Mary Berry’s chicken and bacon pie recipe is the epitome of comfort food – and with winter fast approaching – it’s the perfect dish to warm you up on a dark and blustery night
As the chill of winter approaches, there’s nothing quite like tucking into a sumptuous, home-cooked pie to beat the cold.
Legendary chef Mary Berry has got you covered with her ultimate comfort food recipe – a scrumptious chicken and bacon pie that promises to be a hit with everyone.
Perfect for relaxing after a hectic day, this hearty dish is not only a delicious way to warm up but also a savvy way to save some pennies by dining in. With Mary Berry’s straightforward instructions, you can whip up this culinary delight in less than two hours.
Designed to serve six, the recipe hails from Mary Berry’s Foolproof Cooking series in collaboration with BBC Good Food. Mary herself has said: “This chicken and bacon pie would make a wonderful centrepiece for a family meal.”
Ready to get cooking? The full recipe is outlined below.
Ingredients
- Six skinless chicken legs
- Four celery sticks, diced
- Four bay leaves, roughly slices
- 200ml dry white wine
- 300ml chicken stock
- 250g smoked back bacon, cut into small pieces
- One large onion, roughly chopped
- 50g butter
- 60g plain flour
- Two tbsp full-fat crème fraîche
- One tbsp grainy mustard
- Two x 375g ready-rolled, all-butter puff pastry
- One egg, beaten
- Salt and pepper
Method
1. Kick things off by preheating your oven to 160C/140C Fan. Take the chicken legs, celery, and bay leaves and pop them into a large saucepan. Douse them with the wine and stock, then season well with salt and pepper.
2. Bring the concoction to a boil over medium-high heat, slap on the lid, and then slide it into the oven. Let it bubble away for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the chicken legs are perfectly cooked through and tender.
3. Once cooled, meticulously remove all the meat from the chicken bones. Mary suggested keeping the bones for stock later in the recipe. Break down the meat into bite-sized pieces and place it in a bowl. Strain the stock, keep the celery and toss out the bay leaves. Measure the liquid to ensure you have 750ml, topping up with extra stock or white wine if needed.
4. Heat a large frying pan and sizzle the bacon pieces on medium-high heat for three minutes. Toss in the onion, cover with a lid and fry for an additional 10 minutes until the onion is tender. Add the butter, stir until it’s melted, then sprinkle in the flour to create a roux. Gradually pour the reserved liquid into the roux, whisking as you go, until it achieves a smooth consistency.
5. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper, then combine with the reserved celery, crème fraiche and mustard before adding the shredded chicken pieces. Spoon the filling into an ovenproof dish and smooth the top. Allow it to cool and then chill, covered, in the fridge for 30 minutes.
6. While it’s cooling, get started on the pastry. On a floured work surface, roll out each of the pastry sheets to about 3mm thick and cut each piece into long, chunky ribbons – roughly 3cm wide. Ensure you have enough to cover your pie too and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes to firm up.
7. After the 30 minutes is up, retrieve the filling from the fridge and brush the edges of the dish with a beaten egg. Carefully transfer the pastry lattice from the baking paper and place it on top of the chilled filling. Trim any excess pastry around the rim and lightly press to seal.
8. Ramp up the oven temperature to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6, brush the pastry with the remaining beaten egg and bake for 30 minutes until the pastry is golden and cooked through, and the chicken is bubbling.
