Chef Juliette
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Chicken Pie
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1714a, Chicken Pie, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
A deep English-style tourte from the French classical canon: chicken layered with veal, bacon, mushrooms, and egg yolks, bathed three-quarters in consommé, then sealed under a burnished puff-pastry lid.
Main Dishes
French
Comfort Food
Dinner Party
Make Ahead
45 min
Active Time
1 hr 35 min cook•2 hr 30 min total
Yield4 servings
Tourte de volaille à l'anglaise teaches one truth before you touch a pan: the puff paste is not decoration, it is the lid of the cooking vessel. Beneath it, chicken, veal, bacon, onions, buttered mushrooms, and hard-boiled yolks exchange their juices with consommé; above it, the pastry rises crisp and bronze. That only happens when the filling is cold, the rim is dry, and the seal is firm.
The brigade formula assumed a saucier with strong gravy ready, chicken consommé from a stockpot never off the fire, and a pâtissier rolling puff paste. At home, good gelatin-rich prepared consommé, a small measure of prepared chicken jus, and chilled all-butter puff pastry are the honest equivalents. The salamander, an overhead broiler, has no work here; a steady oven does. This version scales the pie to four. Making consommé and puff paste from their first foundations is brigade scaffolding we can set aside, but the veal lining, five ounces of bacon, four halved yolks, three-quarter depth of consommé, and sealed pastry lid are the dish and they stay. One cook, one stove, one evening.
When the knife breaks the gilded lid, the crust falls in buttery flakes and amber juices gather beneath it, with bacon, tender chicken, and a golden yolk half waiting in each serving. Keep the pastry cold and make the seal tight. That is the step that decides the pie.
Tourte de volaille à l'anglaise belongs to the English pie table, but French classical kitchens kept it in the canon under the à l'anglaise register, refining the household form with chicken consommé, a veal lining, and puff paste. The hard-boiled yolks and five ounces of bacon are not decorative additions; they are structural parts of the recorded Chicken Pie (No. 1660), while the pastry is only a lid rather than a crust around the filling. It traveled from domestic pie to grand-kitchen repertoire and comes home without losing its purpose: a generous meat dish carried to the table in its baking vessel.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
small whole chicken
Quantity
1 (about 3½ lb / 1.6 kg), for Chicken Pie (No. 1660)
cut into 8 fricassée pieces
fine sea salt
Quantity
1½ teaspoons (7.5 ml / 9 g)
divided
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
¾ teaspoon (4 ml / 2 g)
divided
yellow onions
Quantity
3 medium, about 2½ cups (600 ml / 400 g)
finely chopped
button mushrooms
Quantity
about ½ cup (120 ml / 42 g)
finely chopped
unsalted butter
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g)
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 4 g)
finely chopped
veal scallopini
Quantity
8 oz (225 g)
pounded into thin slices
unsmoked streaky bacon
Quantity
5 oz (142 g)
thinly sliced
large eggs
Quantity
4
hard-boiled; yolks removed and halved, whites reserved
cold chicken consommé
Quantity
2½ to 3 cups (600 to 720 ml / 600 to 720 g)
preferably low-sodium
all-butter puff pastry
Quantity
1 package, about 1 lb (16 oz / 455 g)
thawed in the refrigerator
large egg
Quantity
1
beaten for gilding
cold water
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g)
strong chicken gravy or prepared chicken jus
Quantity
¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g)
heated
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| small whole chickencut into 8 fricassée pieces | 1 (about 3½ lb / 1.6 kg), for Chicken Pie (No. 1660) |
| fine sea saltdivided | 1½ teaspoons (7.5 ml / 9 g) |
| freshly ground black pepperdivided | ¾ teaspoon (4 ml / 2 g) |
| yellow onionsfinely chopped | 3 medium, about 2½ cups (600 ml / 400 g) |
| button mushroomsfinely chopped | about ½ cup (120 ml / 42 g) |
| unsalted butter | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) |
| flat-leaf parsleyfinely chopped | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 4 g) |
| veal scallopinipounded into thin slices | 8 oz (225 g) |
| unsmoked streaky baconthinly sliced | 5 oz (142 g) |
| large eggshard-boiled; yolks removed and halved, whites reserved | 4 |
| cold chicken consommépreferably low-sodium | 2½ to 3 cups (600 to 720 ml / 600 to 720 g) |
| all-butter puff pastrythawed in the refrigerator | 1 package, about 1 lb (16 oz / 455 g) |
| large eggbeaten for gilding | 1 |
| cold water | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) |
| strong chicken gravy or prepared chicken jusheated | ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •Deep 2½-quart (2.4 L) oval pie dish
- •10-inch (25 cm) skillet
- •Rolling pin
- •Pastry brush
- •Rimmed baking sheet
- •Instant-read thermometer
- •Small saucepan and narrow-spouted measuring cup
Instructions
- 1
Cut and season
For Chicken Pie (No. 1660), cut the bird into 8 fricassée pieces, the standard jointed pieces used for a covered cook: 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs, 2 wings, and 2 breast halves. Pat them dry, season with 1 teaspoon of the salt and ½ teaspoon of the pepper, and keep them cold while you prepare the rest. Cold meat protects the pastry from softening before the oven can set it.
