Duchess Potato Rooster Mushroom Pie

July 16, 2025

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I wish to rave in regards to the wealthy, savoury filling of this Rooster Mushroom Pie, however all anybody can speak about is the Duchess Potato topping…..😅 Fluffy and buttery inside with crispy parmesan crusted ridges, I wish to choose them off one after the other and eat all of them on my own!

A hen mushroom pie like no different!

This can be a pie with a lid like no different. We’re speaking fluffy, buttery swirls of mashed potato piped into mounds – Duchess Potato fashion – drizzled with butter and baked till golden, crusted with parmesan.

The peaks and ridges are crispy, the within is fluffy and creamy, and the underside soaks up the wealthy sauce of the pie filling beneath. It’s mainly a flowery potato crown on your pie……

Sorry puff pastry! You’ve been dethroned!

As for what’s beneath? A wealthy pie filling with massive juicy bites of hen and mushroom with a deeply savoury darkish brown sauce that tastes such as you’ve been gradual cooking for hours somewhat than quarter-hour.

It’s positively a lower above your common hen pie. In reality, it was initially christened an Further Good Rooster Mushroom Pie (go on, have a giggle and mock my lack of inventive writing abilities!). I had deliberate to inform you the little additional issues I do to make it additional good: Guinness beer for immediate depth within the sauce (assume – Guinness Stew!), searing hen items entire somewhat than chopped for higher color (which equals flavour), and utilizing beef somewhat than hen inventory for a darker, deeper flavoured sauce.

Little issues – however they make such a distinction!

PS You’ll really feel such as you’re adorning a cake if you pipe the mash. It’s oddly satisfying / amusing.

Substances for Duchess Potato Rooster Mushroom Pie

In the event you make the error of including up the full butter within the recipe (I’m not going to do the maths for you), only a reminder that we’re making an additional good pie right here. 🥰 In the event you actually ~~need~~ want to chop again (physician’s orders are nearly the one acceptable purpose), you need to use oil spray as an alternative of butter to sear the hen and spritz the floor of the potato, and skip the second dab of butter within the mushrooms.

Simply don’t skip the butter to make the roux, else you danger lumpy sauce. 🙂

1. CHICKEN FOR THE PIE

I favor to make use of hen thighs somewhat than breast, for juicier bites of hen. Although, that is nonetheless very good made with breast (it received’t overcook), I simply assume it’s higher with thigh.

2. PIE FILLING SAUCE AND OTHER STUFF

Right here’s what you want for the opposite pie add-ins and the sauce:

Guinness beer – That is the key ingredient that makes Irish Beef Stew one of many best on this planet, giving the sauce a wealthy, darkish brown color and exquisite depth of flavour. It doesn’t style beery in any respect as a result of the alcohol is cooked out. Cans right here in Australia are 470ml (16oz) so that you’ll get two batches of this pie plus a couple of swigs for your self out of a can (freeze leftover beer, it’s positive to make use of flat in cooking).

See FAQ for gluten-free possibility making this with wine as an alternative of beer.
Beef inventory – The opposite liquid for the sauce. Beef somewhat than hen inventory (the standard selection when cooking with hen), for a darker brown sauce with deeper flavour.
Bacon – Thick lower streaky works greatest so you find yourself with good items all through the stew. The finely lower slices (which are usually the extra artisan fashion bacon) will work however they’re a bit too delicate for a stew state of affairs – they curl and break.
Mushrooms – That is the principle vegetable on this pie so we’re utilizing a great quantity, 500g/1lb in complete. I like the pops of juiciness they carry into the filling, and the way they’re a sponge for sauce. Substitute with carrots, celery and peas (pie favourites!)
Garlic and onion – Flavour base for the sauce. I like to chop the onion bigger than normal – both 2.5cm/1″ squares or thick wedges – I simply assume it seems to be nicer within the sauce than having a gazillion tiny little diced items.
Thyme – Traditional herb selection for this sauce, additionally utilized in Guinness Stew.
Flour – Thickens the sauce. Simply common plain/all-purpose flour. See FAQ for gluten-free possibility.
Tomato paste – Simply 1 tablespoon thickens the sauce barely and provides a contact of acidity to chop by way of the savouriness of the sauce. It was a late addition, and it’s positively a extra balanced sauce with it.
Butter – For cooking the mushrooms, hen and making the roux (every cooked individually on this additional good pie recipe 🙂 ). You possibly can lower down if utilizing different greens that don’t soak up oil (like carrots) and use oil spray as an alternative for browning the hen. However you want the butter for the roux (ie the step if you combine flour in) as you want a minimal quantity of fats else you’ll find yourself with a lumpy gravy.

