Flaky Chicken Hand Pies
- Total Time
- 2 hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
Advertisement
Ingredients
Yield:8 servings
- 4whole bone-in, skin-on chicken legs with thighs (about 2 pounds)
- Salt and pepper
- 2tablespoons butter
- 1large onion, diced (about 1½ cups)
- 2small cloves garlic, minced
- 1teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- 8ounces brown or white mushrooms, chopped (about 4 cups)
- 2tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1cup chicken broth or stock
- ½cup crème fraîche
- 6scallions, white and green parts only, chopped
- 3tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
- 1sheet (about 10-by-15 inches) frozen puff pastry, thawed in the refrigerator
- 1egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
293 calories; 21 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 11 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 17 grams protein; 590 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Season chicken generously with salt and pepper. Roast, uncovered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle.
- Step 2
Remove skin and meat from bones. Chop meat roughly into ½-inch chunks and set aside or refrigerate, covered, for up to 2 days. (If desired, save skin, bones and pan drippings for stock.)
- Step 3
Make filling: In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until softened, stirring, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, thyme and chopped mushrooms. Season mixture with salt and pepper and reduce heat to medium.
- Step 4
Cook, stirring, until onions have colored slightly and mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with flour and stir to coat. Add broth and cook, stirring, as mixture thickens. Add chicken, turn heat to low and cook 5 minutes more. Stir in crème fraîche, turn off heat, and set aside to cool. Stir in scallions and parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Step 5
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Unfold puff pastry on a lightly floured (or parchment-paper-covered) work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out into an approximate 15-inch square. Use the tip of a knife to cut into 9 equal squares. Spoon about ¾ cup chicken mixture into the center of each piece, then divide any remaining mixture evenly on top, so each has the same amount.
- Step 6
Pick up and fold one corner of pastry over the filling to make a triangular pie. Press and pinch both edges together tightly to seal. Divide on the prepared pans.
- Step 7
Brush the tops with egg wash and bake until deep golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm.
Private Notes
Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.
Cooking Notes
Cindy
Buy Costco chicken leg/ thigh Strip meat... very fast option
Lydia Sugarman
This reads like a great blueprint to use as a starting point. Does the creme fraiche really add anything special that justifies the added expense? Why not just some half-and-half and less broth/stock? I can see using tarragon and shallots, or maybe chives instead of scallions, maybe even adding some par-cooked diced carrots and peas. Obviously, I'm a fan of traditional chicken pot pies!
Momof3
I used the store-bought rotisserie and it did save time, but even though I'm usually a fan of David Tanis recipes, this was just ok. The combination of puff pastry and creme fraiche made it very heavy, and the flavors were too mild. I also had way too much filling. If I make it again, I'll maybe skip the creme fraiche and up the black pepper. Or use regular pie crust.
tomrely
Throw in some tarragon. Trust me.
Zeus G
Such a silly instruction:"chop scallions white and green parts only". What other color is in a scallion? Less confusing to say "white and LIGHT green parts only".
Muriel Harris
I plan to try this, but how can that pastry, rolled and cut into 9 equal squares be listed as 8 servings? Who gets the left-over one?
BBLRN
I use Defour Puffed Pastry (made with real butter), Costco Rotisserie Chicken, proceed with recipe adding a splash of heavy whipping cream then add diced sautéed carrots, and steamed fresh peas. Also, I suggest you refrigerate your pies until well chilled before baking if you want a light and puffy pastry.
Christer Whitworth
Store bought rotisserie chicken works well, too.
Leading Edge Boomer
How much chicken meat results from the 4 roasted leg-thigh pieces totaling 2 pounds? It would be so much simpler to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Too many recipes, like this one, omit the desired weight (preferred) or volume of the product needed to carry on. This recipe has great potential for multi-meal preparation (freezing), just needs to be brought into the real world. Use sour cream for creme fraiche, too.
Matt
David mentions frozen peas. Peas are a nice addition, and "frozen" is the operative word. Put them in with the other ingredients, but don't cook them at all. Put them in still frozen - they require very little cooking, and overcooked peas are awful.
Linda
Good idea, but a complete (and maddening) bust. The filling MUST be stone cold, preferably chilled, or the puff pastry just disintegrates. We had stew with tortillas in the end.