- 2
Butter the mushrooms
Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped mushrooms and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring, until their water has evaporated and their edges take a little colour. Scrape them onto a plate and cool completely. Leave the onions raw; finely chopped, they soften in the consommé and give the filling the character recorded in the formula.
- 3
Line the pie dish
Set a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat it to 375°F (190°C). Line the bottom and sides of a deep 2½-quart (2.4 L) pie dish with the thin veal slices, overlapping them so there are no broad gaps. Season the veal lightly with the remaining salt and pepper. Do not brown it first; here the veal is a tender inner lining that enriches the liquor and protects the chicken against the hot dish.
- 4
Build the filling
Arrange the drumsticks and thighs in the bottom of the veal-lined dish, where the heat is strongest, then place the wings and breast pieces above them. Distribute the chopped onions, cooled mushrooms, and parsley between and over the chicken. Tuck in the bacon slices and halved hard-boiled yolks so each eventual serving receives some. Keep the filling below the rim; the pastry needs clear space to seal.
- 5
Add the consommé
Pour the cold chicken consommé slowly down the inside edge of the dish until it reaches three-quarters of the way up the filling. Stop by depth rather than by volume, since pie dishes differ. Do not submerge the top layer or let liquid wash over the rim; if it rises too high, ladle some out. The consommé is the sauce's real foundation, and the uncovered upper quarter keeps it away from the pastry.
Taste the consommé with a small piece of cooked bacon before assembling. If both are salty, season the chicken and veal more lightly; reduction in the oven concentrates everything. - 6
Seal the puff lid
Wipe every trace of fat and consommé from the rim. Mix the beaten egg with the cold water. Roll the chilled puff pastry to about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick and cut enough ¾-inch (2 cm) strips to cover the rim. Dampen the clean rim lightly with water, press on the strips, brush those strips with egg wash, and drape the remaining pastry over the dish. Press firmly to seal, trim, and crimp. Brush the top lightly with egg wash without flooding the cut edges, score curved streaks with the back of a knife, and cut a 1-inch (2.5 cm) vent in the centre. If the pastry becomes limp or tears, stop. Ça se rattrape: patch a tear underneath with a cold scrap and egg wash, then chill the covered pie for 15 minutes before baking.
The strip around the rim is not ornament. It gives the lid a dry, level surface to grip, which keeps the consommé inside and lets the pastry rise. - 7
Bake to bronze
Set the dish on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes at 375°F (190°C), then reduce the oven to 350°F (175°C) and continue for 60 to 70 minutes. The lid should stand puffed and deeply butter-gold, with bubbling amber liquor visible at the vent. If the pastry colours too quickly, cover it loosely with foil once it has set. Check a thigh and the thickest breast piece through the vent or an inconspicuous edge; both must reach 165°F (74°C). If they have not, keep the pie covered loosely and bake until they do.
- 8
Finish with gravy
Bring the strong chicken gravy or jus just to a simmer. As soon as the pie leaves the oven, reopen the central vent gently with a skewer if needed, then pour the gravy through it a spoonful at a time. Rest the pie for 10 minutes so the enriched juices settle without softening the lid. Carry the whole dish to the table and serve each portion with a generous piece of pastry. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose a chicken close to 3½ pounds. A much larger bird crowds the dish and may not cook before the puff pastry becomes too dark; technique first, always.
- •Use all-butter puff pastry and keep it properly cold. Vegetable-fat pastry may rise, but it leaves a waxy finish against the consommé. We don't apologize for butter.
- •A clear, gelatin-rich chicken consommé gives body without turning this into a cream pie. Prepared consommé is an honest home equivalent to the brigade stockpot, but choose low-sodium because the bacon and finishing gravy both concentrate the seasoning.
- •The strong gravy added through the vent is not optional polish. It restores the concentrated meat flavour a saucier once supplied at the last moment and leaves the juices glossy rather than merely brothy.
- •Serve with glazed carrots, buttered peas, or a sharply dressed green salad. A dry Loire Chenin Blanc has enough freshness for the pastry and enough weight for the veal and bacon.
Advance Preparation
- •Hard-boil the eggs and sauté the mushrooms up to 2 days ahead. Chill them separately in covered containers, and halve the yolks shortly before assembly so they do not crumble.
- •The veal-lined filling can be assembled up to 8 hours ahead, covered and refrigerated. Keep the consommé and pastry separate, then add the liquid and seal the lid immediately before baking.
- •Cool leftovers within 2 hours and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Reheat uncovered at 350°F (175°C) until the centre reaches 165°F (74°C); a sheet of foil protects the pastry if it darkens.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 600g)
Calories
1280 calories
Total Fat
80 g
Saturated Fat
34 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
45 g
Cholesterol
570 mg
Sodium
2300 mg
Total Carbohydrates
57 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
8 g
Protein
82 g
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