# Pot pie sauce



## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

What's a good pot pie sauce?

I've been making pot pies with my homegrown chickens and fresh carrots from the garden and they taste great but the sauce is still lacking.

I'm using home mixed dry sauce. It has dry milk, corn starch, chicken cubes, thyme, basil and onions. Sometimes I use the gelatin from steaming the chicken too.

How do I make sauce that tastes like commercial pot pies?


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## Tirzah (May 19, 2006)

When I make pot pies I make a roux from the chicken fat or butter and flour, add chicken stock, white wine, herbs, salt and pepper to taste and simmer until thickened.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

Does it have that kind of sweet taste like commercial pot pies?

I steam my chicken on a rack over water so I end up with 1/2 gallon of gelatin every time that I could use.


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## Tirzah (May 19, 2006)

I don't like the commercial pot pies so I can't answer that question. The white wine does give it a nice flavor though. And I forgot to mention, sometimes I add some milk too.

You could probably freeze the gelatin for future use too or make ALOT of gravy and freeze that.


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## Sonshine (Jul 27, 2007)

I just make a chicken gravy for mine.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I get so much of it that I would probably die from clogged arteries before I ran out so most of it gets feed to the *****.


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

You can use a can of cream of chicken (or cream of mushroom) soup for sauce for pot pie. I usually make pot pies out of leftovers, so I use leftover gravy for the sauce along with the leftover meat. 

Or, make a basic white sauce and use chicken stock in place of part of the milk to make your own. Anything you make fresh is gonna be better than the "chicken cubes" in your dry mix. Maybe that's why it doesn't taste sweet, the buillon is so salty?


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## Dale Alan (Sep 26, 2012)

I like to use Minor's chicken base instead of cubes . Great flavor and less salt.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

I got a frozen chicken pot pie that I particularly enjoyed, it was MUCH better than most frozen pot pies! So, I looked up the sauce used.

They simply used cream. The flavoring in the sauce came from the chicken and vegetables used.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I'll give that a try the next time I cook a chicken. I usually get a few meals (sandwiches, tacos) and then put the rest into 2 large pot pies.

Thanks.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

I just saw this and asked WIHH what she uses.

butter, flour, onion, salt, pepper, chicken bouillion, milk, and port wine. She feels the port wine adds more richness than whte wine.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I'll have to give that a try too. Thanks.


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## CesumPec (May 20, 2011)

make your own stock from boiling down a chicken carcass. We also like to add whatever we have handy in the frig like a few celery stalks, onions, carrots, etc. Push everything down as much as you can and just barely cover with water and a can of beer or similar amount of wine. Add a little salt and pepper and a teaspoon or two of vinegar and put it in your slow cooker for 24 - 48 hours until the bones are starting to soften. The veggies will be complete mush. 

Pick any remaining meat off the chicken to put in your pot pie, then strain the broth. this will produce a rich broth that has enough fat in it that it just needs to be thickened with cornstarch to make an excellent gravy. 

We don't often have heavy cream in the house, but adding a little of that prior to thickening improves the gravy or pot pie sauce.


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## jkhs (Sep 17, 2010)

Darn it! Now I'm hungry for chicken pot pie and I don't have any leftover cooked chicken. I've always used leftover chicken gravy or cream of chicken soup in my pot pies. I think I'm going to try the wine next.


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## Stiffchick (Jul 18, 2012)

I save any left over chicken soup, and freeze it. When I make chicken pot pies, I make a roux like mentiond above and add a little milk, and some of the frozen chicken soup to get it to the consistancy I want. (If i mess up and make it too thin, I just add corn starch, but dont tell DH lol) I will also have to try adding wine next time, it sounds yummy!


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Use your drippings. Let it cool, then if there is a thick layer of fat, skim it off. If there is a thin layer, don't worry about it. Just put it in a saucepan, let it melt, add the seasoning you like (I like sage, celery, and onion), and thicken like gravy. To thicken, use flour or cornstarch. I agree that the store bought cubes are causing a problem. You don't need the cubes, you have the drippings.

The leftover gravy can be used on mashed potatoes. Another alternative would be to melt only as much drippings as you need for the gravy, and use the rest for soup. The drippings are full of glucosamine and chondroitin, excellent for keeping bones young, don't throw it out.


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## RedDirt Cowgirl (Sep 21, 2010)

Dale Alan said:


> I like to use Minor's chicken base instead of cubes . Great flavor and less salt.


Found a great product in a glass jar with a metal lid at my local grocer - Better Than Bouillon made by Superior Touch foods (superiortouch.com) from Ontario, California. It has a paste consistence that's easy to use, they make beef too. Turmeric is the last ingredient.


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## CherieOH (Jun 10, 2005)

We prefer turkey pot pies here. I make a sauce by using equal amounts of homemade turkey gravy and cream of chicken soup. If I need a little extra liquid, I add some Half and Half.


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

RedDirt Cowgirl said:


> Found a great product in a glass jar with a metal lid at my local grocer - Better Than Bouillon made by Superior Touch foods (superiortouch.com) from Ontario, California. It has a paste consistence that's easy to use, they make beef too. Turmeric is the last ingredient.


I use the beef one, it is GREAT stuff.


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## katydidagain (Jun 11, 2004)

Hey, FH, I know what you mean. I can make a lot of great sauces but sometimes I just crave that gluey stuff found in those insipidly horrible for you comfort food pot pies. I have never been able to duplicate it but wish I could.


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## Marshloft (Mar 24, 2008)

I know a family of three, two youngins, and an old saw who would love to be your taste testers should you have a competition on your recipe.
Don't forget the crust,, the almighty awesome crusts that seperate a good pie from a not so good, regardles of the ingredients.
GH


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

We make our pot pies with all homegrown ingredients, much like CF and WIHH but without boullion or wine. We use cream from goat milk and partially cook the carrot, onion and celery in butter before it is added it to the sauce. Then let it simmer for 1/2 an hour. We like to use a baked chicken carcass, browned skin and all, boiled after being picked over, to make stock. But what makes the pie is Sweeties well seasoned, chive added pie crust....James


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

I'm constantly making chicken (and guinea) pot pies here. We can eat them every day if I cooked them!

I roast the chicken breasts (no skin) until done. Then chop them into bite size pieces. Then I add a mix of veggies (homegrown when we have them; "frozen mixed" when purchased) like corn, carrots & snaps. I use home-grown "puff-ball" mushrooms that I've cooked with goat "condensed" milk and add a small bit of the chicken broth (not the fatty part) to this broth.

Mix all these ingredients together with a tiny bit of salt/pepper and stuff "heaping" into purchased pie crusts. Cover with another pie crust and press the sides together all around the pan. Then stick a fork into the top many times.

Can freeze or bake right away at 350 degrees until the top browns well.


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