Chicken Pot Pie (with Crust on the Bottom!)

Author Notes: This was one of my favorites as a kid, one of the first meals I made on my own, and one that I’m constantly reinventing to make even better. It triggers so ma (…more) —Carla Hall

Serves 8

For the flaky butter crust:

1tablespoon sugar
1/2teaspoon table salt
1/3cup water
1/2pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 1/4cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

In a small bowl, dissolve the sugar and salt in the water. Refrigerate until very cold, about 30 minutes. During that time, refrigerate your butter, flour, mixer bowl, and paddle, too.
Make sure your butter’s cut into 1/2-inch dice. Bigger pieces will make your dough puffy. In the chilled bowl, combine the cold butter and flour. With your hands, toss the butter in the flour until each cube is lightly coated.
With the chilled paddle, beat the flour-butter mixture on low speed to just break up the butter, about 30 seconds. Add the water mixture all at once and raise the speed to medium-low. Beat just until the dough comes together in big chunks, then immediately turn off the mixer.
Divide the chunks of dough in half and very gently pat each group into a round 1-inch-thick disk. Wrap each tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour, before rolling. You can refrigerate the disks for up to 1 day or freeze for up to 3 months.

For the pot pies:

Flaky butter crust (from above)
1large egg
1teaspoon water
3tablespoons canola or other neutral oil
4medium yellow onions, diced
1pound carrots, cut in half lengthwise then into 1/2-inch-thick half-moons
6celery ribs, cut in half lengthwise then into 1/2-inch-thick slices at an angle
4sprigs fresh thyme
6fresh sage leaves
2sprigs fresh rosemary
2fresh or dried bay leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2quarts chicken stock or store-bought unsalted chicken broth
Two2 1/2-pound chickens, each cut into 8 pieces (2 wings, 2 legs, 2 breasts, 2 thighs)
4tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
3/4cup all-purpose flour
1/4cup heavy cream
One10-ounce package frozen baby peas (2 cups)

To make the pie crust: Divide each disc of dough into 4 pieces (so that you have 8 total), flatten each piece into a disk, and wrap each tightly in plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes.
Place one oven rack near the top of the oven and one near the bottom. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
Roll each disk into 1/8-inch-thick round (they don’t have to be perfect circles). Transfer to parchment paper–lined half sheet pans. In a small bowl, beat the egg with the water. Brush the egg wash over all the dough rounds. Bake until golden, about 20 minutes, switching the positions of the pans halfway through baking. Transfer the pans to wire racks and let cool completely.
To make the filling: In an extra large Dutch oven or a stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery, thyme, sage, rosemary, and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper, then cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 15 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.
Add all the chicken pieces, return to a boil, then lower to heat to maintain a bare simmer. Cover and cook until the chicken is just cooked through, about 30 minutes. Begin checking the chicken after 15 minutes; pull pieces out and transfer to a large platter as they’re finished. Smaller pieces, like the wings, will be done first.
Strain the stock through a sieve, reserving the vegetables and stock separately, but removing and discarding the herbs. Keep the broth hot.
When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skin and bones and pull the meat into bite-size pieces.
In a very large saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour until smooth. Whisk in the hot stock and bring to a boil, whisking occasionally. Continue cooking until the sauce has the consistency of heavy cream, then stir in the heavy cream. Bring to a boil again, then stir in the chicken pieces and vegetables until well coated. When the filling is hot, stir in the peas. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Break each pastry round to form two half-moons and place one in the bottom of each serving dish. Divide the chicken filling among the dishes and top with the other half of pastry. Serve immediately.

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