Rooster Pot Pie
If you’re looking for a deep dish pot pie recipe with a beautiful, golden crust, this isn’t the recipe for you! This recipe is for the “slippery” (and much better) version of pot pie. Some people may call it a soup, but it will always and forever be pot pie to me thanks to my PA Dutch upbringing.
Now, you don’t have to use a rooster to make pot pie. It can be made with a variety of meat including rabbit, squirrel, or regular chicken, even a store-bought rotisserie chicken and stock. I just happened to have a rooster that had to go.
Roosters are important to keep in your flock, but too many can be a nuisance. This particular rooster was my second one. I kept him and his hatch mate to see which one would have a better attitude and would be gentler on my hens. But having two was starting to cause stress in my flock. It was time for him to go.
Once I had my rooster plucked and gut out, it was time to quarter it. I started by removing the thighs, then the breasts, and last the wings. I did this to help it cook a little faster, be able to tell better when it was finished cooking, and for lack of space in my soup pot!
First, I had to cook my bird. Into a four quart stock pot I added my rooster, some thyme, some rosemary, a bay leaf, and about 2 Tablespoons of salt, and one gallon of water. This simmered for around 3 hours. You can tell it’s finished when the meat starts to pull from the bone. Then the rooster was set aside and the stock was strained. Taste your stock at this point and add salt or more herbs as needed later.
Now it’s time to start your pot pie. I like to start by making my pasta dough first. This will give it some time to rest before being rolled out. To make the dough you’ll need:
3 Eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Cups unbleached all purpose flour
2-4 Tablespoons Ice Water
I mix this all but the water together in my stand mixer with a paddle attachment, slowly adding the water one Tablespoon at a time until a dough ball has formed. Then turn out onto my counter and knead for an additional 5 minutes. Then wrap it and set it aside.
For the soup you’ll need:
4 large carrots- peeled and sliced
2 small onions- diced
2-3 cups sliced celery
Additional thyme and rosemary as needed
4 quarts Reserved stock from cooking your bird
Sautee the onion in a generous drizzle of olive oil till they start to soften. Then add the carrots, celery, and herbs. Sautee for five minutes, stirring so nothing burns. Then add your stock and bring to a simmer.
Now pick your meat off of the bones. I like to remove the skin and any veins that I see as well. You can leave the skin in if you’d like, I just don’t like the texture of soft chicken skin. Give the meat a rough chop and add to the pot.
Now you can roll out and cut your noodles! I was always a fan of big, thick noodles. But I’ve recently started making them smaller for Lillian and have discovered that they are so much better smaller! I roll my dough out to probably 1/8” thickness and then cut it into 1”x1” diamonds. Once the dough is cut and the soup is simmering, start adding your noodles. The noodles are finished when they turn a light yellow and float to the top.
At this point I’ll throw in a bag of frozen corn.
Serve with some fresh chopped parsley!
