This recipe is modified from Alton Brown's recipe from the Good Eats episode entitled "A Bird In The Pie Is Worth Two In The Bush"
IngredientsFilling:- 1 pound bulk-style chicken sausage
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 ounces all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 1/4 pounds shredded, cooked chicken, about 5 cups
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon freshly chopped sage
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Biscuit Topping:- 12 ounces all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
- 2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme
- 1 teaspoon freshly chopped sage
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 ounces extra-sharp white Cheddar
- 4 ounces unsalted butter, frozen
- 7 ounces low-fat buttermilk
Preparation:For the filling: Place a 10-inch dutch oven over a full spread of coals. Crumble the chicken sausage in the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink, about 6 minutes. Add the butter and melt, stirring to coat the sausage. Sprinkle the flour onto the sausage and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Pour in the milk and chicken broth, bring to a simmer and cook until sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Add the shredded chicken, salt, sage, and pepper. Stir to combine. Remove from heat and set aside while preparing the biscuits.
For the biscuits: Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, thyme, sage, and cayenne pepper in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
Grate the frozen cheese and butter using the large shredding disk of a food processor or the large side of a box grater. Immediately add the cheese and butter to the flour mixture. Stir to combine. Pour in the buttermilk and stir just to combine. Dump the dough onto a floured work surface and start folding the dough over on itself, gently kneading for 30 seconds, or until the dough is soft and smooth. Press the dough into a 1/2-inch thick round. Use a 3-inch round cutter to cut out the biscuits, being sure to push the cutter straight down through the dough to the work surface. Make your cuts as close together as possible to limit waste. Gather together any remaining dough, pat out again, and cut out as many biscuits as you can in order to get 9 total.
To build the pie: Set the biscuits on top of the filling, placing 8 around the edge of the oven and 1 in the middle. Bake with 12 briquettes bottom heat and 12 briquettes top heat until the biscuits are tall and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.