Moravian Chicken Pie (Traditional)

[diane]

This is an authentic but up to date recipe from the Piedmont of North Carolina. Older versions use both dark and white meat, newer ones white only. To make the broth, cook the whole chicken until the meat falls off the bone, then strain it and simmer it until concentrated. Or, just use the canned broth.

Moravian Chicken Pie

Ingredients

Pie Crust

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shortening
6-8 tablespoons cold water

Filling

2 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken broth
1-2 tablespoon butter, cut in pieces (optional)

Crumb Topping

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter

Directions

1. For Pie Crust, combine flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Stir in water just until dough forms. Divide dough into two equal pieces. Cover and chill 30 minutes, or until ready to use.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out one piece of dough to cover bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate and place in the plate. Roll out second piece of dough for top crust and set aside.

3. Place chicken on bottom crust in pie plate. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and flour, and pour in broth. Dot with butter, if desired. Cover with top crust, moisten edges with a little flour and crimp to seal.

4. For Crumb Topping, rub butter into flour until mixture resembles bread crumbs. Sprinkle over top crust of pie. Cut a few slits in top crust to allow steam to escape. (Unbaked pies may be frozen at this point.)

5. Place pie plate on a cookie sheet for easier handling and better browning of the bottom crust. Bake pie 45 minutes to 1 hour, until golden brown and bubbly. (If pie is frozen, bake at 400 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.) If desired, stir a mixture of flour and water into any extra chicken broth, plus salt and pepper to taste, and simmer until thickened to make a gravy to serve with the pie.

6. Makes one 9-inch pie.

Note: Many Moravians make chicken pies with a 10-inch pie plate. To adapt this recipe for a 10-inch pie plate, increase the filling ingredients to 3 cups chopped chicken, 1/4 cup flour and 1 1/4 cups chicken broth, but use the same amounts of all the other ingredients.

 

[Jim Klag]

This is an authentic but up to date recipe from the Piedmont of North Carolina. Older versions use both dark and white meat, newer ones white only. To make the broth, cook the whole chicken until the meat falls off the bone, then strain it and simmer it until concentrated. Or, just use the canned broth.

Moravian Chicken Pie

Ingredients

Pie Crust

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shortening
6-8 tablespoons cold water

Filling

2 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken broth
1-2 tablespoon butter, cut in pieces (optional)

Crumb Topping

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter

Directions

1. For Pie Crust, combine flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Stir in water just until dough forms. Divide dough into two equal pieces. Cover and chill 30 minutes, or until ready to use.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out one piece of dough to cover bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate and place in the plate. Roll out second piece of dough for top crust and set aside.

3. Place chicken on bottom crust in pie plate. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and flour, and pour in broth. Dot with butter, if desired. Cover with top crust, moisten edges with a little flour and crimp to seal.

4. For Crumb Topping, rub butter into flour until mixture resembles bread crumbs. Sprinkle over top crust of pie. Cut a few slits in top crust to allow steam to escape. (Unbaked pies may be frozen at this point.)

5. Place pie plate on a cookie sheet for easier handling and better browning of the bottom crust. Bake pie 45 minutes to 1 hour, until golden brown and bubbly. (If pie is frozen, bake at 400 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.) If desired, stir a mixture of flour and water into any extra chicken broth, plus salt and pepper to taste, and simmer until thickened to make a gravy to serve with the pie.

6. Makes one 9-inch pie.

Note: Many Moravians make chicken pies with a 10-inch pie plate. To adapt this recipe for a 10-inch pie plate, increase the filling ingredients to 3 cups chopped chicken, 1/4 cup flour and 1 1/4 cups chicken broth, but use the same amounts of all the other ingredients.

Yum. My mother-in-law made a killer chicken pie. I'll ask my wife to dig up the recipe.

 

[diane]

Chicken pie is exactly that - if one adds veggies, one has a completely different dish! I like to serve this with mashed potatoes and green beans with bacon. It makes its own gravy, but if it does come out dry just a little of the leftover broth will make a very nice quick gravy. And, you can double the pastry recipe if you want a real crust over the top instead of the crumbles!

