These golden pies will be the star attraction at your next picnic or gathering. Flaky pastry surrounds a creamy, savoury, chicken mince filling that your tastebuds won’t be able to get enough of. These pies are just as delicious eaten hot or cold, and are only made better drizzled in a tangy tomato sauce or relish.
How to make chicken picnic pie: key tips
You won’t need to add any oil to the pan to fry the chicken mince and bacon, as they will provide enough fat. Once you’ve done this and set it aside, you’ll make a savoury white sauce to combine with the mince to create the pie filling.
You don’t need to fully defrost the puff pastry before using the sheets for your pies – it is easier to work with when it’s a little firmer. Spread the mince mixture over the pastry sheet, but leave a 1cm edge all the way around. You can then brush the edges with the egg wash so they will stick to the top sheet of pastry when it is placed. Folding the edges over and then using a fork to crimp them ensures that the filling is well sealed and won’t leak out while the pies are cooking.
Key ingredients in this chicken picnic pie recipe
Chicken mince is a tasty, budget-friendly meat that is ideal for a pie filling.
Bacon rashers work well for the filling as the fat will render when it is fried and will help to brown both the chicken mince and bacon. To save chopping, you could use 100g bacon pieces instead.
Chicken stock is an easy way to add a savoury element to the mince, along with the cheese and leek. There isn’t a lot of blue cheese in the filling and so, once stirred through, it won’t have a very strong flavour, but feel free to swap it for something lighter, like a grated cheddar, if you prefer. You could also substitute the leek with chopped green shallots.
Choose butter puff pastry for melt-in-your-mouth flaky chicken pies.
Satisfy your need for a pie with more savoury pies! Try our favourite meat pie recipes. And here’s another creamy chicken pie to try that uses chicken thigh fillets instead of mince.
Introduction and additional recipe notes by Natasha Shaw.
Ingredients
- 330 g chicken mince
- 4 bacon rashers
- 1 tbs butter
- 1 1/2 tbs plain flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tsp chicken stock powder
- 50 g leek chopped
- 60 g blue cheese crumbled
- 2 sheets puff pastry
- 1 egg beaten
Method
-
Step 1Preheat oven to 200C.
-
Step 2Dry fry chicken mince and bacon until cooked, and set aside.
-
Step 3Melt butter in a saucepan and add flour and chicken stock powder. Stir well.
-
Step 4Over low heat, slowly add milk, stirring constantly until sauce thickens. Simmer for 3 minutes.
-
Step 5Combine sauce and cooked mince. Allow to cool.
-
Step 6Add cheese and leek (or shallots) and fold through.
-
Step 7Place mixture on a sheet of pastry. Brush edges with beaten egg.
-
Step 8Place the second sheet of pastry over the top and fold edges over.
-
Step 9Crimp edges with a fork and brush whole pie with beaten egg.
-
Step 10Cook for 25-30 minutes or until pastry is puffed and golden.
-
Step 11Serve hot or cold.
Equipment
- 1 saucepan
- 1 pastry brush
Recipe Notes
Should I let my chicken picnic pie cool a bit before serving?
It’s always a great idea to cool the pie for around 10 minutes after taking it out of the oven. This not only allows the filling to thicken up, so that it doesn’t run out when you cut it or bite into it, it will also prevent a scorchingly hot pie from burning your mouth.
Can I make smaller chicken picnic pies?
You can cook the pie however you'd prefer, one large or a few mini ones. If you want to make small individual pies, just use a cookie cutter, egg ring or glass to cut out circles in your puff pastry and then follow the recipe steps for assembling and cooking.
Recipe Reviews (52)
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Log in Register