Chicken-On-The-Bone Pot Pie

Background info: Commonly found in modern-day cuisines around the world, the meat pie has been traced back to the Neolithic Period, around 9500 BC, where they were eaten by both the affluent and the poor in ancient Mesopotamia. These savory pies became wildly popular across Medieval Europe, where the pastry crust, unlike the flaky versions that we all love today, would often be thrown out as it was tough and inedible.

Although many pot pie recipes in the U.S. feature lean meat, a bone-in version, like this recipe, provides essential micronutrients, like magnesium, as well as a healthy dose of vitamin A (extracted from the bone marrow) and gut-healing gelatin.

—Price-Pottenger

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By Annie Dru, CCE

This is my take on an old-fashioned recipe utilizing meat on the bone to achieve a to-die-for rich and savory gravy.

Ingredients:

4-6 bone-in, skin-on, pasture-raised chicken thighs, cut into thirds
1 large onion, chopped
1 head garlic, minced
4 small or 2 medium potatoes, diced
2 medium carrots, cut into rounds
Small bunch of thyme, stems removed
4-6 cups chicken stock
Marsala or white wine
Butter and lard as needed
2-4 tablespoons of sprouted wheat or spelt flour

Directions

Preheat oven to 375º F. Chop onion, dice potatoes and carrots, and mince garlic and thyme.
Sauté vegetables and herbs in a couple of tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, starting with the onions and ending with the garlic and thyme. Cook until onions are golden brown and just until garlic is fragrant.
Melt 2 tablespoons of lard in a large skillet and place chicken thighs in to brown on both sides; remember not to crowd the skillet (even if you have to do several batches). Remove the chicken and set aside while you make the gravy.
Heat the chicken stock in a small pan until just below the boiling point.
Deglaze the chicken skillet with ½ cup of Marsala or white wine and scrape the browned bits off the bottom. When the wine is reduced a bit, pour it and the savory bits into the vegetable mixture.
Bring the skillet back up to temperature and melt 2 tablespoons each of butter and lard. Sprinkle several tablespoons of flour over the fat while stirring vigorously with a whisk.
Slowly pour warm stock into the browned flour as you continue to stir until gravy forms. Continue stirring until gravy thickens to desired consistency.
Place thigh pieces and vegetable mixture in a large casserole dish and cover with gravy. Top with biscuit crust, turn oven down to 350º F, and bake for 40-50 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.

Biscuit crust

Ingredients:

1½ cups sprouted wheat or spelt flour, sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup lard and 2 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into pieces
1 cup sourdough starter (or enough buttermilk to make a workable dough)

Directions:

Sift dry ingredients together and cut in lard and butter to create large pea-sized pieces. Add sourdough starter or buttermilk and mix until just blended. Gently knead a few times.
Drop spoonfuls of dough onto the chicken and gravy mixture in the casserole dish, making sure that the balls almost touch one another. As it bakes, the balls will rise and come together to form a crust.
When partaking of the pot pie, please be watchful of the bones. They should be large enough to find and remove easily.

About the Author

Annie Dru attended the University of California, San Diego, and has studied the art of nutrition for over 25 years. She teaches a local series of classes on food preparation based on the research of Weston A. Price, DDS, and is a member of the Price-Pottenger advisory board. She has lectured at San Diego State University and the University of California, Santa Barbara. See her YouTube presentation on the “PricePottenger” channel, and visit her website at www.lardmouth.com. Annie’s DVD Easy to Make Lacto-Fermented Foods is available from PPNF. To order: price-pottenger.org/store or 619-462-7600.

Check out Annie Dru’s other recipes:

Buck & Duck Crackers

Duck Liver Paté

Cool & Spicy Canteloupe Gazpacho

Crème Fraîche Fudgesicles

Lacto-Fermented “Pickled” Green Beans