Moravian Chicken Pie

Woman dishing Moravian chicken pie from pie plate.

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5 from 7 votes

This traditional pot pie recipe is filled with tender chunks of chicken in a lightly creamy sauce.

Prep Time30

Cook Time2

Total Time2 30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: People

Author: Katie Workman

Ingredients

2 (3-pound) chickens
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (or to taste)
4 cups less-sodium chicken broth
1 onion (peeled and quartered)
1 carrot (scrubbed or peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces)
1 stalk celery (cut into 2-inch pieces)
2 bay leaves
1 cup water
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 crusts (14.1-ounce) package refrigerated pie crusts
1 large egg

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 F.
Pat the chicken dry and place them on a rimmed baking sheet, breast side up. Season with salt and pepper. Roast the chickens for about 1 hour, until the internal temperature in the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet.
When cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the chicken, reserving the drumsticks for another use. Set the meat aside. Place the wings, plus all of the skin, bones, and other little bits of the chicken, into a large pot. Add the 4 cups broth, onions, carrots, celery, and bay leaves. Add 1 cup water. If the broth doesn’t quite cover the chicken and vegetables, add more water to cover. Bring to a simmer over high heat, uncovered, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 1 hour until the broth has reduced and is a rich color and smells great. Strain out and discard the solids, reserving the stock. You should have about 3 cups of stock.
Meanwhile, shred the chicken into bite-sized chunks and set aside. You should have about 6 cups of shredded chicken.
In a medium pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, whisking often for about 3 minutes. When the mixture is light brown, whisk in the 3 cups of strained chicken stock until well blended. Continue to whisk occasionally until the mixture is smooth and has thickened, about 4 minutes. It will reduce slightly. Blend in the 6 cups of shredded chicken. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
In a small bowl, beat the egg with 2 tablespoons of water.
Place one circle of pastry into a 9-inch pie pan. Turn the filling into the crust. Top with the other pie crust, and crimp the edges to seal. Cut 6 to 8 slits in the pie crust to allow the steam to vent. Brush the egg wash over the whole top of the pie.
Bake for about 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Let rest on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Notes

Get good chickens because that’s pretty much the filling, and you will definitely taste the difference between a high-quality chicken and an inferior bird.
The wings will go into the pot to enrich the broth into stock with the rest of the carcass. The four drumsticks can be saved for another meal.
When you shred the chicken, keep it in generous bite-sized chunks. You want the filling to have some real texture, and overly shredded chicken will kind of smush down into the sauce.
Be generous with the salt and pepper — these are basically the only seasonings in the pie!
Having said that, though it’s not traditional, you could think about adding in 1 to 2 cups of peas or a peas and carrots blend.
Some fresh herbs would also be nice; try a tablespoon or so of minced fresh tarragon, dill, or thyme, adding the herbs when you stir in the shredded chicken into the sauce.

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