These Moravian pies have been a staple of church potlucks for literally centuries, and in NC the preachers would gauge the cost of a new church building in chicken pies - how many do we need to get this Sunday school built?

 

[Jim Klag]

Chicken pie is exactly that - if one adds veggies, one has a completely different dish! I like to serve this with mashed potatoes and green beans with bacon. It makes its own gravy, but if it does come out dry just a little of the leftover broth will make a very nice quick gravy. And, you can double the pastry recipe if you want a real crust over the top instead of the crumbles!

These Moravian pies have been a staple of church potlucks for literally centuries, and in NC the preachers would gauge the cost of a new church building in chicken pies - how many do we need to get this Sunday school built?

In Pennsylvania Dutch country, their chicken pies have no veggies in them either. A dumpling or two maybe, but no veggies. They don't do many casseroles or stews with multiple ingredients. Veggies and starches on the side. I'm assuming Moravians are much the same.

 

[diane]

They're an interesting immigrant group - I believe the Moravians who settled in North Carolina were German mostly. Think their religion conflicted with the Catholic church and they're the Brethren - not sure. There are Brethren settlements in Pennsylvania, though. Their cooking is a signature of the Piedmont region! Sugar cake, ginger cookies, and lovefeast buns!

 

[O' Be Joyful]

with the Catholic church and they're the Brethren

https://www.nps.gov/anti/learn/historyculture/who-were-the-dunkers.htm

https://www.cob-net.org/antietam/dunkers.htm

 

[Nitti]

They're an interesting immigrant group - I believe the Moravians who settled in North Carolina were German mostly. Think their religion conflicted with the Catholic church and they're the Brethren - not sure. There are Brethren settlements in Pennsylvania, though. Their cooking is a signature of the Piedmont region! Sugar cake, ginger cookies, and lovefeast buns!

The Moravian church is from Germany and is one of the oldest Presbyterian churches in the world dating back to the Reformation in the 1500's.

 

[Nitti]

This is an authentic but up to date recipe from the Piedmont of North Carolina. Older versions use both dark and white meat, newer ones white only. To make the broth, cook the whole chicken until the meat falls off the bone, then strain it and simmer it until concentrated. Or, just use the canned broth.

Moravian Chicken Pie

Ingredients

Pie Crust

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shortening
6-8 tablespoons cold water

Filling

2 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken broth
1-2 tablespoon butter, cut in pieces (optional)

Crumb Topping

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter

Directions

1. For Pie Crust, combine flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Stir in water just until dough forms. Divide dough into two equal pieces. Cover and chill 30 minutes, or until ready to use.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll out one piece of dough to cover bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate and place in the plate. Roll out second piece of dough for top crust and set aside.

3. Place chicken on bottom crust in pie plate. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and flour, and pour in broth. Dot with butter, if desired. Cover with top crust, moisten edges with a little flour and crimp to seal.

4. For Crumb Topping, rub butter into flour until mixture resembles bread crumbs. Sprinkle over top crust of pie. Cut a few slits in top crust to allow steam to escape. (Unbaked pies may be frozen at this point.)

5. Place pie plate on a cookie sheet for easier handling and better browning of the bottom crust. Bake pie 45 minutes to 1 hour, until golden brown and bubbly. (If pie is frozen, bake at 400 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.) If desired, stir a mixture of flour and water into any extra chicken broth, plus salt and pepper to taste, and simmer until thickened to make a gravy to serve with the pie.

6. Makes one 9-inch pie.

Note: Many Moravians make chicken pies with a 10-inch pie plate. To adapt this recipe for a 10-inch pie plate, increase the filling ingredients to 3 cups chopped chicken, 1/4 cup flour and 1 1/4 cups chicken broth, but use the same amounts of all the other ingredients.

The pie was supposed to be originated from Salem,N.C.