Daily Grill

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Turkey Pot Pie

Perfect for Thanksgiving dinner leftover turkey.

 

Turkey Stock
(you can skip this part by purchasing Chicken Stock)

3 lbs. Bony parts of Turkey, such as the back, wings and neck or left the over carcass
1 each Leek, about three ounces, trimmed and rinsed well
1 each Bay Leaves
3 cups Onions – medium diced (place on cup to the side for later)
2 cups Celery – medium rough chop
12 cups Water

Main Recipe

4 ½ lbs. Left Over Turkey cut into chunks - a combination of dark and white meat
3 cups Turkey Stock
1 cup Heavy Cream
14 Tbsp Butter
6 Tbsp Flour
1/4 tsp Hot Sauce - Tabasco or similar
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice - freshly squeezed. Salt to taste, if desired.
1/4 cup Shallots - finely chopped
2 cups Carrots - diced
3/4 lbs. White Mushrooms, cut into quarters, roughly 4 cups total
1 1/2 cups Green Peas - fresh or frozen
1 1/2 lbs. Puff Pastry, see note**
3 each Eggs, beaten


Cooking Directions

Step 1 - Put the Turkey parts into a large pot with the Water, Leeks, Bay Leaves, Two Cups of the chopped Onions and the Celery. Bring to a simmer and cook, skimming the surface often, to remove excess fat, foam and scum. Cook for about 1 ½ hours on a simmer. Strain the stock, discarding all the solids. (if using Chicken Stock skip to step 2 of this recipe)

Step 2 - Put three cups of the stock into a saucepan, saving the remaining stock for other uses. Add the Cream to the stock and bring to a boil. Simmer 10 or15 minutes or until reduced to 3 ½ cups.

Step 3 - Meanwhile, slowly melt eight teaspoons of Butter over gentle heat. Skim off the surface foam and carefully pour the clear center liquid into a cup. This is clarified Butter. There should be about six Tablespoon of clarified Butter. Pour this into a mixing bowl and add the Flour. Stir to blend.

Step 4 - Bring Stock with the Cream to a boil and gradually add the blended Flour and Butter, stirring constantly with a wire whisk. Add the bottled Hot Sauce, Lemon Juice, and salt to taste. Cook five minutes.

Step 5 - Heat the remaining six Tablespoons of Butter in a wide, heavy skillet and add the Shallots. Cook briefly, stirring. Add the remaining cup of Onions, the Carrots and the Mushrooms, and cook three minutes, stirring; add six cups of Turkey meat. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, about three minutes.

Step 6 - Add the thickened sauce to the Turkey and mushroom mixture, stir in Peas and blend thoroughly.

Step 7 - Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Ideally, you should use six ovenproof earthenware potpie dishes measuring about five and one-half inches in diameter. Spoon equal portions of creamed Turkey into the dishes, piling each portion up slightly.

Step 8 - Roll out Puff Pastry on a lightly Floured surface till you reach a 1/8 inch thickness. Using a round lid measuring about 6 1/2 in diameter cut out six rounds to cover the tops of the potpie dishes.

Step 9 - Brush around the perimeter of each round of pastry with beaten Egg to make sure a one-inch Egg-brushed margin. Invert one Egg-brushed round of dough over each filled potpie dish. Press the edges of the pastry against the upper side of each dish to seal firmly. Brush the top and sides of the pastry covers with more Egg.

Step 10 - Arrange the dishes on a baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake about 25 minutes or until the pastry topping is puffed and nicely brown.

YIELD: Six Servings

**NOTE: If you do not wish to make your own puff pastry, it may be purchased at most high-end grocery stores.

 

 

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