Ingredients
For the filling:
1 Porky Down’s Chicken
1 peeled onion
6 cloves
1 peeled carrot
2 bay leaves
1 Chicken stock cube
6-8 Peppercorns
For the pastry:
450g plain flour
120g cold butter
120g cold, vegetable shortening
1 beaten free-range egg, for glazing
For the sauce:
250ml whole milk
55g butter
55g plain flour
Method
1. Begin by placing the chicken in a large pan, stud the onion with cloves and add it to the pan with the carrot, stock cube, by leaves and peppercorns. ~
2. Cover with cold water and bring to boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the chicken is cooked. This will take about 45 minutes – 75 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken.
3. Meanwhile, make the pastry. Sift the flour and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Dice the cold butter and vegetable shortening and rub them into the four. Do this until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
4. Next, you want to mix in a little bit of cold water so the mixture forms a stiff dough. Turn this out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently to form a smooth ball of dough.
5. Wrap in clingfilm or place in a plastic bag and chill for around 30 minutes.
6. When the chicken is cooked, take the pan off the heat. Remove the chicken and place it on a plate. Put the pan back on the heat and reduce the cooking liquid to about 250ml. Strain the reduced liquid into a jug and leave it to cool, then skim off the fat and discard it.
7. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, cut the meat into chunks and discard the skin and bones.
8. For the sauce, remove the cloves from the onion. Put the onion in a food processor with the reserved stock. Blend until smooth, then add the milk and set aside.
9. Next, you want to melt the butter in a pan and stir in the flour gradually. Then add the stock and milk and bring to a boil, stirring continuously. Reduce the heat and simmer for 4-5 minutes to cook out the taste of the flour. Now, season to taste with salt and pepper and then fold in the meat gently to the sauce, set aside to cool.
10. Pre-heat the oven to 220C, Roll out two-thirds of the pastry and use it to line a pie plate and add the cooled chicken mix. Roll out the remaining pastry to make a lid for the pie, brush the edge with beaten egg and pinch the edges together to seal it.
11. Decorate the top of the pie with leaves made from the pastry trimmings, brush egg all over. Make a hole in the top of the pie to allow the steam to escape, then bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes, when the pastry is golden brown.
We hope you enjoy our Porky Down’s Traditional Chicken Pie as much as we do!