Episode 41: Pot Pie with Vinegar Crust
Pot Pies feel like the essential comfort food. Except Gretchen has never eaten one or made one before.
So we made some adjustments to the recipe:
Becca made a vegitarian version with mushrooms.
While Gretchen got extra fancy and sous vide some duck legs and then shredded the meat and tried adding cranberries only to discover that her thought that using dried cranberries would be too sweet, the fresh cranberries were bitter and added a not so great taste to the pot pie. It was improved by picking out the cranberries.
We’d probably want to go with the parbaked top the next time, Gretchen did a second round on her Pot Pie and used the parbaking the crust technique and while it was fine just putting the crust on top and baking both at the same time, the parbaked crust did have a more appealing crispiness to it.
Gretchen can confirm that the addition of vinegar to the pie dough did allow her to keep a batch in the fridge for almost a whole week without the dough going grey or funky!
Gretchen’s Twist on the NYT Pie Crust With Vineagar
2 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
1/2 Cup Ice Water
2 Tablespoons Sherry Vinegar (with some extra)
1 Cup Cold Unsalted Butter, Cut into 1 inch cubes
Mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, and sea salt. Mix togther the vinegar and ice water.
Toss flour and butter together to coat. Gretchen prefers to rub the butter and flour together with her fingers, but you can cut the butter and flour together with a fork or if you’re fancy, a pastry blender.
Drizzle in half the ice water and mix until flour is moistened. Work in 1 to 2 tablespoons of water-vinegar mix at a time until when you press a bit in your hand it holds together.
Finish mixing by smooshing the flour out and gathering together, this will flatten the butter out and help create layers.
Split dough in half, and chill for at least 1 hour to rest.
Roll dough out between 2 layers of parchment. Shape into a top, and return to the fridge to rest for 15 minutes.
Brush top with egg to increase shine and browning, and bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes, pull from the oven, leave on the sheet pan and set on a rack to cool slightly.
Pot Pie Filling General Recipe:
2 Carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch slices
2 Celery Ribs, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
4 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1 Onion, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried Thyme
6 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
2 Cups Broth
1 1/2 pounds Meat or Non Meat
1/2 Cup Frozen Peas
1/4 Cup Heavy Cream
1 Tablespoon Wine or Sherry
Heat 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes. Melt butter in skillet. Add carrots, celery, onion, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook until softened and lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in flour and cook for 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in broth, scraping up any browned bits and smoothing out any lumps, and bring to a simmer- allow to cook for a few minutes over low heat until the sauce has thickened.
Stir in duck or mushrooms, peas, cream, parsley, and sherry into skillet. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Top with parbaked crust and bake until the top finishes browning and the filling is bubbling.
Cool for at least 10 minutes before enjoying.
Enjoy Repisode 34!
Extra-Flaky Pie Crust Recipe - NYT Cooking
Vinegar in pie dough - King Arthur Baking
Perfect Pie Crust Recipe - How to Make Flaky Pie Crust From Scratch-The Pioneer Woman
Why Add Vinegar to Pie Dough? -Martha Stewart.com
Sous Vide Duck Confit Recipe - Serious Eats
Other Information Sourced from:
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore Of The Kitchen, By Harold McGee