How to Bake Turkey Pot Pie From Scratch

Pot pies are wonderful. They can be savory or sweet and they are incredibly easy to make. Turkey pot pies are an excellent way to change the leftovers into something sublime.

The general plot is to use a nice flaky crust, a creamy sauce, some vegetables, and the leftover turkey that fills the fridge.

Whether a Turkey Pot Pie is enjoyed as a complete meal or with a fresh salad, this meal can satisfy the hungry worker, the hungry teen and the over tasked adult.

There are hundreds of pie crust recipes, so if one is not making the cook happy, another one can be tried. The important principle is that chilled butter or shortening meets good flour and gentle handling to create a flaky, tender delight of a crust.

FOR THE BUSY COOK:

Buy a frozen or refrigerated pie crust. Allow the frozen crust to thaw, but remain chilled. Always work with chilled pie crust dough.

Use the crust to line four 6 inch personal deep dish pie pans. This will take some experimenting depending on whether thin or thick crust is desired.

"Blind" bake the bottom crust for about 12 minutes in a 350 degree oven to prevent a soggy bottom.

FOR THE MORE AMBITIOUS COOK:

Ingredients and equipment:

2 cups flour. All purpose flour is best.

1 tsp salt

1 cup vegetable shortening

1/2 cup water

Pastry cutter

Medium sized mixing bowl

FOR THE LUXURIOUS PIE: THE BUTTER CRUST

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt. If using unsalted butter, use 1 tsp salt.

2/3 cup butter (A stick of butter is about 1 cup. Most sticks are marked as shown in the photo, so it will be easy to see where to cut off 2/3 of a cup.)

4 to 5 tblsp chilled water

Put the shortening or butter, salt and flour into the bowl.

Use the pastry cutter to "cut" the shortening into the flour. The mix should look like coarse crumbs when finished.

Add in the water and mix by hand until the dough forms into a ball.

Break the dough into two halves, make two balls and wrap in plastic wrap.

Chill in the refrigerate over night or for at least 3 to 4 hours.

Rolling And Blind Baking The Bottom Crust:

Prepare a clean working area and dust lightly with flour. Purists use a chilled slab of marble to keep the dough cold.

Using the rolling pin, gently gently attack one ball, rolling it out until it fits the pie pan, with about 1/2 inch left over.

Place into the pie pan and prick the bottom several times with a fork

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes at 475 degrees until the crust is lightly browned. Keep an eye on the crust as different ovens give different heat levels!

Preparing The Top Crust:

There are several ways to do the top crust. The first is to roll out the second ball and place it on top after the pie filling is in. Pinch the top and bottom crusts together, one inch at a time, giving each pinch a pretty little twist. Prick the top with a fork, giving a decorative set of holes. This is important as it allows steam to escape from the closed crust.

Or, cut the dough into strips and weave a top.

Or cut a square for each pie and leave an opening all around.

Another option is to cut decorative shapes and place them on the filling just before baking.

THE BECHAMEL SAUCE

The ingredients:

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

Pepper to taste

2 cups milk or half evaporated milk and half low fat milk

2 tblsp butter

Cook the flour and butter until the flour incorporates the butter. Do not brown the flour because a bechamel sauce is a white sauce. When each grain of flour is surrounded by fat, it is difficult for the sauce to be lumpy. This is the principle behind a "roux".

Bechamel sauce is the "mother" of all sauces that can go into many savory or sweet forms.

Add 1 cup of milk and allow to gently simmer, stirring with a wire whisk. Add more milk as needed to create a creamy, fairly thick sauce. Cook gently, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes.

For a cheesy sauce, add 1/2 to 1 cup of your favorite grated cheese. Stir and blend with the wire whisk until the cheese is melted and fully incorporated into the sauce.

Remove from the stove and allow to cool in a water bath. Stir frequently to prevent a skin from forming.

Then add the other ingredients and vegetables.

FLAVOR AND SEASONING OPTIONS

For additional flavor, there are several options:

Replace 1/4 cup milk with 1/4 cup of white wine

Replace another 1/4 cup of milk with 1/4 cup of chicken or turkey stock.

Add 1/4 tsp of favorite spices or 1/2 tsp of favorite herbs.

Add chopped, julienne, cubed or other bite sized pieces of turkey

THE VEGETABLE OPTIONS

There are great options for packing in even more nutrition or for substituting favorite vegetables for the traditional carrots and peas.

1 cup of diced carrots and 1 cup of peas

1 cup of sliced mushrooms will keep the mushroom lovers happy

Spinach and greens lovers can add 1 cup of well drained cooked and chopped spinach, collards or kale.

Put the delicious filling into the pie pans and put on the top crust.

Bake in a 450 degree oven until the top crust is browned and the filling is hot and bubbling.

For a 6 inch pie, this should take between 20 and 25 minutes.

If the cooked pies are not to be eaten right away, cool them down completely, using a cold water bath.

Keep chilled to 40 degrees until ready to heat and eat.

Eat the pies within 1 to 2 days, which is the standard time limit for sauces and gravies.

When reheating in a conventional oven, make sure to cover with foil to keep the crust from browning even more, then heat at 350 degrees until the filling reaches 180 degrees.

If reheating In the microwave, make sure that the sauce bubbles and is heated to 180 degrees.