3. DUCHESS POTATO TOPPING

And lastly, right here’s what you want for the Duchess potatoes lid for this magnificent pie! Potatoes, butter and milk for the creamy mash, then parmesan (retailer purchased grated works greatest) and additional butter for drizzling for the topping.

Potatoes – Starchy potatoes, somewhat than waxy, are greatest, so the within of the duchess potato swirls are fluffy inside with a light-weight crust on the floor. Australia – Sebago are excellent (these grime brushed potatoes we get “in all places”). US – Russet, and UK – King Edward or Maris Piper are excellent. Or another starchy potatoes – Dutch lotions, King Edwards or pink delight.
Parmesan – Information flash! Retailer purchased grated parmesan (the sandy kind) works higher right here because it appears to nestle within the crevices higher than finely grating your personal. I discover that grating my very own is so mild, like delicate snow flakes, you’ll be able to find yourself with a layer that sits on high of the ridges of the swirls which bakes up like a skinny parmesan crisp somewhat than melting contained in the ridges. (Am I actually nonetheless writing about this? BUT THESE LITTLE DETAILS MATTER TO ME! #ThatCrazyHomeCook 😅)

How you can make Duchess Potato Rooster Mushroom Pie

The order of cooking actually issues right here. Sear the hen first and also you’ll find yourself with a burnt pan earlier than you even begin the sauce. Prepare dinner mushrooms with the onion and so they simply go watery with out browning. And in the event you don’t cut back the Guinness earlier than including flour, the sauce tastes too beery as a result of we’re not gradual cooking for hours like we do Irish Guinness Stew.

So no, it’s not a fast throw-it-all-in-and-go recipe. However in order for you a actually good hen pie, you’ve acquired one proper right here. 🙂

1. Filling

Use a big, deep, non stick pan. Mine is 30cm/12″ broad – this one (store round, I acquired mine for round $80, and no, that’s not an affiliate hyperlink!).

Garlic butter mushrooms first – Soften butter on excessive warmth, add mushrooms and stir for 3 – 4 minutes till frivolously colored however nonetheless agency – they may end cooking within the sauce. Add a bit extra butter, soften, toss to coat, then add garlic, salt and pepper. Prepare dinner 20 seconds till garlic is golden, then switch to a bowl, scraping out all of the garlic bits (or they’ll burn).

💡Including the butter on the finish is my trick for getting that wealthy buttery flavour on mushrooms with no need a great deal of butter initially. Mushrooms are sponges for fats!
Golden seared hen – Season with salt and pepper then sear till properly golden on either side (~2 minutes). The hen ought to nonetheless be uncooked inside – we end cooking it by way of later. As soon as cool, lower into massive 2.5cm/1″ items (I do that whereas the sauce is simmering).

💡Searing entire offers higher color and flavour than chopped – each on the hen and within the sauce (because of all these golden pan bits – fond!).

Bacon and onion – Decrease the warmth barely so golden bits caught on the bottom of the pan don’t burn. Give the bacon a head begin – prepare dinner for 20 seconds, then add the onion and prepare dinner till it’s beginning to soften (~ 2 minutes). Add garlic and prepare dinner for one more 20 seconds till golden.
Deglaze with Guinness – Add the beer, flip warmth as much as excessive and simmer quickly when you scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen any bits caught on it. Simmer till decreased by about 75% – it will prepare dinner out the alcohol and beeriness, forsaking wealthy savoury flavour that makes the sauce so particular!

Roux – Add butter and let it soften, then sprinkle the flour throughout the floor and blend it in. It can appear to be completely unappetising sludge – have religion! 🙂
Beef inventory – Whereas stirring the sludge within the pan, pour in half the meat inventory, then maintain mixing till the sludge dissolves – the liquid will change into a really thick gravy.

Sauce thickness – Right here’s the way it seems to be at this stage. Very thick!
Simmer mushrooms – Then pour the remaining beef inventory in, plus the water, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Stir to mix (it needs to be fairly skinny and watery) then add the mushrooms. Simmer for 10 minutes. Throughout this time, the mushrooms will prepare dinner and the liquid will cut back and thicken right into a gravy.

Add hen – As soon as the sauce has thickened, add the chopped hen and any collected hen juices.
Thicken – Simmer for one more 2 – 3 minutes till the gravy thickens barely however stays saucy. Nevertheless thick or saucy it’s now’s how it is going to be contained in the pie as soon as baked. Objective thickness – if you drag a spoon throughout the bottom of the pan, the trail ought to briefly maintain earlier than the liquid flows again over it (like pictured above).

