Buttermilk Biscuit Ham Potpie

November 2022. Fall in Memphis, and I am 63, walking the neighborhood in my light jacket, watching the leaves turn on the oaks and maples that line Deadrick Avenue. The smoker is happy in fall — the cooler air holds the smoke lower, keeps it closer to the meat, and the results are always a shade better in October than in July, as if the season itself is a seasoning.

Rosetta beside me through the week, steady as ever, the woman who runs this household with the precision of a hospital ward and the heart of a mother who has loved fiercely for 38 years of marriage. The BBQ class at the community center continues — students of all ages learning fire and smoke, and me learning that teaching is its own kind of cooking: you prepare, you present, you hope something sticks.

I made smoked chicken this week — a simple cook that belies its depth. Rubbed with salt, pepper, garlic, and paprika, smoked at 275 over hickory for three hours. The skin was mahogany, the meat juicy, and the first bite carried the kind of flavor that makes you close your eyes, which is the highest compliment food can earn: the involuntary closing of the eyes, the body's admission that what it's tasting is too good to see.

Another week in the book. Another seven days of tending fires — the one in the smoker, the one in the marriage, the one in the family, the one in the church. Each fire needs something different: wood, attention, food, faith. But the tending is the same for all of them: show up, add what's needed, wait patiently, trust the process. Low and slow. Always. Low and slow.

Rosetta has always known that the smoker feeds the neighborhood, but the potpie feeds the house — and after a week like this one, where every fire needed tending and every room needed something from me, I wanted to put something back on the table that was hers, that said thank you without the words. The buttermilk biscuit crust on this potpie is patient work, same as the smoker: you don’t rush the cold butter into the flour, you don’t skip the rest, and what comes out of the oven rewards every deliberate step. Low and slow applies here too — just with an apron instead of a hickory log.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr 5 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

For the filling:
2 cups cooked ham, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup carrots, diced
1/2 cup celery, sliced thin
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt to taste
For the buttermilk biscuit topping:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
3/4 cup cold buttermilk

Instructions

Preheat. Heat oven to 425°F. Have a 10-inch oven-safe skillet or 2-quart baking dish ready.
Cook the vegetables. Melt butter in the skillet over medium heat. Add carrots and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 5 minutes.
Build the gravy. Whisk in flour and cook 1 minute until the raw smell fades. Gradually pour in chicken broth, then milk, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens to a loose gravy, about 4–5 minutes. Season with pepper, garlic powder, and salt.
Add ham and peas. Stir in diced ham and frozen peas. Remove from heat. If using a separate baking dish, transfer filling now.
Make the biscuit dough. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Add cold butter and work it in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse, pebbled crumbs — do not overwork it. Pour in cold buttermilk and stir just until the dough comes together.
Top and bake. Drop biscuit dough by heaping spoonfuls evenly over the warm filling. Bake 22–26 minutes, until biscuits are deep golden brown and the filling is bubbling at the edges.
Rest before serving. Let the potpie sit 5 minutes before spooning into bowls — the filling will settle and thicken just enough to hold together on the plate.

Nutrition (per serving)

Buttermilk Biscuit Ham Potpie — The Kind of Comfort That Holds a Household Together