Chicken & Meat Pies

Grandma Murray's Chicken and Meat Pies

Chicken Pies

Grandma Murray used to make the best chicken pies. I used to set and watch her make them hour after hour. She never measured anything, just guessed  at the measurement and it all worked out.  She would use little pie tins  that were about 3 1/2 inch across and maybe 4 inches deep.  I finely got her one day to measure out the ingredients for the pie crest. This is her chicken recipe as close to it as I can get it.  I remember that she would take them out of the oven without hot pads!

The day before:

1 whole chicken, put in a pressure cooker.  Fill with water almost to the top.  Cook 20 Minutes.  Remove All meat from bones.  Break chicken into small piece and save chicken broth.

(In other words, debone the chicken tear chicken into very small pieces and be sure to take out all the chicken fat and uneatable parts.)

Day of cooking:

Make grave from chicken broth.

But broth in a quart bottle, fill to top with water. 

But in a pan add enough flour to thicken and cook till thick.

Pour grave over chicken just enough to make it quite moist.

(I use the following for my gravy: This is for one cup of gravy, and I usually make 8 cups of gravy.)

• 2 tablespoon of butter,
• 2 tablespoon of flour
• 1 cup of chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon of chicken flavored base

Make pie dough:

• 2 1/2 cups sifted flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup lard or 1/2 pound

Add enough water to hold dough together.

Mix flour, salt and Lard with finger tips only.

Make dough into little balls.

do not mold balls to long.  Roll out dough, press into small pie tin.

Fill with chicken.  Roll top put three holes in top of dough.  Brush edges with water to hold top and bottom together.

Meat Pies

She also used to make great meat pies.  Could never get the recipe by watching her.

But not long after Grandma Murray died, I received a letter from Aunt Delsa, which read the following:

"I promised Grandma that I wouldn't give anyone her meat pie recipe as long as she was alive.  Now that I am released from that promise, I will give you my version of her recipe.  She cooked the onions in milk but I don't do that.

Meat Pies

• 1 pound of ground beef
• l cup of bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon dehydrated onions
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon savory (not savory salt)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups cold water

Mix thoroughly and fill dough lined pans bake at 350 until done.

Makes about 12 pies

Grandma and I roll out the dough in a long rectangular piece and put the pie pan on one end and pull the other half over and seal with water.

I hope you can read this, I can't write or type very well, and can't correct mistakes."

~Aunt Delsa