Muffin-Tin Chicken Potpies -- Practicing the Art of the Roast Before the Big Day

Two weeks to Thanksgiving. I've been in preparation mode — cleaning the house with a thoroughness it hasn't seen in months, pulling the good linens out of the cedar chest, checking that all the serving dishes are where they should be. The ceremonial aspects of the thing. Thanksgiving is more ceremony than most people admit. It has very specific objects associated with it, very specific smells and textures and the precise weight of particular dishes that only come out in November.

Helen had a turkey roasting methodology that she defended vigorously against all alternatives. Start breast-side down, turn for the last hour, baste every thirty minutes, never stuff the cavity. I have watched her do this twenty-something times and this will be my first year doing it myself. I practiced on a chicken last week — roasted it using the same approach, same temperature progressions — and it worked, the breast meat juicy in a way that roast chicken doesn't always achieve. I feel cautiously prepared.

Teddy and I did a prep cook via video call this Saturday: pie crust. He's bringing pie on Wednesday. His choice was mince pie — an old-fashioned choice, very New England, something his grandmother used to make. He found the recipe in the cookbook I sent him for his birthday. I was moved by the choice, though I didn't say so specifically. Some things you absorb sideways.

The blog post I wrote about cooking Thanksgiving alone last year — my first without Helen, before I knew about the pandemic, just a widower's first holiday — has gotten more traffic this month than anything I've written. I keep getting comments from people in similar situations. There is a community of sorts in grief, I'm learning. You find each other through food writing when you can't find each other in person.

After I pulled that practice chicken out of the oven last week — breast-side up for the final stretch, just as Helen always finished the turkey — I stood there longer than I needed to, just looking at it. It had worked. The breast meat was genuinely juicy. I didn’t want to just carve it quietly and move on, so I turned the leftovers into something that felt more like a gathering: muffin-tin chicken potpies, individual and warm, the kind of thing you could set out for the people who show up early on Wednesday. It felt right — a little ceremonial, a little practical, exactly the spirit I’m trying to carry into this Thanksgiving.

Muffin-Tin Chicken Potpies

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 12 individual potpies

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or diced
• 1 cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed
• 1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1/3 cup yellow onion, finely diced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 packages (14.1 oz each) refrigerated pie crusts (4 crusts total)
• 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven. Heat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Make the filling. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add diced onion and cook 3–4 minutes until softened. Whisk in flour and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly, until the mixture turns lightly golden.
3. Build the sauce. Gradually whisk in chicken broth and milk. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens to a gravy consistency, about 4–5 minutes. Stir in garlic powder, thyme, salt, and pepper.
4. Combine filling. Remove from heat. Fold in the cooked chicken, peas, carrots, and corn until evenly coated. Set aside to cool slightly while you prepare the crusts.
5. Cut the crusts. Unroll pie crusts on a lightly floured surface. Using a 4-inch round cutter, cut 12 circles for the bases and 12 slightly smaller (3-inch) circles for the tops. Re-roll scraps as needed.
6. Line the muffin tin. Gently press one 4-inch circle into each muffin cup, easing it up the sides. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of filling into each cup, mounding it slightly.
7. Top and seal. Place a 3-inch crust circle over each filled cup. Pinch the edges of the top and bottom crust together to seal. Cut a small X vent in each top crust. Brush lightly with beaten egg.
8. Bake. Bake 20–25 minutes until the crusts are deep golden brown and the filling is bubbling through the vents. Let rest in the tin for 5 minutes before removing with a small offset spatula.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 310 | Protein: 12g | Fat: 17g | Carbs: 28g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 390mg