PIPING THE DUCHESS POTATO TOPPING

Fill pan – Pour the filling right into a 6 – 8 cup / 1.5 – 2 litre pan. You might put it in particular person heatproof pie dishes or ramekins. Easy the floor to create a flat mattress for the Duchess Potatoes.

Word: Not like with Cottage Pie and Shepherd’s Pie, there’s no want to attend till the filling cools and corporations up earlier than topping with mash, you’ll be able to proceed whereas the filling remains to be scorching.
Pipe mashed potato topping – Fill a piping bag fitted with a star tip with scorching creamy mashed potato, then pipe mounds throughout the floor in any sample you need. My swirls have a ~ 4cm/1.6″ base and are about 4cm / 1.4″ tall.

Little blobs – Use the remaining mash to pipe little swirls or blobs to fill gaps. I do that randomly – neatness isn’t the objective, I like the country, uneven look. Plus, everyone loves Duchess Potatoes, so squeeze in as many as you’ll be able to!
Drizzle and sprinkle – Drizzle the butter throughout, then sprinkle with parmesan.

BAKING

Bake for half-hour till the potatoes are tinged with gold and frivolously crispy, and it’s effervescent across the edges. Word to self: In case your pan is somewhat full (like mine), put a tray on the ground of the oven to catch drips!
Relaxation for five minutes, simply to let it stabilise a bit earlier than serving (in the event you serve it straight out of the oven, it’s a little bit of sloppy mess!). And in the event you’re feeling actually fancy, sprinkle with a pinch of parsley for a dusting of inexperienced freshness.

HOW GOOD DOES THAT LOOK!!! And simply wait till you style it!

Use a big spatula or serving spoon so you may get a great quantity of pie filling and potato topping collectively when serving. The Duchess Potatoes truly holds collectively fairly effectively when scooped out.

Now. It’s time so that you can come clear.

Be sincere.

You wish to choose off all of the Duchess Potatoes and run away with them too, proper? 😈 Don’t depart me hanging! – Nagi x

Duchess Potato Rooster Mushroom Pie

Ugh, it was means tougher than I anticipated. I used to be overly assured – it’s “my type of meals” and I’ve made a great deal of stews and pies earlier than.

Firstly, I had it in my head that I wished the pie to be a bit of particular. It’s straightforward sufficient to make a fast ‘n straightforward hen pie the place you prepare dinner up every thing in a pan in a single go, throw in a bit of flour, inventory and milk to make the sauce, then put a lid of puff pastry on it.

However, hen bites don’t brown like stewing beef, and it provides a lot flavour to the meat if you get color it, to not point out the additional flavour you get within the sauce from the fond (brown bits) left within the pan from searing proteins.

So the primary iterations I made utilizing chew measurement hen items had been positive, however they simply weren’t particular. Once I switched to searing entire hen thighs to get a stunning golden sear on them and reducing them up later, that went some approach to clear up the flavour downside.

Then getting the best amount of Guinness turned out to require a couple of extra makes an attempt that I anticipated. At first, I assumed extra Guinness would equal extra flavour, so I tipped the entire can in. It was so bitter, it bordered on inedible. 😅 The subsequent try I used 1 1/2 cups and it was nonetheless an excessive amount of. I used to be stunned, it’s not that a lot – however I underestimated how intense the flavour of stout beers are particularly when not gradual cooking for hours like we do Guinness Stew.

Seems, 3/4 cup is the restrict for the amount of sauce we’d like on this pie.

All through this I additionally needed to fiddle to get the sauce amount and thickness proper. That is one thing I grapple with each pie recipe. You’d assume there’d be an ordinary system – however there’s not. It depends upon the form of the meat (shredded meat works higher with thinner sauce and holds extra sauce too eg Rooster Pot Pie), the greens used (eg. broccoli are sauce hogs), hen vs beef (hen bites can’t be gradual cooked so you should get extra flavour in much less liquid quicker as you don’t have sauce flavour improvement time such as you get with gradual cooked beef pie recipes like Meat Pies).

I additionally had a couple of fails with the piped topping. Firstly, getting the best consistency so it’s creamy however nonetheless pipe-able and holds its kind when baked (I had a few Duchess melting conditions). And the piping tip issues too – in the event you use one which creates extra ruffles (like Wilton 2D which is a favorite for frosting), they give the impression of being nice when piped however don’t maintain their kind within the oven.

Seems, an everyday star tip works greatest!

I had a couple of extra points – main overflow within the oven, mushrooms not cooked by way of….. Let’s simply say the builders have had a LOT of pie in current weeks! 🙂

Watch methods to make it

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Duchess Potato Rooster Mushroom Pie

A hen mushroom pie like no different!