Chicken Ale Pie

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Lately, I have been really missing England. Surprisingly, it is not because of the weather.. I’m a lover of the cold and not going to lie, I was really excited to wake up to snowy conditions this week. What felt like the next best thing to actually being in England, was to make a chicken ale pie. (Not actually that close, but whatever.)

Ian and I ate in quite a few pubs during our time in the UK and it was hard to resist a good old chicken and ale pie. Of course, we found one on Yummly that Ian made a few times (I can honestly say, I do not recall helping him to make them so I must have been at work.. or watching Made in Chelsea..) but for today, I figured I would hammer one out on my own.

Getting Started

Usually, I chop and prep as I cook, but for this, I chopped all of the veg and the chicken before I turned on any elements or preheated the oven. And let me tell you, I felt infinitely more organized. Who knew?

Time To Cook

Easy enough to add everything to a large pan (which I’m almost certain has been the same one I’ve used for every one of my recipes, which will give you an idea of how much filling this pie will have!) and then toss it into a puff pastry lined casserole dish. By all means, use a proper pie crust if you prefer or if that’s what you have access to. Also, extra points if you make one from scratch. I know my mom made pie crusts from scratch, but I for one, never have. That will just have to be a challenge for me at some point, I guess.

Extra Tid Bits

The carrots and celery might not be super soft before you add them to the dish – don’t fret! They will continue to cook in the oven. If your pie filling seems runny, you can stir in more flour. It will thicken as it cooks and definitely as you let it rest once you take it out of the oven after the final 15 minutes.

Speaking of carrots and celery, when I am making things that require cooking celery, I like to skip into the middle of the stalk and use those pieces. You know the ones. The ones that are a little pale and leafy and you don’t feel like eating them. This is a great way to reduce waste! And definitely use the leaves, they’ve got lots of flavour too. Second to that is your carrots – don’t peel them if you can help it. The peel has lots of good nutrients.

Most Importantly, the Ale

For beer, I used Farmery’s Robbie Scotch Ale. Farmery is a brewery about 20 minutes east of where we now live, in Ian’s hometown of Neepawa (okay, he’s actually from a tiny place 10 miles from Neepawa called Eden). I’m not much of a beer drinker, but I really do enjoy what Farmery puts on the shelves. Especially their flavoured beers! To my knowledge, Farmery is not sold outside of Manitoba, so my resident beer expert (Ian) says you can use an Amber Ale, as an alternative. I honestly think a good old Pabst Blue Ribbon would work just as well because let’s face it, beers that aren’t the greatest for drinking – are great for cooking with. But what do I know? I’m the girl whose own grandmother asked her if she needed a nipple for her beer once… (Since this has been published, I am pretty sure there are places in Saskatchewan and Ontario where you can buy their product but do NOT trust me on that one as I couldn’t find the info.. will call Farmery this week)

Before You Go 

I had a suggestion to add potatoes, so if you want to chop up a potato into small chunks, go for it on the condition you let me know what it’s like! (Also, bacon. Add bacon if you prefer) For a vegetarian option, omit the chicken and toss in a couple of cans of white beans. For a low carb option (gasp!), just eat the filling without a crust.

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Happy cooking!