Gail Palmer
I add creme fraiche to my sauted mushrooms -- it adds a slightly tangy dimension. My neighbor (who caters primarily Polish food), adds garlic Boursin cheese to his for a similar flavor. I recommend either one.
LSB
Use a rotisserie chicken from your grocery store—very simple. And store-bought pie crust works as well as puff pastry.
Erica
I’m vegetarian and replaced the chicken by Quorn chicken bits (veggie) you add it to the onions frozen and the cooking times of the recipe will work well. No changes needed.
Clancy
Dufour is available in the freezer section at most Whole Foods nationwide. (http://www.dufourpastrykitchens.com/)
fiddlebbb
These are great. However, I used frozen/thawed puff pastry. We rolled it out to these specifications, but really, only 1/4 cup of filling would reasonably fit into the squares. AND it took maybe 35minutes at 375 to cook. You can really put any kind of filling in these. But not3/4 cup!
monica by the bay
Has anyone tried to make the hand pies in advance to freeze then bake from frozen later?
Conner
These were delicious but labor intensive! Each pie split slightly because I wasn’t aggressive enough sealing them, and I still had a lot of filling leftover. Tarragon is an inspired substitution for parsley here (and in chicken salad).
Sarah Campbell
Had almost half the filing left over. There is no way you can get 3/4 cups into a triangle. I maybe got 1/3 and it still made it challenging to seal the edges.
Bri’Ann
Definitely struggled making the individual pies and scraped them and made a full pot pie instead. (400 for 30 min did the trick.) The filling is delish. I definitely forgot parsley and subbed dill. Super happy about that substitution and would do it again every time. Highly recommend.
Sara
add tarragon cool completely substitute cream for creme fraiche
megan
Delightful! I used a rotisserie chicken to save some time and divided my pastry into 8 pieces rather than 9, but otherwise faithfully added all ingredients called for. My husband was raving over it and thinks I’m a culinary whiz. I cooked in oven at 400 fan for 18 mins. Will absolutely make again.
Sarah
There is absolutely no way you can get 3/4 cups of filling into the squares. Absolutely no way. Made it utterly difficult to fold into triangles. Also agree with other commenters that there needs to be instructions to CHILL EVERYTHING otherwise the puff pastry disintegrates into a gloopy mess. Good recipe but poorly written.
Ellyn Kutch
I add peas and carrots to this. Using more exotic mushrooms like hedgehog, chanterel or shitake gives it a more robust flavor. You can save on the cost of creme fraiche by mixing one part sour cream and one part whipping cream and letting sit overnight. Also, if you're having problems handling the puff pastry, just put the filling in the middle of the square and fold them into little bundles.
Claudia R.
I suggest adding frozen veggies like peas, carrots, and corn!
Amy Collins
I loved this recipe. It made more than the yield in the recipe. I abandoned the directions on the second sheet of puff pastry and made them into rectangles versus triangles. Maybe not in the tradition of "hand pies", but it was much faster and way easier to assemble. David Tanis has the best recipes!
Sally Lewis
This was great though took some time, especially carving the chicken! I bought rotisserie chickens from the super market. I prepared the filling the night before and stored in the refrigerator. Then the next morning I simply added to the pastry, folded them up and baked. Yummy and appreciated by my guests! I had a few left over which I have frozen. PERFECT LUNCH for my friends. Served with a salad.
Ashley J
This was really great! Me, my husband and 2/3 of my kids were impressed. I added Trader Joe's Everyday Seasoning, a bit of sautéed kale, and didn't have creme fraiche so I used sour cream w lemon juice for acidity. Didn't have scallions, so omitted those as well. I also used some leftover Costco rotisserie chicken. I let the filling cool in the freezer for a couple minutes, and didn't have a problem with the pastry becoming too hot or torn.
joanne
I used two sheets of pastry and made 9 squares instead of triangles, which worked great. Even then, a half cup of filling was more than enough. I only used a 1/4 cup of broth, which was perfect.
Chris
The logistics do not add up as far as the pastry. Folding a rectangle into a triangle is tough! Way too much filling for the amount of pastry..You need at least 2 sheets. Filling tasted nice.
Private notes are only visible to you.
Advertisement
