A subject of much confusion to non-Yorkers: Potpie
Edna Brothers, then 81 years old, checks on the chicken potpie she’s making for Sunday dinner to serve to her sons and daughters-in-law in her East Manchester Township home in this 2006 photo.
A while ago, commenter Kris emailed about a true York County food. Kris writes, “Chicken potpie is best from a fire company and contains no crust. I can’t tell you how many people expect an actual pie-looking item to appear because of the title.”
And there we get into the fun. “Real” potpie – can I get an amen here – is what some people call slippery potpie. It’s a soupy serving of meat and dough squares. What I think people expect if, um, they don’t know any better, is what I have always known as baked potpie, which has veggies and a crust on top. (If you buy frozen meals, their “potpies” are generally of the baked type.)
So, of course, today’s a good day to share a chicken potpie recipe from Edna Brothers, who is pictured above! We ran a story back in 2006 sharing several traditional Pennsylvania Dutch recipes, including this one.
Chicken Potpie
3 cups flour
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup water
Flour for rolling
Whole chicken or pieces of chicken
Onion and parsley, to taste
1 can cream of chicken soup
Mix the 3 cups flour, 3 eggs, salt and water with a fork, then knead. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour. Put the dough in a plastic bag and let stand for an hour. Flour the counter and roll the dough to about 1/16 of an inch thick. Use a pizza cutter to cut it into squares.
Bring a large pot filled with water to a boil. Add chicken or chicken parts, cream of chicken soup, onions and parsley. Let the chicken boil for one hour. Once the chicken is done, remove the chicken. Be sure the water fills the kettle 3/4 full. Return the water to a boil and add the dough squares a few at a time. Add more onion and parsley if desired. Boil for 30 minutes. Sprinkle the cooked chicken meat with flour and cook in butter in a separate pan. Serve.
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So, since we haven’t had a good food poll for a while, today seems like a good excuse for a question. Please vote, and if you have a favorite type of potpie, favorite place to get it or another recipe suggestion, please leave a comment!
