This is the ultimate chicken pie using real chef techniques, designed to help you cook like a professional at home. From roasting a whole chicken to maximise flavour and using every part for depth, to building a rich, silky sauce suprême and mastering crisp, golden puff pastry, this recipe elevates a classic comfort dish into something truly restaurant-quality.
We break down the key techniques chefs rely on in professional kitchens, how to avoid dry chicken, how to build flavour using bones, fat, and proper stock, and how to get a rich filling and perfectly cooked pastry. You’ll also learn how to thicken sauces properly, cook garnishes for maximum flavour, and assemble a pie that holds structure without going soggy.
RECIPE
**Pie filling**
1 Whole chicken
200g Shallots
200g lardons
200g button mushrooms
10g flat leaf parsley
10g tarragon
**Chicken Supreme Sauce**
100g Shallots
1 garlic clove
300ml dry white wine
1 bay leaf
1 rosemary sprig
3 thyme sprigs
800ml double chicken stock
500ml double cream
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp marmite
25g chicken fat
25g plain flour
Puff pastry
Unsalted butter
2 egg yolks
1. Set your oven to 190C
2. Flip the chicken over so the breasts are on the board and parson’s nose is pointing towards you.
3. With scissors, start from just to one side of the parson’s nose and cut through the ribs, all the way to to the neck
4. Repeat on the other side so the spine fully releases (keep this for roasting)
5. Turn the chicken over and firmly press it down so that the chicken legs splays and the chicken flattens out.
6. Pat the chicken and the backbone dry, place in a roasting tray and rub the skin with olive oil and salt
7. Roast for 30 minutes or until the juices run clear from the thickest part of the whole chicken. Remove from the oven and allow to rest.
**For the Garnish**
1. Peel and cut the shallots into 2cm chunks, quarter the button mushrooms and finely slice the pancetta.
2. Add a dash of olive oil to a frying pan or skillet and on a medium heat add the garnish, sauteing until golden.
**After the Chicken’s rested**
1. Remove the chicken meat from the whole chicken, keeping the carcass, roasted back bone and one leg bone to support the pastry lid!
2. Drain the fat into a small bowl and set keep for later.
3. Run your knife through the chicken meat so you have bite sized pieces. Set aside.
**For the Supreme Sauce**
1. Break the carcass up and return to the roasting tray along with the wings and the back, leg and thigh bones
2. Roast on 200C for 20 minutes until a deep golden
3. Thinly slice the shallots, crush the garlic and add them to a large saute pan.
4. Saute until the shallots become light golden
5. Continue to saute so the carcass starts to colour in places
6. Add the white wine along with the aromats and reduce by 2/3’s
7. Add the chicken stock, turn the heat down to a simmer and reduce by half again, occasionally skimming off any fat
8. Strain the chicken stock into a mixing bowl and discard the wings and sauteed veg
9. Whisk in the cream before returning to a medium heat a reducing to a light coating consistency
10. Mix together the flour, chicken fat, marmite and dijon to make a beurre manie and whisk through the sauce.
12. Continue to whisk until the sauce thickens and begins to bubble.
**To finish the Filling**
1. Stir the chicken and garnish through the sauce.
2. Chiffonade the parsley and tarragon, stir through the sauce and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Allow to cool.
**To make the Egg Wash**
1. Separate the eggs, store the whites in an airtight container for another dish and whisk the egg yolks
**To make the Pastry**
1. Roll 2 thirds of your block of puff pastry out to about 3mm thick.
2. Line your pie dish with the puff pastry sheet, ensuring you have enough pastry to lay over the edges.
3. Using a small knife follow around the circumference of the dish so you’re left with a neat edge. Refrigerate for 30 minutes
4. To make you’re pastry lid, roll out the other third of the puff pastry to about 6mm
5. Place you pie dish upside down on top and using a small knife, cut around the perimeter
6. If using pre rolled puff pastry, do this on 2 sheets, brush one sheet with egg wash and place the second sheet on top, making sure to line up the edges
7. Refrigerate the lid template to the fridge for 30 minutes
8. Set your oven to 180C Fan
9. Brush the pie lid with egg wash.
10. Fill the lined pie dish with your chicken filling
11. Put both the lid and the dish side by side in the oven and bake for 25 minutes
12. Carefully remove the pie lid and pie dish from the oven
13. Brush the edges of the pie dish with egg wash before place the puffed up lid on top
14. Return to the oven for 10 minutes before removing from the oven.
15. Leave to stand for 10 minutes before serving!
VIDEO CHAPTERS
00:00 – Ultimate Pie
00:12 – Cooking the Chicken
03:14 – Cooking the Filling
10:00 – Preparing the Pastry
12:33 – Assembling the Pie
13:50 – Cooking & Tasting
