Turkey Pot Pie

I have been craving pot pie for a while now and as turkey season got closer the craving only got stronger! I had the most amazing opening morning running and gunning for turkeys on Montana public lands, and was fortunate to harvest this young tom. This is by far the best pot pie I have ever eaten and I am counting down the hours till lunch so I can have leftovers. I am also contemplating making this recipe again and dehydrating it for a meal on the mountain….

This recipe feeds two allowing for leftovers the next day. Follow the steps below to enjoy a bowl full of wild game comfort food.

Step one: Shoot the turkey.

Step two: Field dress your turkey on your tailgate.

P.S. Montana Knife is the only knife I will use going forward. So many great features of this knife.

Create brine and soak meat for 16-24 hours.

Brine Recipe

Add four cups of water to a pot. Add 1 1/2 - 2 cups Kosher salt ( do not use iodized salt) 2 halved oranges, 6 garlic cloves, 1 tbsp peppercorn, 2 tsp rosemary, 2 tsp thyme, 1 cup brown sugar and 3 bay leaves. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 5 minutes.

Cool the water by adding 2 - 4 cups of water, and ice. This is so your turkey doesn’t grow bacteria in warm water / start to cook. Submerge your turkey breast into the brine and let sit in the refrigerator for 16-24 hours. [ My pot only was able to hold 6 cups of water so I added ice to help cool ] Once brine was cool I did remove about two cups so it wouldn’t overflow once meat was added. To avoid this simply use a bigger pot!

Turkey Pot Pie Recipe

Turn oven to 400 degrees 

Melt 3 tbls of butter in your cast iron on medium heat [or any pan, it really doesn’t matter]

 Add half of a yellow or white onion diced, 2 diced carrots, 2 diced celery, and

1 tsp thyme. 

While veggies are cooking, cook your turkey. I used one breast for this recipe. Dice turkey meat into small chunks. Oil your pan, add turkey, salt, pepper

[shake, shake, shake] and 1 tsp rosemary. Cook until almost cooked through, remove from heat.

Once onions are almost translucent [around 7-10 mins] add ¼ cup + 2 tbls flour. Stir and let cook for one minute. Add 1 ¾ cups chicken broth + 1 cup heavy cream. Stirring occasionally brings to a simmer till mixture thickens. Add in black pepper to your liking. 

Once mixture is thickened add turkey breast and 1/2 cup peas and mix.

Place one round sheet of pie crust to the bottom of your dutch oven, fill with pot pie contents  and cover with another round sheet of pie crust. Pinch the edges of pie crust to help seal the edges. Mix an egg and brush the top of the crust. Make four slits on the top layer for pot pie to vent while cooking. 

Cook for 25 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

Pull from the oven, and let sit for 5-10 minutes before devouring an entire bowl!