10/20/11

Recipe: The Best Turkey Pot Pie!

I love to cook and I feel that cooking is a creative and delicious medium that can inspire your all of your senses. 

Last Christmas I finally bought my first dutch oven. I was really excited to cook with it but didn't know where to start. So my dad bought me a cookbook, Braises and Stews, Everyday Slow-Cooked Recipes by Tori Ritchie. So far everything I have cooked from this book is absolutely delicious!! I am trying to make my way through the recipes and so far the only one I have made more than once is The Turkey Pot Pie in a Pan. Since it is the perfect time of year for this dish I thought I would share the recipe. 

Please note: I made some changes to the recipe for my liking and I will provide the original and note where I made changes. Enjoy!




you will need:

2 turkey drumsticks, about 2-1/2 pounds total
Kosher Salt
Vegetable oil
4 fresh parsley sprigs
4 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
2-1/2 cups of chicken broth
1 large baking potato (about 10 ounces), peeled and diced
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
Pastry for a 9 inch pie, homemade or purchased
1 cup frozen, thawed peas
Freshly ground pepper
Cheesecloth




 I used 3 small turkey legs because that is all my grocery store had. Rinse them and pat dry with paper towels, sprinkle with salt. Next, coat the bottom of you 10-12 inch dutch oven with a thin film of oil and set over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the turkey and cook until the skin is golden and turkey releases easily from the pan when lifted with tings, about 5 minutes. Continue to cook, turning with tongs as necessary, until golden all over, 8 to 10 minutes more.



While the turkey is browning make a bouquet garni with your herbs. I bought a package of poultry blend herbs because it was on sale and I figured a few extra herbs would just add to the flavor. This had thyme, sage and rosemary, and I added the bay leaf and parsley. Wrap the herbs in a piece of doubled cheesecloth and tie it.


When the turkey is browned, transfer to a plate. Stir the carrot, onion and celery into the pan. When stirring the veggies, this will pick up all the flavorful brown bits from the bottom of the pan.



Pour in the broth and tuck in the bouquet garni, let come to a boil. 


Return turkey to the pan, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until meat is starting to pull from the bone, about 1 hour. In the last 15 minutes or so, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.


Transfer cooked turkey back to plate and set aside. Discard bouquet garni.


Add the potatoes, cream and thyme leaves to pan and let come to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until potatoes are tender and cream is thickened, about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.


Meanwhile, roll out or trim pastry to 1/2 inch larger than the diameter of the turkey pan and place pastry on a baking sheet. bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes (it will shrink slightly).

* Using a pre-baked pie crust was a little difficult because it cracked and broke a bit when I flattened it out. Be sure to let it thaw before you use it and be gentle with it.  I dipped my fingertips in water and smoothed out the cracks and filled the holes with pieces of dough from the edges as it was needing to be trimmed anyway. This worked out just fine for me.


While pastry is baking, pull off and discard turkey skin, then cut meat off the bone and chop the meat into small pieces.


Add the peas and chopped turkey to the reduced cream mixture in pan and heat through, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper. 

* The last time I made it I felt that this did not turn out as thick as I would like and I felt the same way this time around. If you want it thicker like me, you can make a roux or use cornstarch. I used 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 butter and this made it just the way I like it.


Remove from heat and set cooked pastry on top of mixture in the pan. 

* I had to trim mine to fit and it broke around the edge from me handling it. It's ok though, I just added the broken pieces into the pan. It may not look perfect but it's still deeeeelicious!

To serve, spoon out portions of turkey sauce and crust directly from the pan.




This may be a bit time consuming but all the ingredients are affordable! This is great to do on a Sunday afternoon and it will make your home smell amazingly good. I just made this for my hubby and I and there was enough to fill us up as well as for leftovers the next day, so 4 servings. Enjoy!

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