Pulled Pork Pot Pie with Whiskey Crust Recipe
Fan of pot pies? Me too. Looking to make use of your BBQ leftovers and not sure how to use them all at once? Then this just might be the recipe for you! Over the past couple years, I've been crafting my traditional chicken pot pie, which is great for wintry months but too heavy for a summer meal. This recipe lends itself to practically any tasty leftover from the grill and could easily be made vegetarian by swapping out the meat for grilled veggies.
Whiskey Cheddar Pie Crust
Using a Martha Stewart recipe as a base for my pie crusts, I also added one good shot of Jameson to make the dough nice and flaky once it's baked. The dough shouldn't be too dry since that alcohol will evaporate while cooking in the oven, but not too sticky either (just right, Goldilocks). Add grated cheddar cheese to the dry ingredients before mixing with the wet, and you've got the start of one tasty pie crust. There are a couple general rules always outlined in pie crust recipes: your crusts are happier when everything is super cold and you don't over-handle it. Divide the dough in half and shape into two disks, which then get refrigerated for about an hour. This recipe will yield two 11" rounds when rolled out, giving you plenty of extra dough to use for little decorations, if you fancy that kind of thing (I do!).
Pot Pie Filling
I like a little bit of everything in a bite, so I chose smoked pork shoulder, garlic mashed potatoes, corn and scallions as my core ingredients. Grilled chicken, brisket or other proteins can trade places with the pork.I set this bad boy up in a 9.5" casserole deep dish, so I made sure there was a solid two layers of every component (same as you'd layer a lasagna). I also rolled out the pie crusts a bit thicker than normal so that they would support all that craziness going on in the filling.
Cooking Time
In the oven at 400˚F the deep dish takes close to a full hour bake; I think it would be about 40-45 minutes if using a standard 9" pie pan. After it's cooled down a bit, it's time to feast! At this point, feel free to dress with your favorite gravy/BBQ sauce/condiment. The more the merrier! Summer tastes good.