Chicken and Biscuits
With or without the chicken, this is essentially a pot pie, but instead of a pastry crust it uses biscuits to top! This is a great dish when you have a mixture of food preferences. Warm, soothing comfort food regardless.
With or without the chicken, this is essentially a pot pie, but instead of a pastry crust it uses biscuits to top! This is a great dish when you have a mixture of food preferences. Warm, soothing comfort food regardless.
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 cups flour
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1 cup onion finely chopped
- 1 rib celery finely chopped
- 1 1/2 cup vegetable stock
- 1 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 teaspoon sage
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- 2 1/2 cups chicken cooked, shredded
- 2 1/2 cups vegetables of your choice (leftovers or frozen ones that have been thawed)
- -- biscuit topping --
- 1/4 cup cold unsalted butter cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- Carbohydrate 200.918423170863 g
- Cholesterol 119.670833349662 mg
- Fat 33.7677123680098 g
- Fiber 23.2215312201987 g
- Protein 36.123966264982 g
- Saturated Fat 16.0047815317574 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (1999g)
- Sodium 4844.31548800696 mg
- Sugar 177.696891950664 g
- Trans Fat 3.01555111194712 g
- Calories 1193 calories
Step-by-step
- Melt the butter on the stovetop in a Dutch oven or other oven-safe saute pan with high sides. Stir in the onion and celery, then cover the pan and cook them for 7 to 8 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add the flour, stirring for 1 to 2 minutes to lightly brown it.
- Whisk the stock into the pan. When it starts to thicken, whisk in the milk. Add the sage, thyme, chicken and vegetables, continuing to stir until the mixture is heated through and thickens up, about 7 to 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Remove the pan from the stovetop and heat the oven to 375 F. Make biscuit topping OR top mixture with pre-made biscuits
- Meanwhile, make the biscuit topping by combining the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the butter and use your fingertips to rub it into the dry ingredients. Add the milk and stir briskly, just until the dough pulls together.
- Flour your work surface and turn the dough onto it. Using floured hands, knead the dough two or three times, then flatten it to about 1/2 inch thick. Using a small round cutter, cut the dough into biscuits and place as many as will fit, barely touching, on top of the filling. (You can bake any extras separately, on a lightly greased pie plate, for about 15 minutes.)
- Bake the potpie until the biscuits are golden brown and the filling is bubbly, about 20 to 30 minutes. Then let it cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving it. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
Cooking the initial flour and butter mixture for precisely one to two minutes eliminates the raw starch flavor before any liquid enters the pan. Frying this roux gently also creates the necessary foundation for thickening the vegetable stock and milk later. Cover the Dutch oven while softening the onions and celery so they steam in their own moisture rather than browning, keeping the final sauce pale and uniform. Whisking cold dairy into a hot liquid requires a steady hand to prevent lumps, so pour the milk in a thin stream while keeping the whisk in constant motion.
Reading the Visual Cues for Doneness
Evaluating doneness relies entirely on visual and textural indicators rather than internal temperatures. Simmer the filling until it reaches a heavy coat on the back of a spoon, typically taking seven to ten minutes. Bake the assembled dish at 375 degrees Fahrenheit until the biscuit tops display an even golden brown and the underlying sauce bubbles visibly around the edges of the pan. Allow the finished dish to rest for five to ten minutes off the heat so the starch molecules fully set the sauce.
- Dry biscuits usually result from over-kneading the dough; handle the mixture just until it pulls together.
- Runny filling indicates the flour was not cooked long enough in the initial butter phase.
- Over-browning requires a loose tent of aluminum foil over the top of the baking pan for the final ten minutes.
