Chef Juliette
Abatis aux Navets
Glazed turnips, pearl onions, and tender poultry giblets settle into a pale, glossy sauce, with crisp-edged salt pork lending depth: a thrifty braise whose whole success rests on cooking the flour first.
Culinary Explorer
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Chicken Pie
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1660, Chicken Pie, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
A deep chicken pie built in the classical order: veal beneath, fowl and bacon within, puff pastry above, then strong gravy poured through the gilded crust.
Main Dishes
French
Comfort Food
Dinner Party
Make Ahead
50 min
Active Time
1 hr 30 min cook•2 hr 30 min total
Yield4 servings
Pâté de Poulet à l’Anglaise (Chicken Pie) teaches the architecture of a covered pie. One true thing before you touch a pan: don't brown the chicken. This is a fricassée enclosed beneath pastry, and its delicacy comes from seasoned raw meat baking gently in consommé, not from a roasted fond.
The source assumed a saucier with chicken consommé and strong gravy always ready, a pastry bench rolling puff paste, and enough hands to joint the fowl while someone else watched the stockpot. At home, good prepared consommé, all-butter puff pastry, and unsalted chicken stock reduced to a few concentrated spoonfuls do the work. It needs no salamander because the gilded pastry takes its bronze in the oven. The entry is already close to a home quantity, so I have fixed its single fowl at a practical size for four and kept the three onions, 1½ ounces of mushrooms, 5 ounces of bacon, four yolks, and full veal lining in their original proportions. Homemade puff paste and laborious clarification are brigade scaffolding; the veal, bacon, yolks, three-quarter bath of consommé, and final strong gravy are the dish and must stay.
The finished pie carries a deep butter-gold lid over tender chicken, soft veal, salty ribbons of bacon, and yolks made rich by the clear cooking liquor. One cook, one stove, one evening. Cool the mushrooms and consommé, wipe the dish rim completely dry, and seal the pastry collar firmly. That seal is the step that decides the pie.
Chicken pie belongs first to the English household pie table, but French classical kitchens admitted it as a préparation à l’anglaise, retaining the covered-pie structure while applying fricassée cutting, consommé, and a gilded puff-paste lid. In this version, veal replaces the expected bottom crust, protecting and enriching the fowl while bacon and hard-boiled yolks make the filling generous. The strong gravy poured through the vent after baking restores the concentrated meat savor that a stock-rich professional kitchen could keep ready at all times.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
small whole chicken
Quantity
1, about 3½ lb (1.6 kg)
jointed as for a fricassée into 8 pieces
fine sea salt
Quantity
1½ teaspoons (7.5 ml / 9 g)
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1.5 g)
small yellow onions
Quantity
3, about 2 cups (475 ml / 300 g)
finely chopped
button mushrooms
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 43 g)
finely chopped
unsalted butter
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g)
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
1 teaspoon (5 ml / 1 g)
finely chopped
thin veal escalopes
Quantity
8, about 8 oz (225 g)
pounded no thicker than ⅛ inch (3 mm)
unsmoked streaky bacon
Quantity
10 thin slices, about 5 oz (140 g)
hard-boiled egg yolks
Quantity
4
halved
unsalted or lightly salted chicken consommé
Quantity
2 cups (475 ml / 475 g), or enough to come three-quarters up the filling
cooled
unsalted gelatin-rich chicken stock for the strong gravy
Quantity
1 cup (240 ml / 240 g), reduced to 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 45 g)
cold all-butter puff pastry
Quantity
1 sheet, about 14 oz (400 g)
all-purpose flour
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 8 g)
for rolling
cold water
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g)
for sealing
large egg
Quantity
1
beaten for gilding
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| small whole chickenjointed as for a fricassée into 8 pieces | 1, about 3½ lb (1.6 kg) |
| fine sea salt | 1½ teaspoons (7.5 ml / 9 g) |
| freshly ground black pepper | ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1.5 g) |
| small yellow onionsfinely chopped | 3, about 2 cups (475 ml / 300 g) |
| button mushroomsfinely chopped | ½ cup (120 ml / 43 g) |
| unsalted butter | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) |
| flat-leaf parsleyfinely chopped | 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 1 g) |
| thin veal escalopespounded no thicker than ⅛ inch (3 mm) | 8, about 8 oz (225 g) |
| unsmoked streaky bacon | 10 thin slices, about 5 oz (140 g) |
| hard-boiled egg yolkshalved | 4 |
| unsalted or lightly salted chicken consommécooled | 2 cups (475 ml / 475 g), or enough to come three-quarters up the filling |
| unsalted gelatin-rich chicken stock for the strong gravy | 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g), reduced to 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 45 g) |
| cold all-butter puff pastry | 1 sheet, about 14 oz (400 g) |
| all-purpose flourfor rolling | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 8 g) |
| cold waterfor sealing | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) |
| large eggbeaten for gilding | 1 |
Equipment Needed
- •Deep 3-quart (2.8-liter) ceramic pie dish, about 9 inches (23 cm) across
- •Small saucepan for reducing the strong gravy
- •Medium skillet
- •Pastry brush
- •Rimmed baking sheet
- •Instant-read thermometer
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the strong gravy
Pour the gelatin-rich chicken stock into a small saucepan and hold it at a lively simmer until only 3 tablespoons (45 ml) remain. It should taste deeply of chicken and lightly coat a spoon, but it must still pour. If it becomes sticky before reaching the right volume, loosen it with cooled consommé a teaspoon at a time. Ça se rattrape. Set the strong gravy aside; this short reduction is the home equivalent of the saucier's ready saucepan.
