, they have purplish wrappers) brand. We both liked them. He said they had a very slightly sweet taste, which I didn't notice, but were much better than the Grands. The only complaint I had was they are much harder to get open than the Grands, a bit of a PITA actually.

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

Recently, I decided to try Annie's (i think, they have purplish wrappers) brand. We both liked them. He said they had a very slightly sweet taste, which I didn't notice, but were much better than the Grands. The only complaint I had was they are much harder to get open than the Grands, a bit of a PITA actually.

Thanks…I’ll give them a try. I adapted what I did from the Pillsbury website, so of course they used one of their own in the recipe.

 

[karadekoolaid]

For those not in the USA, I'd be inclined to recommend making your own dough. 200 gms all purpose flour, 80 gms butter, 20 gms lard or vegetable shortening and a touch of salt. bring together with just enough cold water to make the dough then freeze for 30 minutes before using.

 

[medtran49]

For those not in the USA, I'd be inclined to recommend making your own dough. 200 gms all purpose flour, 80 gms butter, 20 gms lard or vegetable shortening and a touch of salt. bring together with just enough cold water to make the dough then freeze for 30 minutes before using.

You can use butter in combination with the lard or vegetable shortening, or by itself. Freezing the shortening makes it easier to cut in, and you can actually grate the butter on a large hole box grater.

BTW, for those that have not made biscuits, the shortening has to be cut with a knife in smallish pieces, then you have to cut in the shortening into the flour and salt with either a pastry cutter, fork, or grate the frozen shortening as above. Or, use a food processor and pulse a few times. You can't just dump the ingredients in a bowl and mix.