Turkey Crumb Pot Pie
Leftover turkey only after Thanksgiving? Not around here! We like turkey throughout the winter months – and those leftovers always pose issues. Turkey curry, turkey soup…etc. etc. Thankfully Ken Haedrich has brought us a Turkey Crumb Pot Pie, which is a textural delight and a great alternative to the more expected version with a pie crust topper and will help you use that leftover turkey. The individual sizes means no fighting over who gets all the crispy crunchy topping. Everybody wins! Try his Shepherd’s Pie as well, also from his book Dinner Pies
Recipe © 2015 by Ken Haedrich from Dinner Pies
Here’s another really good post-Thanksgiving turkey pot pie, but this one has an unusual topping: crumbs made from packaged stuffing mix, and those crispy onions we all love on our green bean casserole. For the veggies, use most anything you have left in the fridge; in a pinch, even thawed frozen vegetables are fine. We make up the sauce as we go, but I’ll often enrich the filling with 1/4 cup or so of leftover gravy, stirring it in just before the filling comes off the heat. The gravy makes the mixture saucier, but that’s seldom a bad thing when you’re talking about pot pies.
- 1 recipe Go-To Pie Dough divided as instructed in step 1 and refrigerated
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ large onion, finely chopped
- 1 celery rib or 1 cup sliced white mushroom caps
- 2½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2¼ cups chicken broth
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 2½ cups chopped cooked turkey
- 2 cups cooked vegetables (such as corn, peas, carrots, broccoli, and/ or Brussels sprouts), preferably in combination (see Recipe for Success)
- ½ teaspoon dried sage
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 cup packaged stuffing mix
- 1 cup crispy French fried onions
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- Prepare the dough as directed, but divide it into four equal balls. Flatten each ball into a ½-inch-thick disk. Wrap the disks individually in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 11/2 hours. While the dough chills, get out four individual pot pie dishes, each with a capacity of 1 to 1¼ cups, and set them aside.
- Melt the butter in a large stovetop casserole over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and sauté for 8 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for another minute. Whisk in the chicken broth. Bring to a simmer, allowing the liquid to thicken a bit, then stir in the cream, turkey, vegetables, sage, thyme, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ground black pepper to taste. Return to a simmer and simmer gently for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Taste, adding more salt as needed. Set aside to cool thoroughly.
- Working with one piece of dough at a time (and leaving the others in the refrigerator), roll it into a circle about 8 inches in diameter and line one of the pot pie dishes with it. Pinch the edge into an upstanding ridge and flute, if desired. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Repeat for the rest of the dough. Preheat the oven to 375°F while they are chilling.
- Divide the filling evenly among the pot pie shells. Make sure there’s about ½ inch of room between the filling and the top edge of the pastry. Bake on the center oven rack for 30 minutes. (If you have a large enough baking sheet, line the sheet with parchment paper or foil and bake the pies on it, in case of spillovers.)
- While the pot pies bake, make the topping. Put the stuffing mix and onions in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse the machine repeatedly, until the mixture is well chopped but still somewhat coarse. Transfer the crumbs to a mixing bowl and add the melted butter. Mix well, and set aside.
- After the pies have baked for 30 minutes, slide out the oven rack and carefully divide the crumb topping among the pies. Using a fork, spread it around and then press it down gently. Slide the rack back in and continue to bake until the topping browns and the filling is bubbly, 10 to 15 minutes more. Transfer to a rack and cool for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.
Ken’s Recipe for Success
Another veggie that’s good in here is leftover mashed sweet potatoes, but add only a few tablespoons or it will thicken the filling too much. If that happens, or if you simply want to use more of them to stretch the filling, you’ll need to thin the filling with a little extra broth.
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