- 2
Cook the mushrooms
Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the finely chopped mushrooms and cook for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring, until their water has evaporated and they smell nutty rather than raw. Scrape them onto a plate and cool completely. Warm mushrooms soften puff pastry before it reaches the oven, so don't hurry this cooling.
The mushroom quantity looks modest because the source uses it as seasoning, not bulk. Keep the original 1½ ounces and chop it finely enough to travel through the whole filling. - 3
Season the fowl
Pat the chicken pieces dry and season them evenly with the salt and pepper. Sprinkle over the chopped onions, cooled mushrooms, and parsley, turning the pieces once so the seasonings cling to every side. Leave the chicken raw. Fricassée is the governing technique here, a gentle pale cooking in liquid, and browning the meat would change the pie's character.
- 4
Line the pie dish
Overlap the thin veal escalopes across the bottom and sides of a deep 3-quart (2.8-liter) pie dish, pressing them into the corners and leaving no broad gaps. The veal is not merely a liner. It shields the chicken from the ceramic, releases its own juices into the consommé, and becomes part of each serving.
- 5
Layer the filling
Set the chicken legs and thighs into the dish first, close to the bottom where the heat is strongest. Fit the breast pieces and wings above them, distributing the onions, mushrooms, and parsley around the joints. Tuck the bacon slices between and over the chicken, then place the eight yolk halves through the filling so every portion receives some. Pack firmly but do not crush the meat.
- 6
Add the consommé
Pour the cooled chicken consommé slowly down the inside edge of the dish until it reaches three-quarters of the way up the filling. Do not cover the meat completely. If the liquid rises too high, ladle some out and reserve it; an overfilled dish forces consommé through the pastry seal. Wipe the rim and the outside of the dish completely dry.
- 7
Seal the puff paste
Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C) with a rimmed baking sheet on the center rack. On a lightly floured surface, roll the cold puff pastry to about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick and large enough to overhang the dish. Cut a ¾-inch (2 cm) strip from the edge. Brush the dry dish rim with cold water, attach the strip as a pastry collar, brush that collar lightly with water, and lay the remaining pastry over it without stretching. Press firmly, trim, and crimp. If the pastry softens or tears, patch it with a cold scrap and refrigerate the whole dish for 15 minutes. Ça se rattrape, provided the pastry returns to the oven cold.
The separate pastry collar comes directly from the source. It gives the lid a broad, dry surface to grip and is worth keeping. - 8
Gild and streak
Brush the pastry evenly with beaten egg to gild it, meaning to coat it so the oven gives it a golden sheen. Keep the egg away from the trimmed edge because it can glue the puff layers together. Streak shallow decorative arcs across the lid with the back of a small knife, taking care not to cut through, then make a 1-inch (2.5 cm) slit in the center for pressure to escape.
- 9
Bake at moderate heat
Set the pie on the heated baking sheet and bake for 1½ hours. The crust should rise, turn a deep butter-gold, and show a little glossy consommé bubbling at the central slit. If the pastry darkens too quickly after the first 45 minutes, cover it loosely with foil and continue baking. Check through the vent with an instant-read thermometer; the thickest part of a leg must reach at least 165°F (74°C). If it has not, lower the oven to 325°F (165°C) and continue for 10 to 15 minutes.
- 10
Finish with gravy
Warm the strong gravy until fluid. As soon as the pie leaves the oven, pour it through the central slit a spoonful at a time, pausing so it settles into the filling rather than running over the crust. Rest the pie for 10 minutes. Cut the lid into four generous sections, then spoon the chicken, veal, bacon, yolks, and gleaming cooking liquor beneath each piece of pastry. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Ask the butcher to joint the chicken as for a fricassée and keep every bone and scrap. Bone-in pieces give the consommé body, and the legs belong at the bottom because they take longer to cook than the breast.
- •Taste the consommé before seasoning the chicken. Bacon and prepared consommé can both carry salt; use an unsalted or lightly salted one so the pie grows savory in the oven without becoming harsh.
- •Use unsmoked streaky bacon. Heavy smoke overwhelms the veal, mushrooms, and yolks, while unsmoked bacon gives the richness and seasoning the source intended.
- •Buy puff pastry made with real butter and keep it cold. The pastry lid is not decoration; it seals the dish and absorbs just enough of the cooking liquor underneath while remaining crisp above.
- •Serve with buttered green beans or a sharply dressed salad. A rounded white Burgundy such as Mâcon-Villages suits the pale meats and buttery pastry; a light Beaujolais works if the table prefers red.
Advance Preparation
- •Reduce the strong gravy, cook the mushrooms, and hard-boil the eggs up to one day ahead. Chill each component separately, then warm only the gravy when the baked pie is ready.
- •The veal-lined dish can be filled with the seasoned chicken, bacon, and yolks up to 8 hours ahead and kept covered below 40°F (4°C). Add the consommé and pastry shortly before baking so the seal remains dry and the puff stays crisp.
- •For a dinner party, finish the assembly before guests arrive and refrigerate the sealed, ungilded pie. Gild it immediately before baking. A fully baked pie can be reheated at 325°F (165°C), loosely covered, but the pastry loses some lift; reserve the strong gravy and pour it in after reheating.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 570g)
Calories
1505 calories
Total Fat
105 g
Saturated Fat
47 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
57 g
Cholesterol
605 mg
Sodium
2150 mg
Total Carbohydrates
57 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
4 g
Protein
85 g
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